Changing Past

Chapter 1: Beating Hearts

Copyright Changing Past May 2016
This book may not be reproduced, displayed, modified, distributed, or translated without the express prior permission of the copyright holder.

Quote of the Chapter:
'Feelings that come back, are feelings that were never gone.'

Memories that waited to be unlocked passed through my brain. One by one, each one of my questions yearned for an answer, and I soon became lost in my consuming thoughts.

"Hey wait up," I called to my brother.

He laughed loudly as I tripped and almost fell, "It isn't my fault you're clumsy and walk too slow."

I shot him an angered look and jumped on his back, putting him into a chokehold until his knee rested on the floor in defeat.

"Who's clumsy?" I daringly questioned.

I giggled when he attempted to pull me from his struggling body.

"Okay. I'm done. I'm sorry!" he coughed out.

I freed him and skipped my way into the kitchen oblivious to the fact that I would be leaving my family home in the next hour.

"Alex and Max! Stop fighting before you break something!" my loosely tempered mother commanded.

My dad strolled into the room and kissed me on the cheek along with my mother. He wore his usual "lawyer attire" which consisted of an itchy suit, suffocating tie, and horribly uncomfortable shoes. Once I was fully moved in, my dad had a meeting with a law firm in Los Angeles for a new job.

My dad worked as a lawyer at a tiny law firm for fifteen years and his dream was to finally have one of his own. Luckily for my mom, she'd be taking her vacation week in order to send me on my way to independence.

"Max, the only reason I drove you here is because you need to help your sister pack for college," my mom scolded.

He lifted the box and headed to the garage to fill the already crammed car. I stuck out my tongue behind my mom's back while he rolled his eyes at me as he walked away.

It's finally happening. I can't believe it.

This year I would be attending UCLA, my dream school. It's everything you could want from a college. It's in Los Angeles, one of my favorite cities in the entire world, and its academic ratings were incredible, not to mention the campus was magnificent.

I'd lived in the same small town since I was born and I'd seen everything there was to see, so now I just longed for a change. No matter what I'd done, good or bad, I was stuck here and now finally having some freedom felt like I could breathe again.

My mom's words brought me back from my daydream.

"Honey, I need you to carry at least some of the boxes to the car. We need to get to campus by 8:00, so we don't have time for you to stare at a blank wall."

People have said that I looked just like her, because of my long brown hair and tiny nose. The only thing that made my dad and I alike were our lips which were a rosy-pink color and full. His hair was blonde like Max's, and he had clear blue eyes that I envied, contrary to mine, that were a dark brown.

"Sorry, mom. I'll be out in a second. I have to go upstairs and make sure I packed everything."

I rushed upstairs, prepared to say goodbye to everything I had ever known. As I reached the door to my old room, I took a deep breath and slowly turned the old doorknob.

My heart panned with sadness when I examined my almost barren room. Everything was already packed and ready to go.
I liked to call it, "modern boho with earth tones."  My sheets were white with hidden fairy lights outlining the frame. The dark floors contrasted against the light walls and bed. Pictures of my dance team and friends covered the bulletin board that hung above my desk. I also was lucky enough to have a small bay window that overlooked my street, and I learned to appreciate it over the years. I slowly walked to my window and looked down at the sidewalk contemplating the next year, when I saw a rather handsome and familiar face.

~*~

A face that I hadn't seen in 2 years. A face that I wished I could forget with every bone in my body, and it wasn't until he looked up at me as if he knew I was watching him before our eyes locked. I rushed behind the wall, immediately realizing who it was and hid. My breathing quickened along with my racing heart that burned inside my chest. I inhaled deeply attempting to soothe the pain. For a moment, everything in the world seemed to stop and the only thing I could hear was the drum-like sound of my heart.

'Calm down Alexis, maybe he left already.'

My bedroom being on the second floor gave me an advantage, so I looked out the window once more to see if he had passed by my house. He remained there, his blue-green eyes beaming at me as though he was looking into my soul. We stood there for what seemed like forever just gazing at each other, and neither of us dared to move a muscle as we remembered the memories we created and destroyed together.

As quickly as he was there he was gone. My brain was darkened by a billion clouds, and my hearing blurred to the past sound of his voice saying my name. Not a single part of my body wasn't on fire.

'Completely and utterly impossible.'

I shook my head and drowned myself in boxes and packing tape to only realize that I couldn't get him out of my mind.