Hearts, Scars & Horseshoes

Chapter 5 - Toby

"Toby!" Angie, Lars' mom called. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yeah!" I shouted back. "Do you know what she's making?" I asked Lars.

We were in his room, I was sprawled out on his bed, playing catch with an old baseball I found in his room. He was staring at his computer, trying to decide what classes to enroll in for the fall semester at the local community college.

"God my ACT scores sucked." He muttered. "I should have retaken them."

I shrugged, I couldn't even remember mine. It hadn't been high up on my priority list at the time. "What difference does it make?"

"I could have gotten out of taking some prerequisites had I. Like now I'm gonna have to take all the basic classes." He grumbled.

He blew out a breath, shoving away from his desk. His chair spun so he was facing me.

"I don't know. Let's go see." He said, answering my question from earlier.

I let the ball drop to the bed, shoving myself off. I followed Lars out to the kitchen, where his mom Angie was cooking. She was awesome.

"Whats for dinner mom?" Lars asked, leaning against the counter beside the stove. I took up space on the other side.

"Tacos." She scrapped out some refried beans into a pan, stirring the meat after.

"Need help?" Lars asked.

"That'd be awesome." She smiled at me. "Grab some plates Toby, Lars get the fixings out."

We did as we were told. That was the one thing about the Bowman's household, Lars never gave his mom trouble. She worked two jobs and did what she could and what she couldn't Lars filled in. I always followed suit.

"How are your parents Toby?" She asked as the three of us busied ourselves around the kitchen.

I shrugged. "They're fine. You know, the same."

"And Stella?"

"Shes in finals right now but otherwise good."

"That's good. Go in that cabinet and grab me that yellow bowl." She said, nodding with her head to the cabinet I was by.

I pulled out the yellow bowl, setting it on the counter beside her. She dumped the taco meat in it before handing it back off to me. I put it on the table, Lars and I taking a seat as Angie came with the beans.

"Thanks for dinner mom." Lars said, once we were all seated.

"Of course baby." She smiled, leaning over the corner of the table for a kiss. Lars offered her his cheek.

"Yeah thanks." I said, my taco already jammed into my mouth. It was so much better than what my mom probably made.

——————

I tucked my skateboard under my arm as I stepped into the house. The lights were dim, the house quiet. I headed for my room, my dad's voice startling me.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"With Lars." I told him.

He scooted something in a plastic bag toward me. "Your cap and gown for graduation." I picked it up off the table. "Your mom said hang it up."

"Alright."

"Your mom left you dinner, it's in the microwave."

"Okay."

He was at the dining room table, his laptop illuminating his face. My mom always said I was a spitting image of my dad, and sure I had his eyes and the same colored hair but beyond that I didn't see it. My dad was the kind of guy that made girls of all ages stop and stare. I was not. I was lucky if girls even noticed I existed.

"Oh, you got a letter in the mail." He held a white envelope up, his eyes trained on his screen.

"Thanks."

I took it from him, glancing at the sender. It was from Gift of Life, the place that handles organ donations, mine included. I started heading for my bedroom, my dad speaking once more.

"Food Tobias." He said.

I located the plate of food in the microwave, baked chicken, steamed veggies and a bowl of fresh fruit. My mom had taken the "eat healthy" thing so far, I couldn't even remember what a cheeseburger tasted like. Well that wasn't entirely true, I had one last week with Lars. Let's just say I was sick of chicken and bland vegetables. I took the plate with me, not bothering to warm it.

Once I was in my room, I placed the plate on the floor minus the fruit, whistling for Edward Cullen. A second later the fat dog waddled in to clean my plate for me. I ripped open the letter to the sound of his jowls smacking together.

"Let's see what this is all about Eddy." I said, not that he was listening to me at all. He was far more preoccupied with my dinner.

I unfolded the paper, a page full of immaculate cursive greeted me.

Dear Recipient,

Our names are Aaron and Catherine and our son Elijah was an organ, eye and tissue donor. Our family lives in Michigan. Elijah has a sister, Faith 17 and a brother, Simon 20 . Elijah loved sports, his favorite was soccer and he was strong in his walk with God. Although he was only 14 when he died, he touched many people with his bright spirit.

I hope you are doing well and on the way to a full recovery. We would like to hear from you if you feel comfortable doing so.

I reread the letter again. My heart started to pound in my chest and I couldn't help but wonder if my heart knew I was reading about it's rightful owner. If it was screaming "That's him! That's who I belong with!"

My new heart was only fourteen years old. It was younger than me. I glanced down at Eddy who was chasing the empty plate across the floor, making sure he did a thorough job of getting every last bite.

Elijah.

I said his name in my head, a little afraid to say it aloud. Like it was some taboo word.

Elijah's heart.

I had Elijah's heart.

I took a deep breath, glancing up at myself in the mirror in my room.

Elijah's heart was beating away inside my chest. Allowing me to breath and walk and talk. Allowing me to exist. To live.