VIRIDITY • jb

thirty six.

          It was all spontaneous.

          All I expected was to tell Liv that I know about her lost sister and that's it. I didn't know God has something more, and that is giving me the chance to know why Liv did that, to start again with her, and to bring her back home. I'm still wrapping my head around it as I stare at her stare at the propeller of the plane.

          “I can't believe I'm staring at a propeller.”

          “It's okay, you're nervous.”

          “You know me so well.”

          “What can I say, I'm your bf.”

          She freezes. “Bf?”

          I laugh, “Best friend, duh. Bea used that term on me too and I choked on my coffee.”

          “You sound like an old grumpy dad,” she laughs loudly. “Anyway, I'm gonna try and get me some sleep, bf.”

          Oh man. This woman really makes me feel some type of way. Lie to yourself for now, Justin. You can't admit it now. Keep you mind and mouth shut. Now's not the time to drop the bomb.

          “No shît, Liv. We're going to land soon.”

          Mom was the one who came to meet us in the airport. She hugged Liv for so long and whispered some things into her ear, making Liv emotional. “Alright let's go home.”

          I decided to be the man behind the wheel and let Mom and Liv catch up in the backseat. Occasionally, I watch them in the rearview mirror and see that Liv's tired and nervous. Mom sees it and lets her nap for a while.

          Later on, Liv dozed off pretty hard that Mom took it as an opportunity to speak to me. “I knew she'll come with you.”

          “Ma, she didn't come because of me. It's Soph.”

          “I can feel there's something more than that. It's you.”

          Six months were indeed long. Much has happened. And changed. It was like when I found no Liv in my bedroom that morning, everything moved slow. Although my twins are definitely growing fast. Wendy was more good spirited when Liv left, I don't know if that's because of pity or she's just trying to build our friendship again. I let Mom cut my hair a little that it's shorter than before now. She's the only one I trusted doing that, considering the fact that my hair is definitely my most treasured part of my body. It was weird. Mom was patting my shoulder as she moves the scissors to cut my locks. Now if I do something to my hair, there has to be some reason why.

          I pulled over our driveway and told Mom to go inside first as I wake the beautiful woman in the backseat. “Yo, Liv. We're here. You can continue sleeping inside. Come on.”

          She stretches her arms out before peeling her eyes open. “Where's Pattie?”

          “She's inside. You get ready and I'll just get our things in the trunk.”

          I smile at her as she nods before unlocking the trunk and get the bags. Locking it again, I see Liv fixing her hair beside me. “Your hair's grown so long.”

          “I know right. Yours got shorter. Aren't you a hair freak?”

          “Oh yeah. I let Mom cut it. For a change, since that time was really y'know.”

          She ignores my gaze and punched myself internally because I feel like I had made her guilty. Instead, she says, “I like it. It's subtle.”