Heart Meet Butt
Maddie
Grabbing your mail isn’t supposed to be earth shattering. It’s supposed to be mundane and clerical. But once in a blue moon, a letter falls into your lap and instantly makes your heart fall through your butt. I really didn’t anticipate that sort of anxiety today. In fact, I was counting on not feeling like that for the first time in years.
It’s the first day I didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn, run around campus, talk to professors, hand in essays and scramble to get everything done at the volunteer clinic. It was finally my first day, no longer being an undergraduate student and I was prepared to soak up every last minute of it.
I allowed myself to sleep well past sunrise and stumble around the apartment in my pyjamas for a few hours before doing anything productive even crossed my mind. Around noon, my caffeine craving kicked in so I wrestled my hair into my favourite bright pink scrunchie- yes, the 80’s still live strong in my mind- and throw on a pair of sunglasses to shield my eyes from the bright Texas sun. I was about half way out the door before I saw the tiny red line on the mailbox indicating it was full- heart meet butt.
That was three hours ago. Now, here I sit with an envelope between shaky fingers wondering which way my world will turn.
Will I be heading back to New York to be lectured by my father or will I be starting a new life in Colorado with my best friend? For some reason I only applied to one veterinarian program in hopes that somehow that would make it lucky. Now, I think that was probably the stupidest idea I’ve ever had.
My eyes never falter from the emblem sealing the letter shut when Lara enters the apartment. My only greeting is a quick squeak in her general direction.
“You should really get off the floor, I never did catch that ginormous centipede last night,” she deadpans as she drops her keys on the counter and takes a seat on the couch to my left. I pull myself up off the floor and plop down beside her; handing her the letter. “You open it.”
Lara looks down at the blue wax seal on the parchment, her eyes swimming with excitement albeit a fraction of trepidation. A mix of emotions; a mirror image of those found in my own pools of peridot. Ever my good luck charm, Lara, in all her Irish glory, eyes me tentatively before peeling open the letter. Her hesitant, baby blue eyes nervously study my face before turning her sights on the letter between her dainty fingers.
“Dear Miss Madeline Woods, it is with great pleasure that we offer you-.” Without allowing Lara to finish her sentence, I grab for the letter and jump up onto the couch. Rereading the words again until my eyesight blurs from unshed tears. Lara jumps atop the sofa and wraps her arms around my hips nearly knocking us both over in the process. “You got in! You’re coming with me to Colorado! We should leave now, like right now.” She yells in girlish glee before scurrying into the kitchen to grab her laptop.
“We can’t leave now, we have to pack and we don’t have a place to live in Colorado and I need to look for a job!”
“I already told you! I can get you a job at the bar. Now let’s get drunk and look at apartments to rent.” She singsongs over her shoulder as she dances her way to our liquor cabinet.
By the end of the night half of our apartment is packed and our bellies are full of Pinot Grigio and Chinese food.
A week later, Lara and I find ourselves sitting amongst our suitcases outside of the Colorado Springs Airport waiting for her brothers to pick us up. The sun is setting over the mountains, creating a delightfully picturesque backdrop for the next chapter of my life. I breathe a sigh of relief, a sense of calm seeping into my bones like a delicately dosed sedative.
“I’m so excited for you to be here, you have no idea! I’m going to show you everything! ” Lara rambles on as she scrolls through her phone, her thumb moving faster than the speed of light. I lean into her strawberry blonde locks allowing them to tickle my nose with wafts of coconut and vanilla. As she continues to talk a mile a minute, I can't help but thank who ever is up there for bringing this fire cracker into my life.
Lara and I met four years ago, during the first week of college. I was terribly overwhelmed, alone in a new environment and unable to hold back the tears I had been stifling all day. I remember sharply turning the corner in the animal clinic I volunteered for and ran right, smack dab into her, out foreheads clashing abruptly. Instead of telling me off, she held on tight as I cried. Imagine that, one stranger comforting another, despite the mountainous bruise that was developing between her eyes. Ever since that day we have been inseparable, becoming the sisters we both had craved our entire lives.
“I can’t wait to go hiking,” I giggle while shoving at Lara’s elbow, leaning in close I whisper in her ear. “If you come with me do I have to put you on a leash or something?”
Lara stops scrolling and fixes her eyes on mine. “Remember, they don’t know that you know…so just, no dumb jokes around them. I’ll tell them soon, I just want them to get to know you a little. Make sure they know you’re not some crazy person that’s going to turn us in to Area 51 or something.”
I pull her in for a hug. “I know. Don’t worry, I’ll leave my dumb remarks for your ears only.”
She sighs and leans into my embrace.
“I’m going to be in so much shit when they find out. That’s our number one rule, humans aren’t supposed to know.”
Our eyes meet again, “It wasn’t your fault. You know that. You were protecting me, without you that night, I…well, we both know what would have happened. I’m sure they will understand based on the circumstances.”
She nods but I see the shadow of doubt swimming in her turquoise eyes. Before anything more can be said a giant silver Ford F150 pulls up at our feet. Two almost identical men pop out of either side, heading straight for Lara.
“Owen, Nate! Let go! You’re going to squish me!” Lara squeals with a smile on her face.
Unexpected fear grips at my extremities as I watch her brothers embrace her tiny form. What if they think I’m intruding on their family? What if they think I’m some annoying tag along? We've spoken on the phone in passing. But I've never met any of Lara's brothers in person. I'm a virtual stranger to them. A thought, I've never considered until this very moment. Shit.
Before anymore worry takes hold, Owen and Nate turn in my direction and wrap me up in the same bear hug that Lara received. Their lack of hesitation washes away my fears. Letting out an awkward giggle, I crane my neck to look up at their faces about a foot above my eye line.
“Um, hi guys.” Their immediate affection sets my body off-kilter. They both introduce themselves as we pile into the truck.
“So are you two twins or something?” I ask as I glance between the two brothers taking up the driver and passenger seats. They’re both over 6 feet tall, and as wide as the columns of ancient Greece. Their angular faces almost make them look dangerous if it wasn’t for their playful green eyes, freckles and sandy, blonde, unruly hair.
“How dare you! I look nothing like this moron!” Owen shrieks as he insults his brother from behind the steering wheel.
“Nah, we just have the same features but they actually look good on me.” Nate mocks as he punches his brother in the shoulder. I look more closely at the two and realize that there are indeed, subtle differences between them. They both have broad shoulders, however Nate is leaner, more sturdy. Whereas Owen looks like he works-out with the sole purpose of gaining muscle. Nate has his hair cut short and seems to have more ribbons of natural highlights running throughout. While Owen has his neutral hair gathered in a short pony tail set at the base of his skull. Interestingly enough, they look more like my siblings than Lara’s, what with her bright blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair. But as I watch and listen to the three bicker, I notice the similarities in speech and mannerisms that make it clear, they have had years to grow together and love each other.
A twinge of jealousy burns my chest as I consider the childhood Lara must have had. For years, I wished for a sibling, having other kids to play with must have been so exciting. Someone to go on adventures with and make memories. What really gets me is the thought of having so many people to count on. Every time my life went to crap, it was up to me to pick up the pieces. Dad was never home and the nannies hardly spoke any English. Sure, when things got really bad, dad would take off his surgical gloves and step in. But to have an army to comfort you. Now that would be something.
My mind wanders to the day Lara got the worst news of her life. That was surely a moment in time where an army came in handy. It was only this past January, while we were at our favourite coffee shop, taking up a whole table with our laptops, textbooks and hand written notes. Both of us concentrating on our studies as her phone nearly vibrated off the table. At first she smiled and answered the call but her face faltered within seconds. I frowned up at her, watching and waiting. Within moments her eyes turned from their usual cerulean to a golden amber with tears clouding her irises. Letting her eyes turn in public was a bad sign. So I threw everything we owned back into our bags and pulled her out of the shop as quickly as I possible.
Within 24 hours she was on a plane to Colorado to mourn the death of her parents. A terrible car accident had left them both dead on impact. It had taken months for Lara to become a semblance of her old self, the bubbly carefree party girl. Even now, she is still subdued but at least now a smile appears every so often. Lucky that she had her three brothers to take care of her in such a terrible time, I don't even know what would have happen to me in such a situation.
“This isn’t the way to our apartment?” Lara’s words break my train of thought as I turn from looking out the window and set my eyes on the giant men up front. I had noticed that the houses and buildings were getting sparse and the evergreens were becoming more abundant and dense but didn’t put two and two together.
“What the hell! I said no!” Lara throws herself toward the middle of the front seat, flailing her arms in an attempt to hit Nate as much as her seatbelt will allow. Lara’s oldest brother, Sebastian had been trying to convince Lara for months that when she graduated and returned home, it would be a good idea for her to move back into the family home. Lara insisted that she was an adult and didn’t need her older brothers smothering her. I guess Sebastian isn't good at taking no for an answer.
“Bass said he talked to you about staying at the house!” Nate yelled while dodging Lara’s attack.
“You and I both know Sebastian didn’t tell me shit!” Lara sits back in her seat and whips out her phone. “We already put our deposit down, Sebastian can kiss my ass.”
“Lara, we all thought it would be good for you two to stay with us. It'll be saf-“ Nate’s eyes cut to Owen for a split second before turning back to Lara, “It’s just better to be closer to family.” Nate’s brow furrows as he speaks those last words slowly and with emphasis, holding Lara’s gaze almost pleadingly. I shrug as Lara looks over at me with apologetic eyes.
“It won’t be that bad, we built a pool house for you two. It’s right by the lake, it’s better than my room for God sake!” Owen states, trying to make light of the situation. Nevertheless, Lara folds in on herself, affectively blanketing the car in awkward silence for the remainder of the drive.
