Realize (PUBLISHED)

Realize (23)

Dedicated to browneyedkiddo because she cheered me up on Twitter the other day. Your tweet was really kind. :)

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A couple of days have passed since the Sky Deviants' gig.

Maxine was sound asleep in her room when her dream was disturbed by Alex’s screaming outside her room.

“What's the matter?” groaned Maxine groggily. She got up from the bed and went to the living room to see what the commotion was all about.

Natalie was lining up suitcases at the center of the room. When she looked up, she saw Maxine standing in front of her still in pajamas.

“Mom, what's going on?” asked Maxine.

“Oh!” gasped Natalie. “Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I forgot to inform you.”

Maxine frowned in confusion. “Inform me about what?”

“We’re going to Seattle for the Holidays,” answered Natalie casually. “Our flight is today. Your things are already packed, so all you need to do is take a shower and get dressed. We’re leaving in about . . .” She paused to look at her watch, “an hour. I was just about to wake you.”

Maxine's eyes widened. Well, that was surely a lot to take in. But either she was used to her mother's surprises or she was too sleepy to care.

“Do we have relatives in Seattle?” she asked her mother, rubbing her eyes as she turned to walk back to her room.

“The Samuels have.”

All the sleepiness Maxine felt left her. She sharply turned to her Mom, thinking she might have heard wrong. No, she was certain she heard wrong.

“We’ve been invited to spend the Holidays there with them,” said Natalie a-matter-of-factly, when she noticed Maxine's questionable look.

“And you didn't bother to tell me sooner?” asked Maxine incredulously.

Natalie indignantly looked at Maxine. “Why, I didn't think it would be such a big deal. I thought you and Todd are getting on well.”

That's an overstatement, thought Maxine.

She sighed and returned to her room. As she was taking a shower, her mother’s words replayed over and over again in her head.

“The Samuels have . . . We’ve been invited to spend the Holidays there with them . . . I thought you and Todd are getting on well.”

It was quite a scary thought if you think about the fact that it meant she was going to spend the entire vacation with Todd Samuels. Part of her seemed happy, though.

Now that she thought about it, she was really happy. She actually found herself looking forward to the trip.Imagine, she was going to spend the whole vacation with Todd . . . without anyone from the gang . . . without anyone from school.

Just like the time when they went to the Empire State Building together. And the time when he rescued her in Brooklyn. Also, that time afterward when they were in the car and he gave her flowers . . . and he smiled.

Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, just thinking about his breathtaking smile. Knowing that somehow, she was the reason for it . . .

She leaned on the bathroom sink for support, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. She noticed herself panting and sweating.

No . . . No way . . . Absolutely no . . .

But yes.

She finally got it. It slowly popped into her head, like pieces of puzzle that were finally coming together.