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LOSALINI

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Zoe was the closest friend my mom had had in the neighborhood. 

Just as Taylor and I were friends, my mom and Zoe were too. In fact, when we used to go and hang out at the treehouse at their house, mom and her would be lost in their adult conversation and literally having a blast in their kitchen.

I wasn't the only one who had lost a friend when the Blackstones left. Mom did too.

It hit her harder than it did me because just a year later, she discovered dad cheating on her and she was left on her own. No matter how friendly she was to the Peters who lived next door or how nice she was towards Mrs Burns, Nate's mom, they couldn't quite replace who Mrs Blackstone was to her.

So as I stood there by the doorway, studying the stunning figure that was Mrs Blackstone with her strawberry blonde locks in a bun and her green eyes vibrantly warm as they stared back, I couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be okay. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but then again, I had just left my bag in the living room with the 900-paged textbook in it. 

But then, I noticed mom. The sight that met me overpowered the shock that I had from seeing Mrs Blackstone. Mom... my mom looked different. She looked good, great, better than she did the last time she'd dragged herself out of her room.

Her blonde hair was back to its golden hue. The murky brown that I'd grown accustomed to had been washed out. Her brown eyes were warm again and not as vacant as they'd been for the past several months and she actually looked like she'd finally had a refreshing reunion with a bar of soap, leaving her to be a far more glorious sight than what I was usually met with whenever I had the luck of seeing her escape the cave that her room had become.

"M-mom," I gasped out in amazement as she really smiled back at me, not the half vacant one she'd tossed me for the past few months.

"No hello for me?" I heard Mrs Blackstone call out, drawing my focus back to her.

She wore the smile that had made me award her 'Mrs Nicey' back then. She always smiled, wherever she was, whatever time of the day it was. The one time I'd seen her without that smile was when Taylor had fallen from the treehouse after holding out my favorite teddy bear out the window after I called him an idiot for punching Evan Phillips, the guy I'd believed was the love of my life. 

That crush ended after Evan called Taylor a cripple when he had on his cast for a month after the fall.

"Hi," I greeted, standing by the door awkwardly, not knowing what or how to greet Mrs Blackstone, who might or might not know of the stupid decision I made that resulted in my severed friendship with her son.

"Don't 'hi' me and expect to get away from a hug," she scolded with a smile before she got up and opened up her arms, waiting for a hug.

Awkwardly, I dawdled over to her. She pulled me into an achingly tight hug as soon as I was within reach. She still smelt like apple and sugar with a tinge of perfume. I relaxed at the familiarity of the scent that usually calmed me down.

She pulled away after a long time and smiled at me. "Nice to see you again, dear Liz."

Maybe she did not know about the incident with Taylor. If she did however, she didn't show it.

"Hi, Mrs Blackstone," I smiled shyly at her.

She scowled. "Zoe, Liz. It's Zoe or do I need to remind you all over again."

"Zoe," I amended when I remembered how she'd refused to give me waffles until I started calling her Zoe.

"Will you stop scolding my daughter already, Zoe," mom smiled at both of us even as she said that.

I still couldn't get over how much mom had changed from the norm I'd been seeing for the past few months. Now she was actually speaking in sentences. Long, grammatically clear sentences.

"Alright, alright," Mrs Blackstone grabbed my hands and pulled me to a seat beside her. "You've grown up, Liz."

I didn't know what to say to that so I just smiled whilst nodding slowly.

"I heard you joined the junior-varsity cheer-leading team right after we left. One of the first sophomores?"

I gritted my teeth as I kept on my smile whilst fighting the urge that I felt for hiding in a corner. After all, I had traded in her son for that opportunity. A trade I regretted soon after, yes, but still it didn't deter the fact that I had been willing to in the first place. So, yes, I didn't want to talk about cheerleading or anything that reminded me of that insane trade I made two years ago.

"Head cheerleader now?"

I shook my head. "No. My best friend Alyson is."

She nodded before taking a swig of her coffee. "Have you seen Frank yet?"

I stiffened at her question and not just because she'd called him by Frank. "I heard he goes by Taylor now."

She laughed at whatever expression I was wearing. "Yes. For some obscene reason, he's decided to go by his middle name. I still call him by Frank; after all if I wanted to call him Taylor, I would've named him Taylor Frank Blackstone, right?" She smiled at her reasoning like she was proud of it. "But no, I called him Frank Taylor Blackstone. And here he is trying to change it because he thinks Taylor suits him better."

"Is he still the freckled boy that begged me to get him a limited edition collector's card?" mom asked as she placed a plate in front of me with a scone and chocolate muffin on it.

Mrs Blackstone made a wistful sound as she frowned slightly. "Nope. I'm afraid not. Frank's.... changed. He used to be this little ball of life that didn't care what the world thought of him or how different he was from everyone he knew. But, now he's just like any other boy his age. Hell-bent on being the best at everything and guided by their di... Frank's changed."

If I wasn't trying to hold back my giggle at her not stopping at the last second from saying what I thought she was going to say, I would've noticed the way she looked me over, studying me. "And I'm hoping you can knock some sense back into him, Liz," she added as she grabbed my hands, her eyes pleading.

I was understandably not comfortable with that suggestion. In fact, I would rather date Nate again, knowing he was a two-timing douche than try to 'knock some sense back into my ex-best-friend'.

"I...don't know what I can do, really, Aunt Zoe," I said, using the term mom had told me to address her as from back then. "I think Tayl- Frank's growing up and just making his own decisions and I don't even think he would care for anything I have to say, really."

"He will. You two have been friends forever and I think you're the only one who can bring back the opinionated son that I miss."

I smiled. "Things change. People change." And some people make idiotic decisions that will sever a long friendship with just a sentence.

"You clearly haven't." She smiled sweetly at me, squeezing my hand. "And I'm glad that we decided to come back after all. George and I were playing with the idea after they offered him the position here and we decided that it was better to get back to our roots and meet up with old friends. And with Cassie starting high school, we decided that it would be best for her start here again. She's been bugging us about wanting to see you again."

I smiled at the mention of Taylor's younger sister who was just three years younger than us. She loved to play with her dolls by herself, but whenever I came around, she'd hang out with us.

"How is Cassie?" mom asked the question I'd been wondering but wasn't sure I had the right to ask. She was Taylor's younger sister after all and they were closer than any two siblings I'd ever known.

"She's all grown up now. But don't tell her that. I don't want her to let it go to her head. She's your typical teenager. Always stubborn and opinionated. But the plus side is that even if she doesn't listen to me all the time she'd always listen to Frank." She brightened with that thought. "Which reminds me, George and I are hosting a barbie on Saturday, for the whole moving back into town celebration. A few friends are coming over, why don't you two join us too?"

Come over to the Blackstones' house? With Taylor there?

I didn't like that. Not one bit. If anything, the hope that Taylor and I could rekindle our friendship had long since diminished. I would be happy avoiding him honestly.

Thankfully, mom was on the same page as me, but for obviously much different reasons.

"No, we wouldn't want to intrude," she said.

Mrs Blackstone wore a mask of seriousness. "You are not intruding. The both of you are family."

"But still... it's too sudden, why don't we-"

"Rachel," Mrs Blackstone's voice was stern, as stern as it was when she scolded Taylor back then. "You will not be a bother. You're both family and if you don't come out of your own volition, I will personally come down here and drag both of your unwilling asses there."

If I didn't hate the idea of visiting their house so much, I would've laughed at her words. Mrs Blackstone was something else. Much more stubborn than the stubbornest teenager alive. I didn't believe for one second that she couldn't control Cassie.

"But-"

"Elizabeth." This time Mrs Blackstone's eyes were on me.

"Uh...." I was trying to come up with a fathomable sentence.

"You and your mother will be visiting on Saturday, okay?"

I didn't know what to say. In fact, I was a little scared of Mrs Blackstone especially after that incident with Taylor falling from the treehouse.

"Okay?" She repeated, her expression as serious as if she was discussing America's economy.

Without thinking and albeit somewhat scared, I nodded.

As if a switch was thrown, she smiled at us again, as carefree as if she hadn't just been somewhat intimidating us seconds before.

Now how do I get out of going to the Blackstones' house on Saturday?

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