First Kiss, First Love, First Heartbreak

Chapter 3

I sit on the rocking chair with a thick blanket wrapped around me. I hold my hot chocolate in my hands. My mom is next to me with her reading glasses on as she reads the Sunday newspaper. Thanksgiving is this Thursday but we have the whole week off. I smile at the thought. My mom takes a sip of her coffee then places it on the table that separates us. I listen to the birds chirping and close my eyes. I feel like a Disney princess.

The weather is cold, and so far, it's the coldest day since the beginning of this year. The wind blows, hard and rapidly. I pull my blanket tighter. My fuzzy socks are the only thing keeping my feet warm as they dangle and hover over the floor. I take a sip of my hot cocoa and let my mind drift off to a place I locked years ago. There was a day, just like this when Jeremiah and I just started dating. He took me on a boat, this was before we learned that I get seasick. We were huddled together by the front of the ship. It reminded me of Jack and Rose, except for the whole arm thing, it was too cold to do that. Jere said he wanted to spend his whole life with me and that's when I knew I loved him. He just understood me. But I was wrong. I didn't start loving him until a little bit later.

"Olivia!" I turn to face my mom. "I said your name like ten times, what's up with you? Anyways, do you want to invite Lizzy and Colton over for thanksgiving?"

"I mean yeah, if it's okay." I say with a smile. This is my first thanksgiving as Cole's girlfriend, and I hope we have a million more together. He makes me happy. I can't wait to see what the future has waiting for us.

She looks back at the newspaper then opens her mouth like she's going to say something, she closes it then opens it again. "Did you hear Jere is back in town?"

I hesitate. "Yeah, I saw him at the football game on Friday, and I have first and seventh period with him. It was hard to see him, but it's fine, I guess."

She nods. "I feel so bad for the boy." Bad? Why because I screamed at him? But how would she know that? But she doesn't say anything else. She just goes back to reading her newspaper. I don't ask anything, I know to mind my business. Even though I am curious.

We go back to silence, not that I'm complaining. I like listening to the birds chirping or the sound of the trees moving because of the wind. I focus on what's around and not what I want to be thinking about. I stand up and walk into the house. I immediately smell the very common smell of burnt, Matt must be cooking. I scrunch my nose and Matt gasps.

"What? You don't like my cooking?"

I shake my head and throw myself onto the couch. "Not if it tastes as bad as it smells." I don't think there has ever been a time where his cooking tasted good. In college, he's probably going to be living off of restaurant orders. I'm not great at cooking but I am better than him.

He grabs the skillet and throws it in the sink. He walks toward the couch and drops himself next to me. "I'm going to starve in college. Will you invite me over when you cook?" He asks while he makes a pouty face.

I slap his arm. "I'm not cooking for you, you big baby." He starts laughing, then I start laughing. Matt has an infectious laugh. We laugh until our stomach's hurt. I feel my cheeks start to hurt. I like these times, when I laugh so hard that everything hurts. And I also like sharing these moments with my brother.

My mom walks through the front door with an empty coffee mug and a bored look on her face. "What are you too crackheads laughing about?" She says as she jumps on the couch and lands on both me and Matt. We start laughing even harder. My mom joins in on the laughter. "Alright, alright. We've got cleaning to do if you want your friends to come over." My mom says as she hits us both, lightly, with her newspaper. We stop our laughter, but only for a second. My mom plugs her nose. "I can tell Matt has been cooking." Matt stops laughing but I only laugh harder. We never give him a break about his cooking.

***

I put my long brown hair in a ponytail and start cleaning the bathroom that Matt and I share. It's not very dirty because, well, my OCD doesn't let it get dirty, but it still needs another cleaning. I put my pink rubber gloves on, that are two sizes too big, and grab the toilet brush and begin my day full of cleaning.

I scrub the green walls as hard as I can and make sure the sink is squeaky clean. I actually make sure it squeaks. I clean the mirror once and go back and clean it a second time.

I already know Matt is going to dirty this all before Thursday, but then I'll just have less cleaning to do on Thursday. I hop in the tub and turn the water on so I can clean in there, too. I don't realize that I forgot to move the shower head until I'm soaked to the bone. I squeal and jump out of the shower. I run to my room and slip due to my wet feet. My fall feels like slow-motion. Everything just stops. Until I fall on my butt. Then everything is back to normal.

I stand up and see a wet blob on the floor that is shaped like me. I laugh under my breath and walk back to my room, slowly, this time. I take off my pink rubber gloves and throw them in my hamper, along with my clothes. I change into dry clothes and go back to cleaning the bathroom and the wet blob that is in the middle of the hallway, I dry it with towels and make my way to the bathroom. I find Matt throwing the rest of his red gatorade down my newly cleaned sink. I gasp.

"What are you doing? I just cleaned that!" I yell at him as I stop him from pouring the rest down. I feel my heart beating so hard. "You're cleaning that."

He messes up my hair, "No I'm not little sis." He walks away to his bedroom. I tighten my ponytail. Ugh! I'm about to get a 'brother for sale' sign and attach it to him. The only person who would buy him would be my mom. I inwardly laugh, that's not true. She wouldn't even buy him. I know I wouldn't!

***

I put on a light sweater and leggings, as well as running shoes. "Mom I'm going for a run!" I don't get a response, but I go anyway. I take the first step and the crisp air takes me off guard. I shiver for a second then adjust to the coolness of the air. I turn on my music and put my headphones in and start my run.

I take the way with a bunch of twists and turns. It's a beautiful run. I pass many fields, but my favorite is the sunflower field. Once I reach the sunflower field I slow down to a jog. I take a second to admire the yellow. The sunflowers are all facing West. I pluck one.

"Still like running?" I turn to see a face that I used to have memorized. Jeremiah, again. He offers a small wave.

"Was I not clear at the football game?" I ask annoyingly. This boy used to make me red from blushing, but now he makes me red from anger.

He looks down at the sunflower in my hand. "Still your favorite?" I don't answer him, I just look at the houses behind him. "Livi, I get you're mad, I was a jerk, I left right after you said you loved me. I'm sorry, I never meant for us to end that way. I had," he pauses, "personal things to take care of." Personal? He couldn't even tell his girlfriend. How personal could that be? He tries to take my hand but I pull it away from him.

"Look, I have to go. I'm sorry that you're dealing with some crap, but you and I aren't together anymore. Find someone else to talk to." I start running back towards my house. I hear him call my name, but I'm too angry to even turn back. My anger propels me forward, just like it did the day he told me to leave his house.