Chapter 43: Stranger

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Becca

Who are you? I asked the reflection in the mirror.

"Becca Hartwell," I answered, watching as the reflection's lips moved in sync with mine. I tilted my head to the left, I arched my right eyebrow, just as they did. The reflection mirrored my every move. The reflection was me, but it didn't look like me. I never realized how long my hair had gotten, hanging all the way down to my elbows. And was it always this light? When did my hair get so freaking light?

But the most startling part were my eyes. They looked... older. Tired. Weary. Since when did I have bags under my eyes?

The sound of someone coughing caught my attention and I turned around quickly. Cassie was standing behind me, watching me with her eyebrows raised.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked me, a question I had no answer to.

"Since when did my hair get so long?" I ran my fingers through my hair, wanting to grab a pair of scissors and snip it all off.

"Since you haven't cut it since last summer." Cassie walked over to me and looped her arm through mine, watching me with cautious eyes. "Did you get the address?"

I nodded, unlocking my phone and handing it to her. The address was there, written in my notes and staring at me hauntingly.

"Awesome," she smiled, handing my phone back to me and walking towards the door. Her hand lingered on the door knob, she turned around slowly. "Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath and turned back to the mirror. How had I been born with blue eyes and blonde hair yet, on my face, they managed to look so ordinary? I rolled my eyes and turned my back to the reflection, resisting the temptation to change out of my plain jeans and t-shirt.

"Ready," I told Cassie then followed her out the door.

* * *

"Make a left at the next light." I stared at the phone in my lap, reading the directions it was showing me and conveying them to Cassie as she drove.

The windows in the car rolled down and the warm breeze blew in, sending my hair flying in a crazy mess around my head. I grunted in frustration and quickly rolled up the window to my right.

"Leave them down," Cassie warned me from the driver's seat.

"Leave your's down, Cass. I don't need my hair knotting into a bird's nest on my head."

I didn't have to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes at me.

"The fresh air is good for your nerves, Becca. It'll help calm you down."

"I'm not nervous," I replied too quickly, making me sound the exact opposite.

"You haven't stopped tapping your foot and you're breathing like freaking Darth Vader." Cassie said, shooting me a glare quickly before turning her eyes back to the road.

I looked down immediately and, sure enough, my foot was tapping impatiently against the floor-mat. I crossed my legs and fidgeted awkwardly in the chair.

"Brett's your boyfriend -"

"Is he?" I asked, cutting her off and having no idea where our relationship even stood at this point.

"Did he break up with you? Did you break up with him? Did either of you ever even say the words break up? Or it's over?"

"No," I answered.

"Then he's still your boyfriend, Becca." Cassie said matter-of-factly, managing to give me an ounce of reassurance.

"We haven't spoken in over a week," I whispered. "He doesn't show up to class. He even missed the football game on Friday, Cassie. Football game," I said again, emphasizing the severity of it.

Brett never missed a football game. Ever. If there was one thing he hated, it was letting his team down. I learned that when I tutored him weeks ago. Knowing that he missed a game, more than likely to avoid seeing me, was enough to break my heart.

"Maybe he's dealing with other stuff, Becca. You know better than anyone what it's like to have problems at home."

She was right, but Brett always spoke to me about his family problems. He never hid the imperfections from me and he never ran away.

"That doesn't justify him going ghost and ignoring me for a week, Cass!" I yelled, feeling angry because it was better than feeling sad. "I just want to know why, that's all. Why he decided to just... give up."

As soon as I said those words I regretted it. Brett wasn't someone who gave up, especially not on people he loved. I knew that there was more to this - a reason for his sudden absence - but simply sitting by and waiting for him to call me back wasn't cutting it anymore.

"Well you're about to find out, Becca, 'cause we're here."

I looked up quickly and my mouth immediately dropped open. We were driving down a street lined with some of the most beautiful homes I had ever seen. Tall marble columns, white bricks, perfectly landscaped yards with grass the brightest shade of green, corvettes lining the driveways. The sun even seemed to shine brighter on this street, casting the houses in a pale yellow, hazy glow.

For the first time, I had realized just how wealthy Brett's family actually was as Cassie pulled into his driveway.102 the plaque above the four-car-garage read, the same address that Jeff had sent me an hour ago.

This was it, I was here. There was no going back now. I glanced at Cassie but she was too busy ogling the houses around us to pay me any attention.

"Your man's got money," she cooed, eyes wide as she finally looked at me. I rolled my eyes and ignored her.

My hands were trembling in my lap, the nerves making my entire body shake. I needed Brett, he was the only one who managed to calm me down at times like this. I glanced up at his house, the possibility that he was right behind this wall made my heart race in my chest.

I missed him so much. I missed everything about him; his smile, his laugh, his lips. I missed his presence the most and the happiness that came with being alongside him. I missed falling deeper in love with him every time I looked at him. I missed it all.

Thinking about Brett made a sudden surge of confidence run through me. I needed to make a move now before it ran out. I turned towards Cassie and she was already watching me, smiling.

"Go get him, Becca."

I took a deep breath then got out of the car. I walked up the stone pathway to Brett's door and marvelled at the dozens of flowers that lined the walkway, they seemed too perfect to be real.

A set of stairs lead up to the large chestnut door, surrounded by stone columns on either side. I climbed them quickly, eager to squash all the distance between me and the boy I love.

I rang the doorbell once, resisting the urge to ring it ten times in a row. It had a long, deep chime that I could hear from outside. Even the sound of the bell was expensive.

On the other side of the door I could hear shuffling, footsteps, then the lock being turned and the creak as the heavy door was opened.

I held my hands together to stop them from shaking. My heart was in my throat.

The door opened and I was standing face to face with a woman, a woman with a pair of familiar deep blue eyes. But they weren't familiar because I had seen them before - they were familiar because I had seen the same eyes on someone else.

There was no doubt in my mind who this was.

I was staring at Brett's mother.

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