I awaken slowly out of my deep sleep and when I glance at my alarm clock it's, as I'd expected, almost noon already. Me and mom had stayed up practically all night long last night just chatting until we became so drowsy we could barely keep our eyes open. Just like old times. I saw the reminiscent look on her face the entire time, it's evident that she's enjoying me opening up.
I faintly remember her starting to pull out old photo albums at around one in the morning. Though I felt slightly bad about it, I had to push them away. I'm not ready just yet to see those and I don't know when, if ever, will be the time to. I'm hoping mom understands, even though I think I noticed her face fall a little when I rejected her offer.
I didn't dream about Poppy last night nor did she ever even cross my mind the past day, so that's an improvement.
"Ivy, are you awake?-I made breakfast!" I hear my mom's voice along with the faint sound of her footsteps. I halfway open my eyelids and make out her slim figure standing in the doorway.
"Get up sleepyhead, your going to waste half the day!" My mom doesn't sound even a single bit tired.
"I don't even have anything to do today," I groan into my pillow.
"Well, that's going to change soon. I've been up for three hours and I feel like getting out of the house today," She remarks, overly energetic. Wow, my mom's insane.
"I don't get how you do it, we were up until like, three in the morning,"
"You know this, moms have superpowers honey," She responds, with a cheesy wink. I roll my eyes and unwillingly join her downstairs. If I could, I would stay in bed until dinnertime.
By the time I arrive, my blanket draped across my entire body, mom has already made her way to the stovetop, returning her focus to the pancakes she is cooking. The smell of buttermilk pancakes immediately invades my senses, combined perfectly with the faint scent of the black coffee my mom is sipping. My mom needs lots of strong black coffee every morning to keep her going.
"So spill it, where are you dragging me today?" I press, genuinely curious.
"Well that's for me to know and you to figure out later," My mom smirks, cryptically. I don't know why she's being so secretive about this whole thing and it only makes me more intrigued.
"Ugh," I groan, "I don't get why you can't just tell me what you're hiding," My words cause my mom to turn her back to the stovetop and cross her arms in front of her chest.
"Patience is a virtue, Ivy. Now drop it," I roll my eyes when her back faces me and decide to humor her for once.
I should be grateful that my mom woke up extra early to make me a nice breakfast. It's no lie that she makes the most delicious chocolate chip pancakes and has since I was a kid. My stomach releases a roaring grumble just thinking about them. I head towards our deep brown, circular table that has been in that exact spot ever since I could remember.
Surrounding it are three uncomfortable wooden stools, for me, my mom, and the one for my dad that still lingers, awaiting. Not that he's ever coming back. I think that's the truth both me and my mom refuse to accept. Our kitchen has stayed the same ever since I was born, not the least bit modernized. Though it's not the most practical, I couldn't imagine the furniture being any other way.
"Here you are," My mom says with a glimmering expression. I gaze down at the plate she just placed in front of me, perfect brown pancakes on one side and seasoned bacon on the other.
"Wow mom, this looks amazing, now I definitely don't want to go back to sleep,"
"It's my pleasure, and also that was my evil plan," My mom smirks playfully. I stuff two pieces of bacon in my mouth at once and bite down on them with a satisfying crunch.
Within three minutes practically half my plate is already gone. That's how it always is with mom's fresh cooking.
"Wow, you were hungry," Mom notes, looking at my plate.
"It's hard not to devour your cooking, especially when it's breakfast," I comment and Mom grins.
"Anyways, I'm impatient and it's hard keeping it a secret so I'll give you a hint on where we're going,"
I look up from my breakfast, intrigued.
"Finally! I've been trying to guess this entire time,"
"It's probably not what you're expecting, but we're doing a tour of some sort," Mom announces, excitement evident in her voice. That's definitely not what I was expecting.
"A tour?" I reiterate, "what kind of tour?"
"Stop right there, I said a hint. I'm not giving away the exact place until we get there,"
"That's such a vague hint though, it can literally be anything," I complain.
"Well, what's the fun in telling you right now?" Mom questioned, staring at me as if I was crazy.
"Then I have to sit through the entire car ride wondering what this place is," I groan. I definitely get my impatience from my mom cause I know for a fact she wouldn't have even given me a hint if she wasn't like this.
"You, young lady, have got to learn the art of surprise," She says, faking a disappointed look.
"I hate surprises," I mutter under my breath.
At this my mom chuckles.
"I was just like you when I was young,"
As soon as we finish breakfast mom makes me get dressed and ready for 'our adventure,' as mom calls it. I refuse to call it that as well. I don't know why she is rushing us but she told me to be quick and dress nicely. I pull out my nicest outfit that I got at the mall a few months ago. A white, blue rimmed baby tee and a pair of baggy light wash jeans.
My wardrobe consists of extremely basic pieces but as long as I'm comfortable I don't mind. The weather here in Denver is fairly erratic so I grab a denim jacket as well. It's May now which means it could either be 70 degrees or 45 degrees. I'm taking what mom said seriously so I even dedicate time to putting on some makeup and straightening my hair.
After fixing myself up I take a step back to observe my appearance in my bathroom mirror. Surprisingly, I actually look pretty good. My deep brown, usually wavy hair gives me a new, more mature look when straightened. It flows nicely down to the tips of my shoulders and gives it a more maintained vibe.
The rosy pink blush I applied seems to compliment my light tan complexion more than I'd thought it would. My lashes have much more volume than before and my lips are shining with gloss. Wow, I should do this more often. Though it's not like I go anywhere to be able to show off this new look. Until today I guess.
I replicate my mom so much I already know she's going to be ecstatic seeing me like this. I've always been more of my dad's lookalike, with his hispanic complexion and everything, and it drove my mom crazy. Everyone always mentioned it to us at family gatherings and stuff, my dad lighting up when it happened. I liked people's comments until after he left, then it bothered me. I didn't want to be a constant reminder of him.
"Ivy! Are you ready yet? We have to be there soon!" I hear my mom's frantic voice travel up the stairs.
"Almost!" I yell down. I take one last look in the mirror, run a hand through my hair and take a deep breath. I'm honestly a little scared of where my mom is taking me but I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
hope you liked this chapter you guys! thank you for all the support on my last two chapters, it really means a lot. pls make sure to vote and comment. thank you!
-mari 💜🩷
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Sweet Revenge
Mystery / ThrillerIvy Rodriguez lives a life full of grief and remorse surrounding Poppy, her best friend whom she accidentally killed. Ivy was never considered social, although Poppy was the one person in her life she actually had a strong bond with. Things hadn't g...
