"I take back what I said the first time we met. I never could have been more wrong."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Every thing about you - every thing you do, or say, or even when you scrunch your nose when you don't really like something - just ma...
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THE WORLD REMAINED SLEEPY AROUND me. There was a blissful quiet that echoed as I drove through the emptied streets and stepped through the threshold of my home. Absentmindedly, I started a load of laundry with everything I had collected off of Paul's floor--including the shirt I had no doubt he noticed I stole of his--and I shuffled back out of the house, only to hear a disgruntled yip. "Sorry boy," I mutter quietly, jogging back to the door to let Koda out with me.
Koda had wanted to come home yesterday, assumedly because he missed his Grandpa; Dad was always a little too lenient with him, sneaking him some food under the table when he thought I wasn't paying attention. "Sleep well, Koda?" I ask, turning my head down to look at the ever-growing dog. It was hard to imagine that he was the same rascal that found me on the day where I created my own little fort out of weeds. His spunk, though, would never change, no matter how big he got.
Koda lept up, almost tackling me to the ground, and causing me to let out a shrill laugh and get down to his height. "That better?" I ask, answered by the copious amounts of kisses. "Yeah, I missed you too, Bud." With that, the two of us happily got some vegetables for breakfast and re-entered the house as quietly as possible.
The day itself was pretty peaceful. I didn't hear a shout or a whimper from across the hall, and I just idly sat around, killing time and doing some of the homework for next week. At some point in the day, the stairs croaked tiredly as someone walked down the stairs, though I didn't bother to try and figure out who it was. It was only when I heard the aggressive rumble of Isabella's truck that my interest was piqued.
I hadn't seen Isabella show any form of interest in anything as of late, so to hear her leaving voluntarily, without an argument with our father or any melancholy sighs, was quite the welcome change.
"Dad?" I called out, peaking my head out as my door creaked open.
"Josie? You're home?" he calls back, chuckling at looking at my rather innocent expression as my head peeped out from the frame.
"Yeah," I smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Pops."
"Hey Josie," Dad chuckles back at me.
"What's the deal with Isabella?" I ask, opening my door wider so I can lean against it.
"She's actually, uh, taking after her little sister?"
"Oh yeah," I smirk amusedly. "How so?"
"She's spending a lot of time on the Reservation," Dad shrugs, though he can't see how my veins freeze slightly. "It's been good for her." I can't help snorting.
"I think you mean that Jake's been good for her," I correct.
"I... Well... Yeah, I guess you're right," my Dad agrees.
"I hope she doesn't hurt him," I mutter quietly.
"Hurt him? How?"
"Jake cares about her, Dad. He cares about her a lot."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"No," I sigh. "Not necessarily."
"But?" Dad asks, a quirked eyebrow and a faint smirk on his lips.
"But Isabella doesn't care about him in the same way," I answer.
"Things can change for people, Josie, especially when they're young."
"I hope for his sake, you're right," I answer. "I just know that Isabella doesn't have the best track record for taking care of the people who take care of her." My dad can't help but frown at that one.
"I know that you two have hit a rough patch, Josie, but-"
"Dad," I can't help sighing out, looking over at him pitifully. "I love you. I always will. But eventually, you're going to have to learn that some broken things just can't be fixed."
<>
At around six-thirty, I resurfaced from the cave I called my bedroom, this time donning a teal, turtleneck sweater, a pair of boyfriend-style jeans, and my yellow checkered slip-ons. With a smile on my face, I trotted back down the stairs and collected the various foods I had baked during the course of the day. Finally, with one quick whistle to Koda, I was out the door and back on my way to the Reservation.
I really could never stay far away for long. Even if not for Paul, the land itself called to me, beckoning me closer and begging for the kind of affection and care it so desperately needed.
I was strangely excited about tonight. There was something in the air that screamed excitement and joy to me. The sky felt electric, almost as if lightning was about to strike. It wasn't though. At least, it wasn't if I had anything to say about it.
I felt like I couldn't get to Harry and Sue's fast enough. I pressed a little harder on the gas with every passing minute until I finally felt the rough, dirt road under my tires. With the windows open, Koda stuck his head out happily. The two of us perked up in sync at the distinct of Harry's latest catch.
I brakes screeched slightly as I forced myself into a stop near the driveway, and Koda lept over the center console as soon as I opened the door. He was gone before I even got a chance to lock the door. "Damn dog," I giggle to myself, letting out a small yelp as I'm picked up off the ground. "Well hello to you too, Lahote," I smirk.
"That's all I get?" he teases, leaving a few light, fluttering kisses on the small area of my exposed neck.
"Surprise me like that, and yeah, that's all you get," I retort, turning around to face him and look up at his handsome face.
"Well, then you're gonna be giving me the cold shoulder all night." I couldn't help the baffled expression that settled onto my face at that. "You're so cute," he chuckles. "Come on, there's someone that wants to say hi."
Even though I was eager, Paul seemed to be dragging his feet beside me, liking to watch as I craned my neck to get a good view of whoever was here. "I swear to God Lahote, if my sister is here for an ungodly reason, I will find a way to prison shank you." His laugh was mesmerizing in that moment, and it made me momentarily forget about how anxious I was to find out what was going on.
The flames from the fire lit up his face in the most subtle way, casting more than half of it into the shadows. But the lines near his eyes appeared, and he leaned over a little, a hand rested over his stomach as he laughed. "If your sister was here, I wouldn't let you in a mile radius," he answered through labored breaths.
"Good," I taunt, "looks like you're learning." With that, I continued to drag him closer to the roaring fire, only seeing the backs of heads. When I finally noticed one that stood out from the others, his voice filled my ears. That damn voice, that was both a comforting sound and the bane of my existence.
"Y'know, kid, it's rude to stare." With that, he turned around, and I saw the bright, irritatingly child-like eyes of a man I considered to be a mentor.
"Art."
<><><><><>
Yeah, I know...
I'm the worst.
You don't have to say it.
But in my defense, organic chemistry and anatomy are ripping my heart out of my thoracic cavity, after splitting my manubrium from my sternum and shoving it down my esophagus in hopes of watching as I choke.
