IX
(edited.)
Carmen had just got out of the shower as she walked towards her vanity with a towel wrapped around her head. She took a seat in front of the vanity, picking up her hair dryer and turning it on. Once she had dried her hair, she turned it off and opened one of her drawers in search of a comb. However, instead of a comb, she was surprised to find her old phone laying upside down in the drawer.
She hesitantly reached for it and turned it on, looking at the screen with a blank expression. For the wallpaper of her home screen, she had used a picture of her and Taylor smiling at the camera as his arms were wrapped around her shoulder.
She ignored the picture and unlocked the phone, immediately going to look through her contacts. She scrolled through the people and felt her entire body freeze when Taylor's name appeared on the screen. She stared at the name until the sound of her mother speaking caused her to look towards the door.
"Did you say something?" she asked her mother.
"I asked if you wanted to go out for breakfast. I didn't know you were coming so I couldn't go out to buy groceries."
Carmen smiled at her mother's words as she said,
"Okay, sure."
"Great! We'll go to your favorite place."
Carmen felt her smile remain on her face until her mother told her to get ready before leaving. And as soon as she left, Carmen's attention returned to her phone as she wondered if Taylor was still using the same number. She tapped on his name and accidentally called him. She attempted to cancel the call but his voice stopped her.
"Hello?" she heard him say.
She couldn't say anything.
"Anyone there? You called me so you have to say something," he said. And when she didn't say anything, he hung up. It was at that moment that she released the breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Are you coming?" she heard her mother say from downstairs.
"Coming!"
She rushed to get ready and just as she was leaving her room, she felt her legs steer her towards her old phone. And without thinking twice, she saved the number onto her current phone.
- - -
"Some people never change," her mother said to her as she took a bite of her pancakes which were covered in strawberries and whipped cream. Carmen beamed at her mother as she looked down at her plate as she chewed. And as soon as she swallowed, she said to her,
"I guess I could say the same about you," as she pointed to her mother's waffles which were drowned in maple syrup.
"At least mine is healthy. As a nurse how could you eat something so unhealthy?"
Her mother chuckled at her words.
"You can't say that; I have to separate work from my personal life," her mother said as she winked before taking another bite of her waffles. Carmen laughed before they both focused their attention on their food.
They had been eating in silence when the sound of a little girl's voice from behind their table caused them to turn around.
"I want that one! I don't want the one you got me!" the girl said as she pointed at Carmen's plate. Carmen smiled as she asked her,
"Do you like strawberries?"
"I love them! They're my favorite!" the girl beamed as she replied, causing Carmen to smile back.
"They're my favorite too," she told the girl before she looked at the person that the girl was with. And as soon as she saw her, she froze.
Abby looked at her with a surprised expression and for a few moments they didn't say anything as they looked at each other. Her mother was the one to break the silence when she recognized her.
"Is that you Abby? Wow I haven't seen you in so long."
Abby smiled at her mother as she nodded.
"I'm sorry for not visiting you, I've been a little preoccupied," Abby said as she looked at the little girl.
"Oh is this your daughter?" Carmen's mother asked. Abby chuckled as she shook her head.
"No, she's my niece. I've been looking after her since my sister is back at school now." Carmen's mother nodded before returning to her food.
"Are you doing anything after you finish eating?" Carmen finally found the strength to say after looking at her best-friend for several minutes, surrounded by the guilt of not telling her best-friend about her leaving. Abby shook her head.
"Can we go somewhere to talk?" Carmen asked, to which Abby nodded her head.
- - -
An hour later, they were seated on a park bench as they watched Abby's niece running around in the snow. For five minutes, they had been sitting in silence, only watching the little girl, neither of them attempting to break the silence. But once Carmen realized how long they had been sitting in silence, she opened her mouth to speak. But before she could say a word, Abby interrupted her.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving?"
"I--"
"Why didn't you tell me where you were going?"
"I--"
"Why didn't you even tell me that you were alright?" Abby asked her. Carmen noticed that her voice cracked slightly as she asked the last question which caused her to turn to look at her only to find that she had began to cry.
"I thought something bad had happened to you! I was worried sick and you didn't even bother to tell me what was happening! Do you know how embarrassing and painful it was to hear from Taylor that you had left?" Abby said as she continued to cry. And the moment she finished speaking, Carmen began to also cry.
"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you. When I left, all I could think about was getting as far away as possible, I didn't think about how you would feel. I'm so sorry Abby," she told her best-friend.
They both continued to cry for several moments until the sound of Abby's niece falling caused them to turn their attention to her. Instinctively, Carmen stood up and ran up to her and picked her up.
"Are you okay?" she asked her. The girl wiped her tears as she sniffled and nodded before asking her,
"Why are you crying? And why is auntie crying?"
Carmen quickly wiped her tears before smiling at her.
"We were just happy to see each other again," she told her. The girl nodded and asked,
"What's your name?"
"Carmen and what's your name?"
"Emily."
Carmen released her hands from holding her arms as she stood up from where she was kneeling.
"That's a beautiful name," she said as the image of her own daughter came into her mind. She allowed Abby's niece to return to her playing before walking back to Abby. And as she walked, the image of her little girl remained in her mind.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked her when she sat down beside her.
"Emily," was all she could say.
"What about Emily?"
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