A/N: Hoo-boy this has been a week for me!
But now things are getting back to normal (well normal-ish until the end of summer) so my output should be back on track.
My biggest challenge with this was having so many characters that I have notes on top of notes. I had to something I never did before: I had to make charts!
This chapter is a bit shorter than I wanted but I needed to put a cap on this day one of our story ;-)
Mia laid down on her bed, dropping her bag to the side.
She sighed and held her locket up.
With the flick of her thumb, the golden heart flipped open to reveal a picture of her dad holding her as a baby.
[FLASHBACK]
"Happy Valentines, Mia!"
Six-year-old Mia bounded over to her dad and gleefully took the small box. She admired the baby blue ribbon and periwinkle wrapping paper.
"I know its pretty," he smiled. "But the special thing is inside."
Wee little Mia made a puss.
"I know, daddy!"
She tore into the packaging and unwittingly dropped the lid to the box onto the floor, revealing the surprise. Mia gasped when she saw the shiny object and bit her lip before taking it in her hand. Her face ignited with delight when she saw upon lifting it up that it had a chain attached: a necklace.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"Come here," he gestured with his hand.
Mia followed and held the gift up toward her tall father.
He kneeled down to her level and opened her hand.
"Remember what I said about the special thing being on the inside?" he said as his finger roamed the locket. "Press this button right there."
"Here?" she asked.
He nodded.
Mia pushed the tiny button and the locket opened up and there was a picture of her dad inside. Her eyes were quickly drawn to the baby.
"Is that me?" she gasped.
"That's my angel," he beamed. "Just something to remind you that no matter what happens, you will always be my brightest light."
Her dad put it around her neck and she couldn't be happier to wear it. Mia closed the picture and hugged her dad.
[END OF FLASHBACK]
Her face was completely wet from replaying that moment in her head. It was one of the most pivotal (and last) memories she had of her father.
Mia turned over to her side, back to the door and sobbed softly.
The knock on the door went ignored.
"Mia?" called out Tori. "Mia, honey, dinner's ready."
Hearing no response, she opened the door and saw her daughter curled up on her bed. Tori could tell that she had been crying. She slowly walked over to her and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Mia?"
Her body language grew tighter like she was trying to make herself smaller.
"Mia...what..."
She immediately noticed the locket still in hand with the picture exposed.
"Oh..."
Tori held back her own tears and focused on comforting her daughter. She rubbed her back in circles.
"I know, sweetheart." Her voice nearly cracked. "I miss him, too."
Mia took a deep breath and resumed crying.
"Just leave me alone," she whispered.
Tori stopped and clutched her own chest.
"Okay, I'll go. Dinner will be in the oven if you change your mind later."
Mia didn't say anything more and Tori sighed, leaving her alone and closing the door to her room.
Tori leaned against the closed door and looked up at the ceiling.
"I wish I knew what to do, Sam."
Chase spent the last ten minutes assembling a sandwich from what he could gather from the fridge. It was looking rather sparse.
"Mental note: go grocery shopping."
A couple times a week Uncle Neil was out late and didn't return until he was fast asleep.
He would start performing at the club 15 minutes away around 7:00 and play until closing. Then he usually had an intimate conversation with the owners and some of the band.
The rest of the time, he would hang out with Chase. They would go bowling or see the game or just watch TV on a lazier night. It was an adjustment at first when Chase moved here to live with him. Neil had been living on his own for years (the occasional bachelor as he put it) and now he was housing a teenager.
Thing were not going well for him back home, according to his folks. Neil was hesitant but ultimately agreed to help his baby sister's son out.
Chase was not receptive to the big move. Going from Nashville to Los Angeles was quite the jump. In fact, it was tense between the uncle and nephew in the beginning. Sheri and Jim went on and on about how much of a troublemaker he had become. They thought that a change in scenery, away from his bad influence friends, might do him good.
So next thing he knew, Neil turned his "dump room" which was just a place to stick everything from a treadmill to a bike, plus piles of clothes, into a second bedroom.
The moody teen didn't say much and snuck out several times, only to be found out by his uncle.
One night, he was playing the guitar and Chase wandered in. Neil asked him if there was anything he wanted to hear. Chase shook his head but he was curious about playing. Neil then started to teach his nephew and after that first day, he could do nearly all of the chords. After school, and homework, Chase would find himself sitting in with Neil to learn more. He even was present at some of his public performances and was impressed by how the audience hung on his music.
Over time, Neil helped Chase pick out his own axe from the local pawn shop. He settled on a black and dark blue Gibson. Neil showed him how to properly care for his instrument, including keeping it in tune.
By his sophomore year, Chase had really come along and was able to not only play about any song he could get his hands on but even started jamming with his own ideas for melodies. Back in Tennessee, Chase would be on the corner with some tough kids causing some mayhem. Now, he has channeled all of his energy into music and when he had a bad day; rather than breaking windows, he breaks out the guitar and this relaxes him.
Chase set his paper plate down carefully, minding his papers. Last thing he wanted was to get mustard on his work.
He set aside the song-in-progress and checked his phone.
No further messages from Lauren since their conversation.
He frowned but figured she was busy.
Chase thought about the next day. He was eager to hear Lauren sing his words. He was also a bit nervous. He valued her input and for him she was the best singer in school. Getting the nerve to perform in front of everybody was impossible. But working up the guts to call Lauren was a close second!
He made a face and quickly saved the contents of his sandwich from sliding out of the bread slices. Was so deep in thought about Lauren that he almost lost control of his dinner. Chase chuckled and resumed his meal.
Jade knocked on the open door to Alice's room.
"Hey, kiddo."
The teen looked up from her book and smiled.
"What's up?"
"You, uh...want me to drop you off tomorrow...or..." Jade looked at the floor. "Everyday," she whispered.
Alice closed her book and gave her best "are you kidding me?" face.
"No, mom. I'll be fine."
Jade sighed, the puff of air flipping the strands dangling in front of her face.
Alice mimicked her overblown gesture.
The mom ran over and tackled her daughter, the pair wrestling and laughing.
"WIpe that face off your head, or I'll tickle you to death!" she warned through a devilish grin.
"Don't. Stop!" Alice giggled through shallow breaths. "I...can't...breathe...HAHAHAHAHA."
Jade released her and the two took several minutes to fully recover from the laughing. Alice wiped her eye while Jade was holding her side.
"Ok, fiiiiine," huffed Jade. "You win. Tough negotiator. Get that from me."
Alice shook her head as her mom stepped out.
Tori wandered into the kitchen.
She had wanted to have dinner with Mia, maybe talk about what happened today since she wasn't talkative on the ride home.
But now she didn't have much of an appetite anymore.
Tori sat at the table, her phone laid out before her. She scanned the room; still decorated with arts and crafts Mia made years ago all over the walls and refrigerator.
"There was so much love here. What went wrong?"
She swallowed a heavy lump. She knew the answer.
With a sigh, Tori retired into the living room which didn't provide much solace but it was where she typically crashed every night.
The living room was really the epicenter of the apartment. It was surrounded by six doors. Six possible routes. One was the kitchen, to the right was the main bathroom, next to that was Mia's bedroom.
And next to that was the master bedroom, still well-preserved. The blinds were closed, day and night, and the bed stood there made, unslept in. Tori would only brave this room when she was looking for something old or forgotten.
Finally, were the two doors that led downstairs and thus to the wider world. The one door was a private entrance that led to stairs overlooking the alley. Fortunately, the alley was open and pretty well lit and there was always people around so it felt safe. The other door dreaded Tori the most. It had been years since she had gone through that grey door. The sight of it gave her goosebumps quickly followed with an overwhelming sadness.
Tori laid down on the couch and switched on the TV to some cooking show. She wasn't paying much attention to it; just let it provide some mild comfort to help lull herself to sleep.
Miranda walked upstairs to check up on Jenna.
She noticed the time and that there was still light coming from her room.
Her door was ajar and there was no sound of the TV and she wasn't talking on the phone.
Miranda pushed the door further to see better and Jenna was past out. She was sprawled over the bed, looking like she dropped from the sky and was snoring loudly. On her chest was the script she was given earlier at her audition.
She silently picked up the script and put it in her desk drawer for safe keeping. It was not wise to leave books of any kind laying around with Asher roaming around. That darn cat would certainly have his way with it given the opportunity.
Then she carefully lifted Jenna's dangling leg onto the bed and removed both her shoes. Miranda grabbed the folded blanket at the foot of the bed and used it to cover her since she was laying on top of the sheets. Any other attempt to tuck her in might result in waking her up and her daughter needed her sleep for school.
Miranda turned off the lamp on the nightstand and quietly closed the door.