When There Was Me and You

CHAPTER ONE |:| WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

C H A P T E R O N E |:| W H E R E I T A L L B E G A N

December 24, 2015

Tonight is the night. Hopefully he's not there.

"Massie, if Sapphire won't come on time, we will be leaving her," my mom says, and knowing that my roommate is always late, I text her.

MissyChrissy: You're late! If you don't come here on time, we will be leaving you in the cold.

Sent by 18:56

SapphiretheCinderella: Open the door, I'm here. I better come to that event.

Received by 18:58

I stand up from my couch and fix my skirt. I open the door and Sapphire makes her way inside before I can even say a word. I close the door and sit beside her, my heart still pounding.

"Why are you wearing that?" I ask her, because Sapphire always dresses better than me. Today her hair and heels are killing it, but her buttoned shirt and checkered shorts don't really look that nice.

"Well, I was doing my hair and making sure it was perfect. Then," she stops as she strips her shorts and slips on a pair of white skinny jeans she grabbed from a paper bag, "I looked at the time and I'm late, like, I have to go with my hideous outfit." Sapphire halts, removing her buttoned shirt and slipping on a sleeveless party shirt and says, "Nevertheless, now I'm ready to go."

I roll my eyes, knowing that she's always late. I keep busying myself so I can think of anything but him. I can hear my mom's footsteps on the stairs as she walks down so I motion Sapphire to get up so we can go.

"Ladies, shall we?" my mom asks us as she opens the door. Sapphire smiles at me before going out first, and I hold back a smile. I have a very bad feeling about today. My stomach grumbles a little and I banish the bad thought.

"Road trip!" Sapphire shouts, and I can't help but lecture her that the neighbors would probably call the police on us and police don't want to be bothered on Christmas Eve.

Sapphire just rolls her eyes at me and hops into the car; I follow her. She says something but I don't hear it because my brain is busy of thinking something else.

Be still, my heart.

∞ 🚘 ∞

"Go! It doesn't mean that you have to stay beside me all the time, just because I asked you to come with me." I nudge Sapphire, who stands nervously beside me.

"Well, you should be thankful that I'm here when Heather can't go with you. Plus, what if someone tries to kidnap you, or what if he offers you a drink and you absentmindedly accept it? Who's going to be there to save you?" Sapphire looks ridiculous, and I know that she only wants me to reassure her one more time.

"I am thankful. But you should have fun, which means go talk to him!" I push Sapphire with a little bit more force, which makes her almost trip on her heels, but not enough to embarrass her.

I smile weakly and wave at her. Sapphire narrowly looks at me in return but she continues walking towards the red-haired guy.

I look at my surroundings, noticing that the elders stay on the right side near the tall tables with wine in their hands, while their children stay near at the playground to keep distracted. The restaurant looks very familiar and I realize it's the same reunion place I've been going to with my mom for the past eleven years. Gone, however, were the blue curtains and box televisions, they are now replaced with gold curtains and thin television screens.