Love, curves and heartbreak Chapter 29

My life was good, really good. I feel... happy. Happier that ever.

I was invited to the Fairfax's house and I have to admit... I was dying to seeing Ethan, Bur first I was in bridesmaid's duties.

"Here you go!" says Lily excited, placing big boxes full pf pictures.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you keep all of this" says Tommy.

And it's true. The Fairfaxes are the kind of people who loves to take photos to remember every moment of the family.

The wedding coordinator proposed to Lily the idea of displaying a slideshow on a screen featuring images and videos capturing moments from their childhood, teenage years, and various stages of the bride and groom's lives, showcasing their family and close friends. It was a lovely idea.

There were boxes and boxes of photos, albums, and other memorabilia, including Lily, Ethan, Tommy, my sister, and me. It's incredible how many moments we spend together, birthdays, Thanksgivings, holidays and vacations

I had such a wonderful time with them. I guess my mom must have been very busy with two girls and a business to run, so she left us in the loving care of this family.

In some, I'm with Tommy, and most of the time I'm with Ethan. It seems that part of me has erased all of this from my mind.

I realize all the time we spent together, and many memories come back to me when I see these little pieces of paper.

There are photos of us in Halloween costumes, at school plays, on vacation at their beach house.

Lily and Caroline are always together.

It's magical how something so simple, so fragile can contain a moment of our lives and how easily it takes us back to that exact moment.

"Ohhhh that photo is so adorable!" Maggie exclaims from behind me, looking at the photo I hold in my hand.

"Let me see!" Caroline says, and the moment she realizes that she is not there and "it's Priscilla," she loses interest.

"My Ethan loved to taking you trick-or-treating every Halloween night. You used to be very scared, so he tells you that he was a knight who had to take care of his princess," Maggie says with a smile.

I remember now. The photo is adorable. A little Ethan, dressed in a black jumpsuit with a full-length bone-like design, holding my hand, I have a costume just like his. I remember it was Lily's, she didn't want it, and secretly I was thrilled to look like him.

I can see how he took my hand and didn't let anyone bother me. He was so kind, calming me down if someone scared me or if the decorations of the houses seemed too realistic.

Many times we would even take a long walk because a house seemed particularly scary to me. And he always, always made sure I had more candy than anyone else. I fell silly, but he really cared about me.

I had forgotten that.

"You were shy and adorable and wouldn't let go of his hand for anything in the world.

Your mom stayed calm because you were well taken care of. You to were inseparable" Maggie says, and I am speechless.

"We were..." I mutter. Times changes... and suddenly, we are back.

"Oh! Look at this Prissy!" Tommy says and we see a special package of photos.

We were always busy doing silly things!

Tommy and I made a snowman, but instead of a carrot and a scarf, we put dry leaves and twigs on it.

It looked more like a scarecrow.

"Look at this one!" I say. We were playing in a pool in the summer. I remember him trying to teach me how to swim, and the truth is, I never learned.

We have another one, dancing while listening to pop music, the boy band of the moment. I think we both had the same favorite singer. I remember how we laughed until late and learned their choreography. He is such a good dancer.

"We looks so happy.." I say almost in a whisper. I realize how many wonderful moments I have spent with this family, with these people, in this house. Even with Ethan.

"Do you recall when we both begged our mothers to buy us the same shoes as the lead singer of that band? We cried until we had no tears left," he reminisces, and we share a hearty laugh, collapsing onto the floor together.

"How can I forget? Of course, my mom didn't buy them for me, but you gave them to me for my next birthday. I used them every day at school until they ran out," I tell him happily. Ohhh the best memories!

"We sent photos to each other every day to prove that we were wearing the same shoes" he tells Maggie.

"Ohhh you were so cute together!" She laughs and gestures at us as if we're hopeless.

"I love you, Tommy," I say, hugging him.

"And I love you, Babe,"

Together we unload all the boxes and begin the massive task of helping Lily choose some photos for her wedding. Of course her photos are beautiful, Lily has grown from an extremely beautiful and adorable girl to a gorgeous woman.

Some of the pictures depict her wearing roller skates or riding a pink bike adorned with pompoms. Others capture her in her gymnastics uniform, dancing, swimming at the beach, embracing Ethan while holding his hand on the first day of school, proudly displaying her diploma as the top student of the year, embarking on family trips to Europe, and more, portraying an ideal life.

One photo in particular leaves me speechless, it's from her high school graduation. She is beaming in her prom dress, and Ethan and Tommy are on either side of her.

I remember that day.

I was with Caroline... but I left quickly to avoid seeing him. Seeing Ethan as a teenager makes me sick to my stomach.

God... he's as cute as I remember him, his blond hair a little long, his clothes baggy, his face serious. That's how he looked the last time I saw him, until he came back into my life a few weeks ago.

He asked us to talk, to go out to dinner, to get into my life. By then, we'd slept together twice, if you don't count the make-out session in the dry-cleaner's a few days ago. Believe... it was amazing.

It's like I've traveled back in time, jumping from horrible times to an Ethan who hated me...to an Ethan who wants me...physically.

So I question myself... What happened to all the years we didn't see each other? Where we didn't know about each other? Did they suddenly disappear?

Those awful high school days, I often felt stressed, dreading going to class, agonizing over what to wear each day, and shedding tears when my classmates said hurtful things to me.

The more teenage pictures I come across, the worse I feel. Lily and Caroline always looked stunning in the latest fashion trends and were the most popular girls in school. Ethan excelled academically and was also a talented runner, proudly displaying numerous medals and trophies in one photo.

As always, Tommy appeared lighthearted and carefree, always joking around. And then there's me... I seem to be absent from all the photos. It's as if I had an aversion to cameras or cell phones, always evading them.

"Hey, here's one of your birthdays!" Tommy says as if he can read my mind. I remember this birthday, I was thirteen or fourteen years old.

The photo is not the best, there is a table with a cake, surrounded by all of them. I'm in the middle and I look... like a normal girl. Yes... that was me, but is not how I remember myself.

Even cute, my hair down, a t-shirt with flowers, some bracelets with different colors, my face looks young, but it's already changing.

I can't believe it, I really looked good. I spent so many years hating myself, and yet... I think the girl in the photo was perfectly normal, like any other girl of that age.

She wasn't thin, of course... but she was healthy and happy. I am about to blow out my birthday candle. Next to me is Tommy with his arm around my shoulder.

On the other side is... Ethan. He is looking at me with that sideways smile that I love so much. I hadn't noticed the look he was giving me. His looks is intense.

"What did I miss?" I hear a voice that startles me. Obviously it's him. He approaches the table where we are sitting. He stands in front of me and gives me the same smile. It affects me exactly as if I were a teenager.

"Ahhh traveling in time" says Maggie.

Suddenly, everyone is showing the best photos they found. I prefer the one of Lily gymnastics and riding a bike. Caroline insists that they must include all the ones in which she appears.

"Ahhh you two were impossible!" Lily mentions when Tommy picks several where we go out joking.

Ethan seems bitter about the comments and memories our close friendship brings up.

"I vote for this one," Ethan says when it's his turn.

It is one of the first photos... we were really young.

He is holding Lily on one side and me on the other. I was a baby, and he's looking at me as if to see if I'm okay.

"I like it because... I'm with my favorite girls," he says, making my heart jump.

"Then I should be too, Ethan!" my sister says with a smug voice, but nobody pays attention to her.

Ethan stares at several of the pictures, smiling happily, especially at one where we are both playing in the sand in my aforementioned sand castle. He slowly approaches me, and without taking his eyes off the photos, he whispers to me.

"My princess and her castle..." he says, touching the picture, and I sigh.

"I remember..." I say and he smiles.

"Would my princess accept an invitation...?"

"What kind of invitation?"

"Well you know... there is an agreement, and I was thinking to meet tomorrow at my apartment? The invitation include dinner and... other activities if you agree, of course. Very entertained activities. I bet you will be... satisfied" he whispers and I gasp.

I sigh and nod slightly as he looks at me with a grin.

"I'm looking forward to having you, my Princess... you have no idea how much"