Until Now

The Elephant

     I pressed the small white button in, earning a loud ring from the inside of the house. I shifted my weight to my other foot, hesitating. I was almost regretting this, but I knew it had to be done. The door opened, finally, and I found Hallie staring at me.

     "Hey." I took in a deep breath, my eyes meeting Hallie's. "Is Violet here?"

     "Yeah." Hallie stepped back, pulling open the door as an invitation to step inside. I did so, my eyes flicking across the empty room.

     "Hal, where is everything?" I blinked, frowning at the recollection of the chairs across the hall, or the bench that we had always tossed our backpacks on after school. Everything was gone now. I could see only slightly into the living room from where I was standing, and while the couch remained in place, everything around it had been moved to fill in for the gasps caused by a lack of furniture. The large television had been replaced with the smaller, older one from Hallie's room.

     "It's getting bad, Maisie," She frowned, "We needed the money."

    I wrapped my arms around her, shaking my head. "I'll always be here for you," I mumbled, wishing that I could do something to help their financial situation.

     "Thanks. Violet's upstairs."

     I hesitated before pulling away from her, but decided to that procrastinating this wouldn't make Violet any less mad at me. I followed behind as we moved up the stairs.

     "Violet, someone's here to see you!" Hallie sang out happily, ignoring the empty halls.

     "I swear to God, Hallie, if you let Maisie in, I will kill you so fast you'll—" I moved into the doorway, my eyes flicking to Violet. She closed her mouth quickly mid-sentence, totally ditching the rest of her thoughts. She smiled faintly, watching me. "Oh, hi."

     "I'm sorry." I looked at my feet.

      "I know." She nodded, and when I cautiously looked up, she was staring at me teary-eyed. I frowned, moving to wrap my arms tightly around her petite body. She raised herself up on her knees, returning the hug, sniffling into my shoulder. "I swear to God, Violet, if you get makeup all over me, Violet, I will kill you so fast you'll—" I trailed off, mimicking her earlier words. I felt her body move in my arms as if she let out a laugh, which I knew she probably had.

     "I'm so sorry." I squeezed her body closer, as I lowered myself to sit next to her. We fell backwards, tumbling off the bed, laughing hysterically as Hallie watched from the door. "Best friends?"

     "Best friends," She repeated, snuggling close to me.

      "You know, I'm having a party this weekend for my birthday," I nudged her, and she grinned, "But you're not invited."

     She pouted, and Hallie joined us, now all three of us in a pile on the floor laughing. These were the moments I'd miss most about my life. Everything was going to be so different in college, and I didn't like that thought.

***     

     I glanced out the window just as Logan was exiting the market. His eyes flickered to Layla's, meeting mine through the glass. 

     "I'll be right back," I pushed open the door, leaving Hallie alone. Violet had taken the night off because of a previous commitment, leaving Hallie and I shorthanded. It was late, however, and of course, as usual, nothing required the extra help. I was convinced Layla only put the three of us together because she knew we would keep the store running while just hanging around. One person, alone, could have easily handled the 'after-dark' shifts, but time would drag on, leaving us bored and inattentive.