Maxine

Elena.

Some people have a natural beauty charm, both from the inside and outside. You could say that Maxine is one of those kind of people. It was like she had such a sensitive sense that she could tell what others were feeling, no matter what they said. Maxine is always more concerned about others than herself. Sometimes she even cared little for herself, and that was very much concerning.

It had been five years since she had been gone. Five years was not a short time to leave, it was a long time. She left so unexpectedly that sometimes it felt as if we did not say goodbye at all. In most cases, we actually did not say goodbye.

Each of her birthdays has always been a joyous occasion. Even if anything, I liked it more than my own birthday. Then we would go get an ice cream, as much as she was not fond of anything that contained any lactose. And then, she would take me for a run, despite the fact that I tripped and she had much better things to do.

But today, things are getting less and less joyous.

Both of my parents have already gone to work. They let me just keep staying at home. But I figured it would be better to distract them than to deal with what had happened. And on top of that, Zayn had also gone out with his friends, trying to find a way to distract himself.

Meanwhile, Jane and Sasha also looked down, so they decided to have a sleepover. They kept asking me every year to join them for a sleepover, but I always turned them down. But of course, each of us has our own way of dealing with it, and mine is a bit more of a solitary act.

Today I was waking up a bit later than usual. My body felt heavy as I came to realize what day it was, and I could not get out of bed for a long time. My head was still in a daze, my mind was drifting back to that day. It was as if she had died, when in fact I was sure that she had not actually died.

It seemed that my dog, Gummy was not affected by my troubles at all, he kept barking right outside of the door to force me to get to my feet and get out of bed. Once I got to the door, he immediately stopped barking and looked at me with his big puppy dog eyes.

"Does it have to be like that?" I cooed as I bent down to pick him up in my arms. Then I held him to my chest, sighing as I tried to clear my head.

When I came down to the stairs, I quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal and started thinking about what I was going to do. Most of the time all I did was grumble all day, which seemed to be my plan once again.

Letting out a deep breath, I took a look around me, while trying to get inspired. Just as I was about to give up, the door to my backyard somehow caught my attention.

Yeah, how cool the air was. Like a natural healing medicine... I guess.

My backyard is medium-sized, with a white wooden fence bordering it. There was a patio when we stepped out of the door, which had a few outdoor chairs, with a place to grill, and a fireplace. There were several wild trees with their shade shading the outermost part of the backyard, and there was a treehouse located in the biggest tree.

I took a seat on one of the lounge chairs while basking in the sun letting out a long sigh. Maybe I just needed some time to relax and pamper myself.

Needless to say, I was not very good at relaxing by nature, so I opened up my eyes to look around. The leaves had almost all fallen from the trees, which made the ground appear more colorful. There was a breeze, which felt cold, making my goosebumps shiver. It seems like this was not the best idea after all.

While trying to brush it off, I looked around again. From across the street, I could see Killian's house, its backyard clearly visible. It looks pretty shabby, having been abandoned for so long. A satisfied hum escaped from inside my mouth as I twisted my lips to form a smile while closing my eyes once more and tilting my head towards the sun.

It suits him perfectly, doesn't it? The man with that overbearing act.

I remained seated like that for a while before I started looking around again. My gaze finally fell on my treehouse. After all, my parents built it when my brother was little, so I had no idea when it was not there.

But even so, I had not been in the treehouse for many years, which was a pretty dull experience when I was growing up. Getting up from my chair, I took a step slowly toward the direction of the tree and then looked up.

Sure enough, the younger me had tied the rope to the treehouse, thinking it would be more fun to climb the tree.

Letting out an irritated sigh, I held on to one of the branches and started to climb to the top. My feet treaded in familiar grooves, and my mind seemed to fill in the blanks. In a short time, I finally managed to climb the tree, and even though I struggled to open the door, I was eventually able to do so.

The treehouse was small, much smaller than I remembered. Or maybe it was because I was getting taller. "Come on, you are not even twelve anymore," Lexi muttered to me. I shook my head, pulled myself into the treehouse, and closed the door and latch.

There was a small wooden hole that served as a window, with homemade shutters that locked to prevent insects from entering. Oak shelves were neatly arranged on the walls, with various toys and books placed on them. There was a draped hammock chair, a pink flower-print carpet, and a small bed placed under the shelves.

Once I sat down on the bed, I rubbed my hands over the blanket. In the past, this place was Maxine's, her home away from home. It seemed like her being in this bed was hers.

Then I get to my feet from the floral blanket and take a look at the things lined up on the wall. A One Direction Boy Band album, a CD from Justin Bieber, and a pair of too small and fake boots. There was a smile on my lips, putting me in a good mood. Maybe this was a good idea.

Well, I stayed in the treehouse for a few minutes, going through everything I could find. Once I had seen everything and put a few treasured items into my pockets, I decided it was the perfect time to leave.

But before I could move, something caught my eye under Maxine's bed.