Love Shots

Leave Me If You Love Me

"Seen it with my own eyes

How we're getting otherwise

Don't got the luxury of leaving..."

My fingers thrummed against the windowsill to the beat of the song as I mouthed the lyrics. I didn't normally stay quiet during a car ride, but given the circumstance of who I was riding with, I kept my mouth shut.

"Are you just going to sit there-" I knew he was smirking, I could sense it. Just how I could sense that his blue eyes were sparkling sardonically.

"Just shut up" I spat.

He knew exactly why I was pissed, and I wasn't ashamed to hide my irritation. Being nice to him, would actually give him the satisfaction he wanted rather than my current annoyance to his trying to get under my skin. Because me trying to be nice would only serve in showing him that I was trying to put an effort at ignoring what he was trying to do since he knows fully well that I know him, which would somehow make him more irritating than he already was.

Too tired to deal with his crap, I distracted myself by looking out the window. After a few minutes, my mind trailed off into a distant memory.

"Shhh You can't do that" I whispered with a giggle. I full on laughed when he nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. His response was muffled and only succeeded in tickling me more. I tried wiggling out of his arms, my neck and stomach couldn't handle his teasing any longer and my heart was just about ready to burst into flames by his actions and touch.

He was a fire that I was stupid enough to play with. I knew of the consequences, but overlook them because of my naiveté. I believed wrongly and was deluded to false hope.

I pulled my feet onto the seat and wrapped my arms around my legs. Just because I was stupid then, doesn't mean I will make the same mistake again. Not that I'd have a chance to.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked casually. My skin crawled from his gaze. I knew he was looking at me again.

I wanted nothing more than to be out of this car and far away from him. And the last thing I wanted to do was to have small talk with him. I wanted to ignore him and pretend it wasn't him in the car with me. But of course, he would be the type of person that wouldn't let a question drop without any type of verbal response.

"Screw you" I muttered. I laid my head against the window then shifted to lay my head against the crook of the headrest and chair.

"Rina-" My chest tightened painfully when I heard his voice. It was different than his usual sarcastic lilt. But it was what he said that made me see red.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT!" I seethed.

It got worse.

My eyes honed in at the hateful smirk plastered on his face. A laugh escaped my lips. It wasn't a humorous laugh. It was a sick one that tied together with his sick joke.

"Pull over" The tone of my voice surprised me. Apparently it surprised him also, since the corner of his lip tilted down so that his lips were pressed into a line.

"I said pull over" I repeated in the same tone.

I couldn't stand him any longer. I could care less about the situation that forced us into the same car in the first place.

"Enough Arina" his voice was hard. My eyes narrowed into slits and I sure as hell was contemplating murder at this point.

"I said pull over!" My temper got the best of me again.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and was about to open the door, when the car swerved right knocking me into the door as it cut off all the speeding cars. Horns blared as the angry drivers sped passed our car. I'll tell you one thing. No one seemed angrier than he did considering the scalding look he was sending me that was masked under his calm expression.

He turned his attention back to the freeway and continued to drive. I got the silence I wanted, but I never felt so ashamed in my life.

Silence ensued, and the freeway was replaced with a dirt road surrounded by empty fields with the occasional cattle or horses.

After two more hours, I heard him softly break the silence.

"Do you hate me that much?"

I wouldn't have heard it. I shouldn't have heard it. But him being him and his voice being just another part of him, there was no way I could've not heard it.

I opened my mouth to speak but clamped it shut. I didn't need to say useless things anymore.

Instead of responding, I just glared out the window at nothing in particular. We were almost there that's all that mattered.

"Arina! I'm so glad you made it! Mark! Thank you for bringing her" My grandma exclaimed when she opened the door. After pulling me in for a welcoming hug, I asked her, "Where is she? How's the baby?"
My sister had the brilliant idea of giving birth at home rather than inside a hospital. There was really no explanation, considering my sister was my sister and her decisions were just that.

I turned to see Mark disappear into the hallway. It was obvious where he was going.

"She's in the room resting. Oh the cute little thing wouldn't stop crying and crying but it quieted down and is now sleeping too. Such a darling little thing. Come! Let's go take a peek" she smiled warmly. Her hair was slightly a mess and I saw that her cheeks were red most likely because of her exertion and effort to help my sister during labor.

Ignoring my conscious, I followed her into the hallway.

My heart clenched at the scene in front of me. There on the bed lay my sister sleeping against Mark's chest. He was looking at her lovingly while playing with a strand of her hair. I shouldn't have come. I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked around for my nephew. He was the reason I was here. The baby was in the arms of my aunt who was cooing at it just about ready to hand it to Mark. His face was radiant as he looked at his son. Pride and joy filled his eyes. My heart stung.

"Arina?" My pain immediately dissipated at the sound of her voice and all my attention was solely on her. I ran to her.

"You made it" she smiled through tears.

"Yea I did" I smiled. Just like my sister, happy tears streamed down my face as the situation finally dawned on me. I was an aunt. My nephew was just born.

"Here take him" Mark whispered. Tears of his own shone as he handed me his son. It was so hard to look at him and to feel his happiness, but all my hatred dissipated once I looked at the little bundle held in front of me.

He was lighter than I expected. I looked down and felt my heart swell. His eyes were shut tight and his olive skin was tinged with a shade of pink.

He was beautiful. Just like his parents.
I smiled happily at my sister and Mark. We all were smiling with snot and tears all over our faces. It was actually kind of funny considering the baby was still tears and snot free.

I looked at his face. Damn. I'm an aunt. Moments passed. Arina fell asleep, peacefully, in Mark's arms. And, I was still holding the baby. He was so adorable. There was no doubt in my mind that he would be a looker when he grew up. But there was something funny about his name that I couldn't place my finger on.
I jumped a little when the baby let out a small hiccup. He was just too cute.

"Jared...huh...You look like a David to me" I teased as I poked his chubby cheek.