PARTY pt1

                                                                         Allianna

Saturday March 11^th 1988, my thirteenth birthday party. I’m wearing a yellow dress with bright pumps, purple was the color. I hear the sounds of people outside of my window preparing the party. The day was sunny, not a cloud in the sky. In my room was a bed in front of me, to my right the doors out to the balcony. Behind me there is my closet and bathroom. I start to feel nervous my father was coming to the party and I haven’t seen him in three months. I sit at my vanity to begin to fix my hair. Thick and black, and went down just below my shoulders. I put a white and yellow bow on the left side of my hair, and smile at myself in the mirror. “Allianna, it’s time for you to come down” the sound of my mothers’ voice always made me feel strange. “Coming mom.” I look at myself one more time in the mirror, before walking out of my room and down the stairs. As I make my way closer to the kitchen, I hear a familiar deep voice, I immediately began running towards the kitchen. “Daddy!” I screamed as I jumped into his arms. While in his arms I start to think back to the day three months ago….

“I’m leaving, for good.” I hear as I watch hidden in the closet as my dad packs his bags to leave. “Why are you doing this to me Manny, to us?” my mother asked, a clear since of sadness in her voice. He didn’t respond, he just continued packing. As his hands get closer to the back of the closet where I was hiding I began to panic. He reaches for something else, but reaches me instead. “Come here Princess.” His voice soft, sensitive. By this point my mother had already left the room. I was crying, he picked me up and carried me the few feet to the foot of the bed. I rest my head on his chest as I sit in his lap. “I love you, and I always will no matter what. You know that, right?” I couldn’t speak, I simply shook my head yes. He held my tightly as the few stray tears fell from my eyes. I looked up at him, “Why are you leaving? Did I do something wrong?” the look in his eyes was something I never seen; the look in my fathers’ eyes at that moment was hurt, pain, and anger all at once. “Listen, you have done nothing wrong, and this is between your mother and I it has nothing to do with you.” At this point I was angry “Nothing to do with me!?” I quickly spat back, he look at me shocked I never raised my voice at him. “You’re leaving me here with her, and there’s nothing I can do about it!” I jumped up and went to my room, and watched from my window as he drove away….

My thoughts were interrupted by my fathers’ voice “Hello, I said how are things going with school been?” he said with a slight chuckle “Oh sorry, but things are great, amazing even.” I lied, truth is I hated school. I loved learning just not in the structured classroom setting. We sat around the island in the kitchen conversing, until my mother came into the kitchen, I instantly stopped talking.  To say it was awkward was an understatement. “well I really should make sure everything going good with the party.” I made up an excuse as I left out of the kitchen and back to my room.

                                                                      MANNY

I watched as Ally left the kitchen. There was an awkward silence until she spoke “How are things?” I hate it when she does that, pretends everything’s alright when it clearly isn’t. “Things are alright,” I lied “How are things with you April?” “Oh, you know, the usual. Just keeping up with Allianna.” She smiled as she said her name, I always wondered how she was able to have such a clear mind, even though what we did was so bad. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. How’s everything going with her dance?” “She’s still dancing, she seems to have lost some of the passion ever since you left, she says she still loves it though.” I nodded in response. “Well I’m going to check on Alli, make yourself at home.” She smiled again as she left the room. I was relieved when she left. When I’m around her, it makes me remember all those years ago and it makes me sick to my stomach.

                                                                           April

I made my way out of the kitchen as I walked up the stairs to Alliannas’ room. I knocked as I entered to her lying on her bed with her IPod in her ears. She sits up and looks at me as I sat at the foot of her bed. “Hey, are you ready for your big day today?” She smiles “I guess, I mean I’m excited about seeing everyone in the same place at the same time. I just don’t really like all the attention.” I forced a smile, I hated that she was still so much like her, that she looked so much like her. “Good, well I’ll leave you to get ready.” She smiled small as I walked out of the room. I headed down the hallway towards my room. I’m going to get to the bottom of that, I know she knows something and I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of it.