The strong arms that had lifted me from my spot on the outdoors couch were much warmer than my dew soaked clothes. I had rested my head against the person as if they were a strong hold, keeping me impenetrable. I wanted to open my eyes and look up at the masterpiece before me that was greater than anything I'd ever created with a pen or paint. I wanted to see the person whom somehow I knew by the feeling of their arms and the rhythm of their breath. It was an easy thing for me to see with my eyes closed that it was him.
I hadn't truly ever wondered. How would my life change just as quickly as a shooting star was to pass? I had realized in my dreams that night that I was going to win a prize that tore me away from someone who I had never known pure hate from. I would win and I would lose. And that was the piece of my puzzle that terrified me.
That entire next week I had avoided my brother and tread on the conversations with gentle care. I could tell that he feared the loss of his best friend. I could tell he was entirely mortified by the look in my eyes that I was going to lose something.
I could see that she had found it too. They had been speaking to each other -him and her. Her best friend and the one whom was currently in the lead of a race to the top of my thoughts. He was the only one who with a single step was able to win the race of thought. And she knew that. So she tried and tried. She tried to keep me sane when every night I would be torn from my sleep by nightmares that would be a normal dream to someone. But to me the scene of my angry brother glaring at his once best friend would scare me so much I could not stay asleep. I nearly broke into tears one night from the dream. I was losing sleep. The bags under my eyes grew tremendously. She had grown concerned. I could hear her hushed conversations with either of the boys.
The day came that my parents left for their week long trip. And I was left with my fears and nightmares and loss of rest. Katie had turned to giving her Melatonin to me to get me to fall to sleep. It was one morning that I had actually slept through the night that I walked down the stairs to see Jack and Carson actually getting along. The weight of the fears and worries lifted from my shoulders as Carson noticed me behind Jack's shoulder and smiled at me. Jack spun and plastered a smile on his face.
"Goodmorning, sleeping beauty." Carson joked. I blushed slightly.
"Morning," I groggily replied. I tested my luck, fearing the bullets that I thought would be shot from Jack's eyes, instead of an answer. " Hey Jack, where's Katie?" I questioned him.
"She went to the store." He answered in a way that signaled a white flag in the process of rising. He was growing warmer to me now just as he was Carson. I anticipated their presence in the same room together so much that you would think they were a set of matches and some fireworks. I knew I had to be careful otherwise they would be set off into a fight. And that was something I could not handle.
I made myself an easy breakfast and was eating when I heard Katie enter the house.
"I'm back!" Katie hollered and entered the kitchen. She placed her bags on the counter and smiled at me. "Good to see you're awake." Her expression gave the question 'you okay?' I nodded my head slowly.
In walked Jack and Carson. Jack walked forward to Katie and wrapped her in a hug. She giggled a little. I smiled at how adorable they were. Carson leaned against the counter and smirked.
"So, what took so long? Everything okay?" Carson asked. Katie seemed to turn tense all of a sudden.
"Everything's fine." She snapped. Carson put his hands up in surrender. I was shocked at her sudden outburst. Katie was not usually like this. Fear crept into my mind that I had caused her tension.
"Well, isn't it someone's time of the month?" He joked but Katie grew more irritated. I could see it in her facial expressions.
"Hey, dude, don't be such a dick." Jack stood up from where he'd sat down. His jaw was clenched.
