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She's watching me with the look she used to give me when we were younger and I would show up to her house with a cracked lip and fresh black eye. Disappointment mixed with betrayal as she sucks in her bottom lip and shoves her delicate hands into her pockets. I would have been better off showing up bruised and bleeding because maybe she would have taken pity on me. I can only assume she's debating slamming the door in my face by the way her eyes are looking at anything but me. There's no love there. I can't be mad about that. "Hi." My words shake as her eyebrows raise.
"I thought you were dead." She shakes her head. "Get the fuck off my property." The door slams in my face but I can hear her on the other side. Her tiny hand slamming against it as if she's regretting the split second reaction. "I'll call the cops." The door creaks open. "I'm sure they have lots of reasons to lock you up. If not I'll give them a few."
"Go ahead if that's what you need to do."
"If that's what I need to do?" She steps out onto the porch nostrils flaring. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? If that's what I need to do?! What I need to do is erase the years I spent with you. Erase the memory of showing up on my wedding day to find out the man I was supposed to marry got cold feet." Venom. Pure venom. "I didn't come back here for you Angel. Don't be so stupid."
"Why are you back then?" I regret the words the second they leave my lips. She looks older now. Like our time apart took its toll on her like it had done to me. Of course she's still beautiful she'll always be beautiful, but I can tell she still doesn't sleep well from the bags under her chocolate brown eyes and that she was never able to kick the habit of biting her nails just by looking at the bloody edges of her fingers. Clearly somewhere deep down she's still my Lia. She's still the girl who tears up when she sees a shooting star and sings off key in the shower. There's no way that that girl is completely gone.
"How is it any of your business?" She hissed again slamming the door once more. I know this time she won't open it again. It's not like Ophelia to give in twice. Not this quickly. "Get off my property before I shoot you. You know better than anyone I don't ever miss my target."
"I'm sorry Ophelia. Please believe me." Years ago I wouldn't believe she had it in herself to actually go along with the threat of shooting me, but now I had a feeling it wouldn't take much to push her over the edge. I once told her I destroyed everything I touched looking at her now I realized that statement had never been more true. — I always imagined the first time I saw him again would feel like walking through a time machine, but it doesn't. It feels like I'm looking at a stranger. A stranger who once knew all my secrets, but a stranger none the less. His hair is the same as the short haircut he had let me give him when I was still in hair school. It looks as if maybe he takes a photo of it to the barber and asks them to recreate my work. If I squeeze my eyes tight enough I'm sure I can still imagine him as his younger smiling self, but I know from just those few minutes he doesn't smile like he used to. His eyes hold to much sorrow for that.
"Ophelia who was at the door?" Kevin asks as he unpacks the last box of books.
"Someone trying to sell stuff. I told them we weren't interested," I lie as I nibble at the inside off my cheek. I wasn't about to tell him his cousin was at my door attempting to pretend our past was nothing more then a bad dream. "Did Olivia happen to mention when she's off work?" I quickly changed the subject hoping Kevin wouldn't ask more questions I didn't have the energy to make more things up.
"Half an hour or so," he replied. "She's glad you took her up on her invitation Lia. I know it's been hard on both of you being so far away from one another." I wanted to agree that I was happy to be here to. That being back near my sister brought me joy, but it felt strange. I didn't belong here. Or at least I didn't want to. Not when he could find me so easily and melt me with just one look. Thankfully I knew better then to make eye contact with the man I once loved, because the moment I do I don't know what will happen. Will time whirl around us and send me back to that church replaying him leaving. Or will closure consume us? Is there closure to even be had?
"I'm glad to be here for her as well. It's nice to see her get a happy ending," I force a smile. "Everyone deserves one of those don't they?"
