I looked back and forth between the two and saw their similarities even though they both had on hospital masks.I didn't meet Roger's dad on the first night that I spent here, so I automatically assumed that he wasn't in the picture.
"I'll introduce you to him once we get this all cleaned up. That earthquake caused a lot of damage. It's going to take a lot more than just a broom and some candles to get this place back to normal, so we better start now."
"Oh, yeah!" I agreed.
We didn't waste anymore time and started cleaning. Roger's dad and I made eye contact a few times, but he was to focused on fixing things up to start a conversation. After a few hours of sweeping up broken chandeliers and picking up tables we finally got the cafe back to semi-normal.
I looked around and still saw cracks in the beige walls and the room didn't look complete since it was missing a few chandeliers, but it was a lot better than when I first came down the stairs.
Aunt Nina wasn't exactly content with the state of the cafe, but it would have to do. Roger and I sat up some lanterns on the table to add more lighting and then started our work upstairs. We cleaned for hours. Making sure that everything was as close to how it was before as possible. A few townsfolk came by and checked on us to make sure we were okay. Apparently the power went out all over town.
I was in my room sweeping up the broken glass when Roger came in and sat on the edge of my bed, "We did pretty good, Vic.The place is almost back to normal. We're still going to school on Monday, sadly. I was really hoping we'd have a few days off." Roger sighed dramatically and pouted his lips.
"School? I'm going on Monday?"
"Yeah, you're dad enrolled you before you guys got here. He didn't tell you?"
I finished sweeping up my room and sat down beside Roger. I fiddled with my fingers and looked down,
"You know...I don't really think I'm ready for a regular public school. People don't really like me much."
Roger titled his head and creased his eyebrows, "Why not?"
I pointed at my face, "I look like a vampire, okay? Since I was a kid everyone's avoided me like the plague."
Roger laughed loudly, but stopped once he saw that I was serious. He patted my back, "I don't see why. There's nothing wrong with you, but I'm gonna head to bed. It looks like you don't need much help with your room."
He stood up and was about to walk out when he realized something and turned back to me, "Oh! sorry you didn't get to meet my dad. He went to help out his friend's furniture store. He should be back tomorrow morning though and I'll introduce you. Have a good night, Vic." He put his hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts and gave a dazzling smile before going across the hall to his room.
That night I laid in my bed tracing the cracks on the pastel yellow ceiling with my eyes, and as I sat there on top of the quilted blankets, Roger's words came to my mind.
'There's nothing wrong with you.'
When's the last time that I heard that? I closed my eyes and thought back to the last time that I heard those words and my mother's image filled my mind.
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"There's nothing wrong with you." my mom spoke to me as she started to walk towards the stream. The sound of the waterfall filled out ears.
"But they said I look funny ma! Tina said my eyes look funny. She said I look like a scary ghost on Halloween and they all laughed!" Seven year old me stomped my foot as tears filled my eyes. A bouquet of daisies were in one hand and my sundress was clenched in my other hand.
My mother was running her fingers through the water before she picked something up and walked through the grass to me. She bent down so she was at my level and looked into my eyes that were identical to hers. If someone were looking at us they'd think that future me had timed traveled to the past. We both were wearing the same sundress. Our bare feet were feeling the soft grass and the summer wind blew through our long black hair. I was just a shadow of my mother. She was the person that the sun hit and made glow. I was just the shadow behind her that always lacked life.
She ran her fingers through my hair and I rested my face on her hand, "I will keep saying it until you believe it. There is not a single thing wrong with you. You're the most beautiful girl in the world and I'm proud to call you my daughter. You see this stone?" She held up a small red stone and I observed it. I then nodded my head.
"this stone is so different from all the others. They're all different, actually. No two stones are the same, but they are all similar in some type of way. All of them except this one. It's the brightest red stone that I've ever seen! Feel how smooth it is." She took my small fingers and guided them across the stone, "Isn't it beautiful?" I sniffled and nodded again.
"You see, you're just as beautiful as this stone. It's different, so maybe the other stones don't like that, but they're just jealous of it's beauty." My mom opened my hand and put the stone in it before closing it. She then took a daisy out of my other hand and put it in my hair as a bright smile spread across her face. I reflected the identical smile, but mine was missing two front teeth.
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Tears filled my eyes as I thought about her. I had long since lost the stone that she had given me, but I could still remember it's orange and red swirls and it's smooth surface.
'There's nothing wrong with you.'
I loved hearing those words and I don't think Roger understands how saying them made me feel.
I cried until I fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning surprisingly to the smell of coffee. I thought that the cafe would be closed after what happened last night. I yawned and tiredly got out of bed as I glanced at the alarm clock. 7:56 a.m
I decided to finally take my clothes out of my bags and put them in the closet. After I changed into what I wanted to wear for that day and organised my clothes in my closet I made my way down the stairs.
The moment I came through the stairs door everyone turned to look at me. I saw everyone, including Roger's dad and my dad, gathered at a table in the cafe. There were a few faces that I didn't recognize. They all looked very serious and I assumed that they were talking about problems caused by the earthquake.
I awkwardly walked over to stand beside Roger while the rest of the adults continued talking among themselves. I felt the grave atmosphere and decided to ask him what the plan was for that day.
Roger, who wasn't his usual bubbly self, looked uncomfortable and a little bit...sad.
"So what's with all the hush hush talk?" We both walked over and sat down at the bar.
Roger stared down at the floor and it seemed like he didn't hear what I was saying. I waved my hand in front of his eyes in the same manner he did to me before, "It looks like you've finally found out where I've been when I don't hear you." I smiled as I mentioned his dazed expression.
Once his attention was on me I spoke again, "So what's wrong with everyone? Is it about the earthquake?"
Roger ran his fingers through his hair and let out a deep breath. I looked deeper into his eyes and saw a mixture of sadness and fear. After I saw that I realized that it was something serious, "What's wrong?"
He struggled to get his words out like he didn't know how to put it, "I.... We just found out this morning that someone died." He looked me in the eyes.
I understand that it's a very tight community, so I can see why everyone is so distraught over it. I didn't know who this person was, but I wasn't going to be disrespectful. I leaned and put my hand on Roger's shoulder, "Oh my god! I'm so so sorry, Roger. I'm sorry for your loss."
Roger grabbed my hand from his shoulder and held it, "No, Victoria, you don't understand." Tears started to fill his eyes. Oh no! Was he about to cry?
"What don't I understand? What's wrong? Was it family? A friend of yours? You can talk to me about it Roger." I held his hand back and looked at him sincerely.
"No you don't understand. He didn't die of natural causes. He was m-murdered. Somebody in this town killed him."
----------------Author's note--------------------------------
I really hope everyone is liking the novel so far and thank you so much for the support. I just wanted to address something. I'm writing two novels. This one and 'They call her Ace'. I'm trying my best to keep a steady posting schedule. So I'm sorry if I miss a day. I have to get used to typing and posting a chapter everyday. Thank you for your understanding.