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The drive to Connecticut is long as fuck. Six hours of highway upon highway. I would be sitting in silence if it weren’t for the fact that I would probably run my car off the road, fully hypnotized by the highway. But every song makes me think of Aidan, somehow. The love songs make me think of him. The happy songs make me think of us. The songs that speak of heartbreak and pain make me think of him. By the time I pull into my driveway later that night, I’ve cried four separate times and am currently in a fit of sobs. I don’t know how long I’ve sat in my car with my head in my hands when I smell lavender filling my nostrils. “Oh Bella, come in.” My mother’s nickname for me only makes me cry harder.
The next thing I know, it’s morning and I’m in my bed at home. I’ve been looking forward to this trip, hoping that some time away from D.C. would do me some good. The Skyler that lived in Connecticut didn’t know Aidan. She didn’t love him with every fiber of her being. I sit up in bed and rub my face before immediately checking my phone like I do every morning. Hoping, praying for a message from Aidan. At this point, I would take a drunk text he more than likely regretted the next morning. I just want some connection to him.
Maybe it’s time to reactivate my Instagram.
My door opens and my sister comes through it. My twenty-one year old sister is a senior at UConn and lives at home because she just didn’t quite crave the adventure I did. She stays in our guest house because she told herself—and everyone else—that she didn’t want to force any extra expenses on our parents. But I know the truth: she was scared and needs my mother for everything.
“You look like shit.” She pushes her glasses further up on her nose and tucks a long, dark brown lock behind her ear.
“Thanks. You can exit the way you entered.” I point at the door and lay back down, wishing that sleep could claim me before Serena Mitchell can throw in more of her two cents about my appearance.
She hops on my bed and smacks my body covered by my plush comforter. “Tell me about D.C. Do you love it?”
“What part of get out are you not getting, Rena? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not in the mood for our bitchy banter.” My sister and I have an interesting relationship. It’s just her and me, and I’ll admit I spent a lot of my life being the spoiled little sister. She had been two when I was born, and I probably spent the next fifteen years demanding mom and dad’s attention. I understand her resentment. I own it. But it doesn’t stop me from giving it as good as I got it.
She pouts. “I’m going to go to the mall today. Do you want to come? You look like you could use some fresh air. Seriously, did you stop showering in D.C.?”
“I don’t want to go to the mall.”
“Why?” she whines.
“Because Serena, I don’t. Go away!”
“Because some boy broke your heart again? I swear Skyler…”
“At least boys fucking like me, now go away!”
I know it was a low blow, and something that Serena is sensitive about, but I just can’t. I’m pretty sure Serena is a virgin, but it isn’t something she talks about. She’s beautiful and an exact replica of my mother, yet she feels like she repels the opposite sex. Well, she is kind of rude to anyone that shows her any interest, so I guess that doesn’t help. “God, you’re a bitch.”
“I learned from the best. Please remove yourself from my room.”
I don’t feel her moving so I kick her to drag my point home. “Ow! Listen. What’s that shit you’re always preaching, huh? La vita va avanti, Skyler. You’ve gotten through heartbreak before, you can again.”
My heart thumps in my chest. “This is different,” I whisper and feel bad for being mean to Serena when maybe she is just trying to help the only way she knows how.
“How?”
“He’s the one,” I murmur. I expect a snort or a snarky comment or for her to remind me that at one point I thought Gabriel was the one. Instead, I hear a gasp.
“How do you know?”
“It’s hard to explain, Serena. It’s just a feeling.”
“Well, what happened?”
“You’ll judge me.” And she would. Serena took goody two shoes to a completely different level. She played by the rules, always.
“No…I won’t.”
“Liar.”
“When do I lie about anything? It’s what gets me into trouble.”
This is true, Serena has no problem telling you the truth about everything and she rarely hides her opinions.
“He’s my teacher.”
“What! Sky…”
