Isolation (Book #1 of the Taylor Series)

Thirty-One

The very instant that our car stops in the driveway, I swing open the backseat door and run to the front entrance of the house. I pick up the orange flower pot where we keep our spare key and struggle to unlock the door with my shaking fingers. 

I need to shower, there's no way I'm going to accidentally run into Blake with smelly armpits and oily hair. I haven't spoken to him in two months, no way in hell am I going to ruin it because I smell like a dumpster.

Seconds later, I manage to get the door open, and I run up the stairs. I don't even have time to take in the cleanliness of the house which will only last a few days. I make it to my bedroom out of breath. You'd think that with all the running away from my problems that I do, I might actually be able to run up the stairs without getting winded. 

I walk calmly to my bathroom, trying to catch my breath before I turn the nobs of my shower. Cold. I need cold. Ice cold water with no warmth is what I need right now. I strip out of my clothes and hop in. It doesn't take me as long as it usually does to get adjust to the frigid temperatures of the water. 

Staying in California for a week has made me desperate for all the cold things that I can get. Even getting the cold shoulder from Mom feels nice. She hasn't been yelling at me or even talking to me. All she does is send passive-aggressive looks my way at the table when we're eating dinner.

Am I okay with it? Definitely. As long as she doesn't take away my right to speak again.

I shampoo my hair with the scent of fresh water. Ocean spray or whatever the shampoo companies call it these days. They've clearly never been to the ocean. I'm sure Americans don't care either way, they just want the best deal they can get. Even if that means buying goop for a dollar that companies label shampoo. I shrug the thought off and wash my body with the smell of strawberries. I suppose Julie left her cleanly products in my shower since she used it last. 

Going as far as shaving my legs, I begin to believe that maybe I actually do care about my appearance. Maybe I do care how I look around Blake, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. These legs haven't been shaved since December, I'm pretty sure I need to start caring about my appearance regardless of what a boy thinks. As I wash off the last foam area from my legs, I get out of the shower. 

Not even bothering to dry my hair, I walk to my closet. Flicking through the clothes, none of them match how I'm feeling. Sweaters, jackets, skinny jeans, none of them match how happy and confident I feel right now. I settle on a light green Peter Pan collared shirt with white vans. 

Do I care if it's 34 degrees outside? Not right now, but I will soon. I quickly slip the clothes on and pat my hair dry with a towel just so it doesn't drip everywhere. Running back down the stairs I see most of our bags on the living room floor, and most of my siblings are slugging their way up the stairs to their bedrooms. All but one. Julie.

She's sitting on the ugly chair, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. What's happened now? When I walk towards, her she looks up at me with her dark brown eyes, a dim look to them now. As if she's tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally. She needs calm right now, and I want her to have the calmness she desires. I hope that her summer classes come by faster than this because she definitely needs to leave this place. It's clearly not healthy for her.

"You okay?" I ask, and she shrugs her shoulders.

"Never been better." She mutters, sitting back in the chair, keeping the eye contact with me.

"Julie, it's only a few more years. When you graduate and get to move away, it'll feel much be--"

She snorts, and cuts me off with a smile, "No, Eve, I mean it. I have never been better. I finally get to be myself. I don't have to lie to anyone, especially not to me, and that feels amazing. I know Mom doesn't approve of what I am, but right now I don't think she cares. Don't take it the wrong way, but I think she's gone back to hating you instead." I can't hide the shock on my face. My eyes widening, my mouth falling agape.