AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you, honey.”
It was only after her footsteps in the hall faded that I rolled out of bed. My parents were the type of people who had to clean the house from top to bottom, even the rooms that company wouldn’t step foot in, any time someone was coming over.
No, wait. Correction: mymomwas like that. She always pushed my dad into a frenzy while cleaning, and my dad always did the stupidest things to get the house ready, like cleaning the tops of the ceiling fans in the whole house or washing the inside and outside of the house’s windows. Sweeping the garage.
You know, pointless shit like that, which left all therealcleaning to my mom and, therefore, me.
I threw on a pair of old jeans and a loose t-shirt, pulled my hair into a high ponytail, and then joined my mom downstairs. She was currently cleaning off the counter in the kitchen of all the clutter, but she’d left the plate of bacon my dad had made earlier. I grabbed some of the bacon and got the list of things that were my responsibility for the morning.
Cleaning wasn’t fun, but at least it got my mind off that dream. As the minutes turned into hours and the house slowly but surely became spick and span, I didn’t think about Brett or that dream at all.
Okay, that was a lie. The truth was I tried not to think about it, but eventually, the cleaning was done, and there was little else to do besides shower and get ready for the mini-party. My mom would want to take pictures, which meant I had to be presentable.
Alone in the shower, with the hot water pelting my head, I let myself think of that dream, of what dream me and dream Brett were seconds from doing. The mere thought of being with him like that got me warm in ways the water could never heat me up, and I waged an inner war with myself.
It wasn’t right. None of it was right.
Well, at least I didn’t have to see Brett today. That would give my mind some time to cool down, to forget that stupid dream.
Three o’clock rolled around, and I was sitting at the picnic table in the back, watching my mom talk to my dad near the grill. The grass was freshly cut, everything weed-whacked, and now he was in the process of cleaning off the grill. He said something to make my mom laugh, and she playfully swatted at his back.
Still in love, after all these years. Still playful. It was something for Claire and Tyler to aspire to, certainly. Me? I didn’t think getting married would be in the cards for me, kind of like having a future in general.
I was too busy watching my mom and dad talk that I neglected to see Claire and Tyler walk out of the back door of the house. Mom had left the front door open and unlocked, so they could just stroll on through, and the moment they appeared, my mom pulled away from my dad and went to fawn over Claire.
That’s how it’s always been. Claire was the first-born daughter, the one they put all their energy into, the one they held to impossibly high standards. Sometimes I was jealous, sometimes I wasn’t. Today was one of the latter.
My sister wore a pretty sundress along with strappy sandals, her brown hair styled in gentle waves. She was all smiles as she showed Mom her ring, completely giddy—even though she’d already showed her the ring last weekend when she’d swung by for pictures to show Tyler. Dad went over to greet, and then he congratulated them both.
There. That was it. We didn’t need to have a party or anything to celebrate their engagement.
Alas, no one else seemed to think so.
Once Claire could get away from our mom, she wandered over to the picnic table and sat down across from me. She was smiling; I bet that damned smile was permanently imprinted on her face now.
“Show me the ring again,” I said, trying to act enthusiastic but failing. What could I say? My heart wasn’t really in it.“I know you want to.”
Claire practically hummed as she set her left hand between us on the table, letting me see the sparkling diamond on her ring finger. Though it was a spring day, it was unseasonably warm, and that rock reflected the sunlight every which way. I had no idea how big it was or how much it cost, but even I had to admit it was pretty.Much prettier outside here than it had been in my room before.
“It’s gorgeous,” I told her as I faked a smile.
“Isn’t it?” Claire sighed out, lifting her hand to inspect it herself.
“I didn’t know Tyler made that much,” I commented, not really caring either way. She’d been dating him for a while now. I knew the basics about him, but I wouldn’t say I was close to him. I’d pretty much been lost in Zak during their whole dating period, and now…
Well, it looked like Tyler was going to stick around, unlike Zak.
Claire shrugged, and Tyler came up from behind her, slipping onto the bench beside her. “It helps to have good credit,” he joked, and he grinned harder when Claire leaned in, whispered a thank you, and placed a disgustingly sweet kiss on his cheek. To me, he asked, “How are you doing, Charlie?”
To my sister’s credit, she seemed to have picked a decent one. Tyler was cute, but not overly handsome, the kind of guy you could take one glance at and know how good he was with computers and other technology. His hair, though cut short, was black, and his eyes were a vibrant, pure green. He had a way of making everyone laugh.
“Same old thing, different day” was my answer.
Tyler chuckled. “I think you’re too young to be so jaded. You’re not allowed to say things like that until you’re in the workforce, and your boss sucks out your soul a little each day.”
Claire shook her head once, adding, “Not every boss sucks out your soul. Don’t listen to him.”
“No, no, she’s right,” he amended. “Not all of them, just most. Like ninety-five percent of them would work you to death and then call you and ask why you didn’t show when you’re lying there, dead—”
