Oyster is in the kitchen helping my mom out and Roxy and I go through whatever I bought for the gallery one by one. We can hear my mom and Oyster conversing and my mom is laughing at some dry joke Oyster just made. Roxy rolls her eyes. "Oh, I got new paint brushes too," I tell Roxy and she thanks me. "You're a life saver. We still need to sit down and discuss the upcoming exhibition. There's alot we need to do and I just can't stop thinking about all the things that are ahead of us. Planning of the date, inviting guests and so much more. I think I'm going to have a headache," she whines and I pat her back. "Relax, everything will turn out great. John Pierre is always ready to assist in any way and you know I've always got your back, sis. Anyway, is Vic passing by? It's been a long time since I saw him," I say thinking of the last time I actually saw Roxy's brother. About a week ago I guess. Roxy sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know if he'll pass by. He's been quite busy with

"Oh my God. What was his reaction? Didn't he notice that you were still a virgin?" I ask, my tone louder than intended. "He just shrugged. He said that I wasn't the only one who had lost my virginity that night and... my heart just sank to the bottom of my stomach. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I cried but he only stared at me, and dragged himself out of the room," she begins sobbing. "So you mean that he was also a virgin at that time?" I ask and she shakes her head. "No. When he said that I wasn't the only one who lost my virginity that night, he meant that other girls at the frat party had lost their virginity too, so it wasn't that big of a deal, and that I was overreacting." She pats her cheeks with the tissues and sighs heavily. "The audacity! That guy is insane. Why would anyone do that or even say what he did? What the hell! The guy sexually assaulted you! That's a crime. Tell me you reported it to the police," Roxy says and Sabrina shakes her head for the umpteent

A thick air of awkwardness is floating around us and it makes me so uncomfortable. "This is awkward. Uhm... Why don't we talk about your inspiration and story behind this piece of art, shall we?" I ask her and she agrees by nodding her head rapidly. I signal her to follow me to some seats and we make ourselves comfortable. "Alright. Well as you can see, the lady in this painting is in a dark street, which represents her life and the street lamp represents the little hope that she has to hold on to, to survive. The black umbrella represents her burdens which she carries along with her and clearly you can see that she isn't happy at all. But the little glow in her heart, is the little faith that she has left. She... She's... Me. I got myself into a very bad state and just when I thought I couldn't take it any more, someone told me that there's more to life than just pain and self destruction. I held on to the little faith I had. And hoped that things would get better. I'm glad things

"Help me get Kyrah to the couch," Mrs. Bailey says and we carry her inside. Scott follows us inside, quietly, he looks quite different. He's wearing a confused look. Why isn't he saying anything? He's walking with the help of one crutch. I find myself staring at him for a while and he clears his throat. Out of nowhere, tears begin to sting my eyes and in seconds, I'm crying like a little child as I run to him and hug him tightly. "Where have you been all these years? We thought you were dead and... Oh my God, look at you!" He stays quiet. "Why isn't he saying anything?" I ask the lady who looks like Scott. His eyes and hers are the same color, their hair too. "I'm so sorry we met this way. I am Katherine Stone. Scott's mother. You must be Mrs. Bailey and you, Roxy," she says humbly. My mouth opens up but no words come out. Mrs. Bailey is busy fanning Kyrah and I quickly open all the windows. I notice that Scott is still standing and so is his mom. "Please, have a seat. We'll t

When the door is locked and they are finally outside, Snow walks into the living room and happily jumps on Scott."Is this your dog?" Scott asks and it takes all the strength in me not to cry because he doesn't remember who Snow is."Yeah. His name is Snow. You always loved giving him belly rubs and he loved licking your face at times," I say and as if on cue, Snow licks his face and barks.Scott chuckles warmly and I find myself smiling while looking at him."He seems like a nice dog," he says while patting Snow's head."He is," I say and then... our eyes lock. He puts Snow down on the carpet and he sits straight and sighs. His fingers are tapping his thighs. "You have been appearing in so many of my dreams for the past few months. If... you don't mind me asking... were you like... my girlfriend?" he asks and I swear I did not see that coming.It takes me a minute to respond to his question."No," I say and swallow dryly, "I wasn't. We were actually the best of friends and apparentl