Forget Me (Adore You Pt. 2)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Since the first quarter of the year was coming to an end and homework was momentarily lighter, I finally had time to do something other than homework and planning events with Lana. Maria wanted me to come with her and help her clean out her closet for a drive her school was having.

I thought it was a good time to finish the last book left in the stack that Robbie had given me and finally drop them off.

I avoided going to that house all year, but she assured me that her grandmother was out of the country and that it would just be her and her mother.

I tried to ignore how disappointed I felt and focus on how it was probably a good thing that he wasn't there. I hadn't seen Robbie since our kiss in the stairwell. I hadn't spoken to him since he called me earlier this week to wish me goodnight.

I had thought about calling him several times. I had even come close a day ago when I had honestly misplaced my agenda and, along with it, a rubric for an economics paper I had to complete.

Every time something made me stop. Logic, perhaps. Self-preservation. It was already hard to deal with not being with him. If I started talking to him, every day it would be unbearable. Plus, if he started dating someone. I don't think I could handle being Robbie's friend while he had a girlfriend or a lover. It made my stomach hurt just to think about it, and it wasn't even a real scenario.

I took out a few books I had stored in the back of my closet. I noticed a dark green dress with tiny flowers hanging towards the back. I remember Robbie commenting once he liked that dress. It had buttons that ran down the front. He placed a kiss as he undid each one.

I grabbed it and slipped it on. It was probably too cold outside for a dress like this, but I decided to keep it on and just covered it up with a sweater. Wearing it felt comforting, and I was already so nervous about being in that house.

I thought cleaning out Maria's closet would be quick; it usually took me maybe 20 minutes. I forgot how big her closet was. Maria's closet was bigger than my room, possibly bigger than my apartment. It was almost like a private boutique.

We split everything up into several boxes. Some to donate to the charity drive. Some she wanted me to have. Others were for the local goodwill or a nearby consignment store.

"Why isn't Lana helping us?" I asked, dreading the rows of clothing we still hadn't even gotten to. Most of the clothes still had their tags on them. Things like this would never stop being strange to me.

"Because Lana would want to try everything on, and we would never finish," she loudly from behind a pile of coats. She had put on music to make it "fun."

Darla helped us when we first started but said the loud music gave her a headache and needed to take five.

"I feel like we're never going to finish, anyway," I said, realizing there was a whole other row I had not seen.

"That's not the spirit," she said, "Oh Lia, this would look so pretty on you!" she said, holding up a cream-colored silk dress.

"Maria, I already have a box full of clothes... my closet is not very big."

"I know but, just this one too. I never wore it, and it would be such a shame. You can wear it to the winter ball; she said, putting it in the box and pushing down the pile of clothes in it to make space.

"Fine. I said, not having the energy to argue with anyone.

"So," I started because this was the first time I had a moment alone with Maria in a long time.