IMMORTAL VISIONS

by M. K. ROZE

  “Kaylee, you didn’t tell me there was another room.”

  “Surprise, surprise,” she said as she walked up the stairs.

  “This could be a game room. What do you think?” I said, patiently waiting for her to agree.

  “Let’s do it,” Kaylee replied, just as happy as me.

  We designed the large room with our imaginations and walked back downstairs.

  “We love it. Can we have it, please?” I asked, looking at Kim.

  She looked at me then Kaylee. “Yes, it’s yours if you girls want it. Viata, you need to have your parents sign it. When you turn eighteen, I’ll create a new lease with just you and Kaylee on it.”

  “Okay, I said. Can we paint the walls?”

  “Sure, just as long as you paint them all white before you move out.”

  “Thank you!”

  She smiled and walked toward the door.

  Kaylee and I hugged one another, jumping up and down like two young girls. I was sure it was silly to watch, but I enjoyed the moment. I couldn’t wait to tell my parents.

  “I’ll get back to you girls with the lease and deposit information,” Kim said.

  “Thank you!” Kaylee and I said at the same time.

  She brought me back to my car safe and sound without getting pulled over again.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind me having the bigger room? I feel bad,” I asked.

  “Yes, I’m certain. I hate being in front of the house.”

  “I’ll take the small room if you want.”

  “No, I want the smaller one,” she insisted.

  “Okay. I hope my parents say yes and sign it. What if they say no?”

  Kaylee turned to me. “Are you kidding me? Your parents always give you what you want.”

  “Shut up,” I joked and looked out the window.

  When I got home, I paced the house. I couldn’t wait to tell my parents I had found a place. When I heard them pull in, my heart started racing. I sat there on the couch and turned on the TV, waiting for them to enter. I tried my hardest to keep my composure when they walked in and hung their jackets on the coat rack.

  I jumped up. “Kaylee and I found a place.”

  They stopped in their tracks and stood there looking at each other. I thought they were going to say no way or it’s not the right time, but instead, they smiled. Well for a few seconds anyway.

  Mom’s face turned serious. “You did? You still have another month to go.”

  “If you sign the lease, I can move in early.”

  “Yes, I’m aware. But you don’t have a job.”

  “I will get one before I move in. I’ll look tonight.”

  “Are you ready to move out on your own and take full responsibility?”

  “Yes, Mom, I’m ready.”

  “What about your dreams?”

  “’I’m not having any more. I’m fine.”

  She looked at Dad waiting for him to say something. He shrugged.

  “Well, if this is what you want then let’s do it,” Mom said.

  “Seriously!” I screeched.

  “Wait a minute. When do you want to move out?” Mom asked.

  “On Kaylee’s birthday.”

  Her forehead creased. “That’s a little quick but okay.”

  I hugged them. “Are you sure you guys don’t mind me moving out so fast?”

  “Yes,” Mom said, “but we know you’ll be an adult soon, and you need space.”

  Dad didn’t say much. He frowned and looked away.

  “I love you guys,” I said, still hugging Mom. I elbowed Dad.

  Dad turned back to me smiling and kissed my forehead.

  “I’m going to go pack,” I said, skipping down the hall.

  “Look for a job before you think about packing. You’re not moving out until you do,” Dad called out.

  “All right!” I shut the door.

  My parents being supportive shocked me. I’d expected them to make me wait another month.

  I sat on my loveseat with my laptop and looked on the internet for a job.

  After looking for a while, I found a few waitressing positions that were hiring. One was next door to the coffee shop I used to work at part-time. I wished I kept that job, but I had to stop when I started eleventh grade. It was too hard juggling both. Plus, all their delicious coffees were keeping me up all night.

  As soon as I filled out the online application, I got a response immediately via email. The manager remembered me when I worked next door at the coffee shop. He asked me to go in on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. I wanted a night job, so it was perfect.

  I closed my laptop and reached for my phone to text Kaylee.

  My parents said yes.

  Kaylee responded right away.

  Cool, we’re officially roommates now.

  I smiled.

  Yes, we are. I’ll talk to you in the morning. I have a job interview.

  Kaylee: Already?

  Me: Yes. I know the manager.

  Kaylee: Congratulations! She replied with a smiley face. Can you come over tomorrow and help me pack?

  Me: Sure. I can come before my interview.

  Kaylee: You’re the best, night, Sis.

  Me: Night.

  Yawn after yawn, I turned on my side, looking out the window and smiled myself to sleep.

  * * *

  Morning came fast. I rushed out of bed and turned the radio on. As I was spraying the black hairspray in my hair, a slow ballad came on. I never heard it before, so I looked it up on my phone. It read: Perfect, by Ed Sheeran. I liked it so much that I downloaded it and listened to it three more times. I started to tear up because it reminded me of Mihnea for some reason. I had a gut feeling that there was a reason I kept seeing him, but I couldn’t seem to figure it out.

  Wiping my tears away, I finished up and walked out to the kitchen. Mom and Dad were sitting at the table talking. I grabbed a blueberry muffin off Mom’s plate.

  “Hey, get your own,” Mom said, laughing.

  “I love you guys,” I said and kissed them on their cheek. “I’m off for a job interview.”

  “You found a job already?” Dad asked with food in his mouth.

  “Yup, I have an interview in a few hours at the Augustine Steakhouse.”

  “Well done,” Dad said, smiling.

  “Thanks.”

  Mom’s eyes were watery. I don’t think she wanted me to move out.

  “Wish me luck.” I choked up and continued out the front door.

  “Good luck, honey,” Mom said in a low voice.

  I got into my car ready to leave but sat there and cried instead. A part of me wanted to go in and hug her, but Dad came outside. He caught me wiping my tears away.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded and sniffled.

  He opened my driver’s door and leaned down to hug me. “Everything will be okay.”

  “What about Mom?”

  “She’ll be fine. Focus on your interview.”

  “All right,” I sniffled again. “Tell Mom that I love her.”

  After Dad shut my door, I drove to Kaylee’s house.

  When I arrived, Kaylee greeted me outside. “Hey girl, let’s get to packing.”

  “Cool, do you have boxes?” I asked.

  “Sure do, my mom got them yesterday. I think she wanted me out last week.”

  “Stop, you know she loves you.”

  We continued inside. “I was kidding. Are your parents upset you’re moving out?”

  “Yes, but I can’t live there forever.”

  We walked upstairs to her room and listened to some dance music while packing. Almost done, we took a break and sat on the bed. She showed me designer magazines and tons of different paint samples for our house. I loved the dark colors. Kaylee wanted pastel colors. They were pretty, but they reminded me of the dream I had in school.

  As she was talking about some guy she liked at her job, I saw a picture laying on the floor, sticking out from under a teddy be
ar in the corner of the room. I walked over and picked it up. It was Kaylee hugging an older man when she was younger.

  “Hey, who is this?”

  She got up and smacked it out of my hand. “Leave it there!” she shouted. “I don’t want it.”

  I flinched and stepped back. “Is that your dad?”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “If you want to call him that.”

  I hugged her, but she stood there with her arms at her sides. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked carefully.

  “He left us for another family when I was eight,” she mumbled and stormed out the door.

  I could hear the sorrow in her voice, so I ran after her and stood in front of her before she went downstairs. “What? Is he still alive? You told me he died.”

  “I’m sorry I lied to you all these years. I was embarrassed.” She hugged me tightly, crying on my shoulder. It was gut-wrenching to hear and see her that way.

  “It’s okay. I will never leave you, ever.”

  Kaylee wiped her tears using her shirt. “I hate what he has done!” she shouted and then started to laugh. “Do you want to pack some more stuff up?”

  “Sure,” I replied.

  After another half hour, she walked me out to my car. “Good luck with the interview.”

  “Thanks. Love ya, Sis.”

  She smiled. “Love ya, too.”

  Those three words brought life back to her beautiful face.

  On my way there, I began to tear up again. I guess Kaylee’s emotional status had worn off on me. I felt bad for her. Also, I was somewhat excited to move out, but I knew I would miss my parents a lot.

  I pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant and sat there for a while. With an hour still left, I walked to the coffee shop next door where I used to work and got a medium iced coffee. I was hoping to see a familiar face, but they were all new, so no freebies. As I approached the table, a handsome man, a few years older than me, eyed me up and down as I sat down in the corner near the window. I turned my back to him, looking at people driving by.

  I felt like he was still watching me, so I turned around to look and caught him gawking at me. As our eyes met, he quickly looked away and took his phone out of his jean pocket and started looking at it.

  I looked at my phone, trying to act busy. Only seconds had passed, but I couldn’t resist, so I peeked over my shoulder again to take another look. I could see the outline of his muscular body through the white shirt he was wearing.

  With no warning, a rush of hormones raced through my body, causing me to lick my lips as I observed his perfection.

  He caught me and grinned.

  I swiftly turned around and waited for a minute before viewing him again. He probably thought I was acting desperate, but I didn’t care, so I examined him for the third time.

  He held my gaze and opened his mouth, almost as if he wanted to say something to me.

  His powerful green eyes reminded me of Mihnea’s. I felt like I was stalking him, so I glanced at the time on my phone.

  “Oh, crap.” I didn’t realize how long I’d been sitting there.

  I rushed up, hitting my coffee with my elbow and knocking it over onto the floor. I noticed from the corner of my eye that he was headed in my direction.

  “Do you need help?” he asked.

  I looked up at him and smiled.

  A female worker rushed over. “I’ll clean it up.”

  The man took a napkin off the table and handed it to me. “Here, you got coffee on your blouse.”

  “I do?” I looked down, trying desperately to wipe it off, but it was stained. “I guess it will have to do. Have we met before?” I asked him.

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, sorry. Thanks for your help. I gotta run.”

  I walked out the door, with him following me.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, as I headed toward my car.

  “Viata.”

  “That’s a beautiful name.”

  I blushed. “Thank you.”

  “I’m Constin Silivassi.”

  “Do you live around here?”

  “No, I’m here helping my father. He’s an architect.”

  “Oh, cool. Where are you from?”

  “Miami.”

  “Nice.” I saw a woman coming out of the restaurant. “I don’t mean to cut it short, but I have a job interview in five minutes.”

  “This late?”

  “Yes, I know it’s weird, but yes.”

  “Good luck,” he said.

  I didn’t respond because I was too busy climbing into the back seat of my car, using the light on my phone so I could see. I threw everything around looking for another blouse to put on. When I found a sweater, I climbed out from the back seat and blew my hair out of my face.

  “I found something,” I said, as I looked all around, but he was gone. “Typical men.” I walked into the restaurant.

  The manager named Bruce hired me right on the spot, only because he knew me from next door. He asked me if I could come in on Monday for orientation. I happily agreed, and he handed me a black apron.

  When I got back into my car, I texted Kaylee and told her I got the job. She called me right away, screaming with excitement.

  CHAPTER NINE

  HOME SWEET HOME

  Sunday, December 10, 2017, we moved into our new house on Kaylee’s birthday. The first night there, Liam came over, and we stayed up all night long, eating pizza and cake while painting the living room teal with white trim. I got to pick the colors for the kitchen, so I chose a beautiful dark gray, also with white trim. I wanted it to match the stainless-steel appliances.

  While we were painting the living room, Kaylee decided to come up behind me and paint the back of my shirt.

  “Kaylee, you jerk,” I shouted.

  Liam laughed.

  She ran away from me and stood in the corner, holding the paintbrush up like a sword, ready to fight.

  I started to laugh as I pointed at her face. It was red as an apple. “Time for a makeover,” I said, and dipped my brush into the teal paint.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, hell no,” she screeched and gunned it into the kitchen.

  Liam ran after her and held her down for me as I painted her until she was all teal, except for her eyes of course. It was so hilarious that I almost peed myself.

  Kaylee and I looked at each other than at Liam. “Your turn,” I said, and we chased him around the house until we cornered him in the bathroom.

  “I hate the green in here, don’t you Kaylee?”

  “Yeah, let's paint it teal to match the living room.”

  “No,” Liam shouted as he shielded his face from our paint brushes. “This is my new Under Armor outfit.”

  “Will buy you a new one,” Kaylee said and started painting him all over.

  I crossed my legs, trying not to pee then joined in the paint fight.

  After we were done making a huge mess, we used all the paper towels to clean it up and went upstairs to decorate the loft area. It looked awesome after we hung some billiard pictures up. We just needed a pool table to match.

  A few days after we settled in, our parents got together and surprised us with a new white leather couch and love seat. They also got us a large iron coffee table with matching end tables. Oh, and let me not forget the tall crystal glass lamps too. We loved it.

  My room wasn’t painted yet, because Dad said he wanted to help me.

  Since I couldn’t paint dark colors out in the living area, I decided to bring the darkness into my room. I wanted black paint but ended up getting maroon with gold trim and even bought thick drapes to match.

  Mom and Dad came over, and Ms. Ashfield soon after. They wanted to help us. Mom and Ms. Ashfield asked to decorate the kitchen, so Kaylee and I let them.

  Dad helped me paint my room and hung pictures of the Carpathian Mountains up.

  Kaylee came into my room. “Wow! this is awesome!” she said.

  I smi
led, but she seemed sad, so I walked over to a gold-framed picture I had with colorful flowers on it.

  “Here, I want you to have this.”

  “Oh my gosh. Thank you. Are you sure?”

  I nodded.

  Dad looked my way, with Kaylee’s back facing him, and winked at me.

  After he finished, Dad walked into Kaylee’s room and hung the pictures on the wall for her. I stayed in my room, so they could talk and get to know one another. I wanted her to experience the same feeling I had of being loved. A lot of laughing came from her room, and it made me smile.

  After we were all done, we ordered Chinese and sat at the table in the kitchen, laughing. My parents and Ms. Ashfield talked about lawyer stuff while Kaylee and I stuffed our face.

  ***

  Two days had passed, and everything was perfect. Going to school during the day and working nights at the restaurant, wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. I was making pretty good tips to pay for my upcoming bills, leaving me extra.

  I couldn’t get my mind off Mihnea, and now Constin. I knew Mihnea was just an illusion, so I thought more about Constin. With Constin, I felt terrible that I had been too busy trying to find a shirt instead of at least saying goodbye. He’d probably gone back to Miami, thinking I was rude.

  I arrived home from school and yawned nonstop, so I decided to take a nap on the couch before work.

  The rainfall hitting the roof was relaxing, causing me to pass out.

  In what seemed like only minutes, someone was shaking me. I sat up and saw Kaylee standing over me.

  “Don’t you have to be at work in fifteen minutes?”

  “Oh, crap. I’m going to be late for my shift,” I said as I jumped up. I grabbed my phone and keys next to me. “See ya later,” I shouted as I closed the front door.

  Stopping at almost every red light had me cursing like a trucker, but after I pulled into the restaurant, I smiled because I was right on time. As I got out, the rain was coming down, so I used my apron to shield my head.

  It was a slow night, so I sat at a booth, watching the rain lash the building relentlessly and the lightning light up the sky. The wind was blowing tree branches and debris around the parking lot.