Beating hearts

Chapter 12

2 months later

"Lilly, we have been shopping for 2 hours. If you do not pick something out soon, you are getting a rock in a birthday bag," Ara said to Lilly as they walked through an outdoor mall

"Lilly? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? oh, yeah. I'm just texting ben. He is so cute!" Lilly said typing on her phone, not bothering to look up and see if she was going to run into something or someone.

"Well, you almost stomped over that old lady. So could you put your phone away and find you a birthday present already,"

"I'm sorry. I can't help it, he's just so cute," Lilly grins.
Ara rolled her eyes, annoyed at Lilly saying
"He's so cute," every five minutes.

"Fine, I will stop texting him. We have a date tomorrow night anyway."

"Wait. Tomorrow night? We were supposed to have our movie night?" Ara whined.

"Right, about that, I have a date with Ben tomorrow," Lilly smiled hoping she wouldn't be mad.

Ara glared at her and crossed her arms.

"Besides, we have sister movie night all the time," Lilly continued with Ara still glaring.

"Ugh, it's fine, I guess I can make plans with Zac tomorrow. I was really looking forward to hanging out with my little sis though," Ara wrapped one of her arms around Lilly's neck and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Lilly grunted and wiped the slobbery kiss off of her face.

"I'm not little anymore. My birthday is next week, and I will be seventeen. Seventeen!!" Lilly said excited.

"Yes, I am aware of that, which is why I need you to pick out a present?"

Lilly locked arms with Ara." I don't know why you are making me pick out a gift. You are already throwing me a birthday party."

"Because you deserve one," Ara said. "You deserve a lot more than I can give you."

Lilly looked at her sister and gave her a loving smile, then put her head on her boney shoulder. "Aww, I love you, big sis,"

"I love you to, little flower."

~

Ara sat at the kitchen table, looking at Lilly and Morgan as they laughed and talked while eating their blueberry pancakes. They argued over a tv show they had watched the night before. She smiled at them. The darkness that covered her eyes, bound and gagged her thoughts, even her dreams had faded.

She was a newborn fawn, happy and content, unaware of the dangers of life, a just hatched baby bird, ready to fly and see the world and its wonderful perks, she was a coyote with hidden wisdom. She felt reborn.

It was 2:50 in the afternoon, Morgan got called into work, Lilly was spending the day with Ben, and Zac was taking care of his mother who had recently come down with the flu.
Ara had nothing to do but drive around town listening to her music on loud repeat. She thought of the things she could do for the day. She could go shopping, go to the diner, order some food, or go home, watch tv and wait for someone to return.
While she was thinking of all the depressing things she could do alone, her phone rang popping up the caller ID that read, Lilly.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Are you doing anything right now?" Lilly asked.

"No. Nothing at all. Why?"

"Ben left me to go hang out with his friends. So, I am stranded here. Could you come and get me?"

Ara was going to give her grief about ditching her, but Lilly's voice sounded sad, so she decided not to give her the whole karma's a bitch speech.

"Of course. Where are you?" Ara asked.

"I'm at the corner of Lexington."

"I'll be there in Five."

On the way, Aras mind wandered back to the time when her, Lilly and their parents decided to go on an unplanned road trip to the Grand Canyon.

She remembered how the car smelled strongly of a mixture between her mother's lavender perfume, and her father's old spice cologne. The sky was clear, and the sun was bright. The wind blew strong rocking the old blue minivan. Leaves flew past the Windows of the van going 55 down the abandon road, surrounded by woods. They listened to their mom and dad argue over who liked who first, making Ara and Lilly roll their eyes with annoyance. One hour into their trip, the car slowly started to putter and come to a stop, they were too busy arguing that they hadn't noticed or payed attention to the orange service engine soon sign that popped up a couple miles before.

They waited an hour for the nearest car repair station and had to have their car towed. They bickered and laughed at the situation and decided to just give up and go home.
That memory always makes Ara smile, it wasn't perfect or resplendent, but it was real. They were a normal family.

Ara had taken her train of thought off of her driving, just for a split second, her attention returned with a Jilt, as she was shocked to see a cream furred wolf with bright piercing yellow eyes, standing there in the middle of the road, she panicked and swerved the animal, then came to a complete stop. She breathed heavy looking behind her, nothing was there. She frowned and looked all around in each direction.

"That was a wolf, a white wolf," she said to herself. She wandered if it was the same one Zac had seen the night, he saved her.

"It must have run off." she thought.

She shook her head, calmed herself and continued on her way, not giving it a second thought.