I want to give a special thanks to Tigersman for editing this for me. He did an amazing job fixing all my mistakes.
Feed back is always greatly appreciated.
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I heard the alarm go off but ignored it. Guess I forgot to turn it off last night. Originally, I was suppose to work but my boss called giving me the weekend off. About time, I asked her weeks ago if I can get the weekend off. She doesn't like giving people days off all that much. She gives you a schedule and expects you to follow it and not request any other days off besides the ones you have. I guess she doesn't like change.
I rolled over and hit the alarm when it didn't turn off. I glanced at the clock 6:43. That's when I realized, it was my phone. I groaned and rolled over and put my pillow over my face. It stopped ringing, but not even a minute later it was ringing again. I frowned again and threw my pillow before answering. I knew who it was by the ring tone.
"Yes?" I said, my eyes still shut.
"Hey Jess," Mark said, "sorry I woke you." Clearly not sorry enough because you still woke me.
Mark is my younger brother. He works nights and sometimes forgets what time it is. He works twelve hour shifts as a police officer. Sometimes I feel like he doesn't know the difference between A.M and P.M anymore. But this time he clearly knew.
"What do you want?" I asked annoyed. He is getting the full blunt of my attitude due to the fact I was woken up and hadn't had my coffee and it's not even eight yet.
"Are you going to be home today?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm off all weekend," I said. If he says he wants to come over or is outside, I'm hanging up and not getting up until two.
"Great. Plan on stopping by later today if it's alright, maybe 12:00? I don't know what you have planned for the day."
"Fine. But next time, why don't you call at 5 or you know maybe 3 in the morning?" I was glad we could hang out, don't get me wrong. I had been so busy with my own job and him working night shift, it was hard. But I couldn't help the sarcasm that slipped through.
"Sorry, I just got off work. I wasn't really thinking," he said.
"It's fine, I like wake up calls." I was crabby, yes but he also knows this is who he gets when he calls me early. This isn't the first time.
"Alright. I'll let you go back to sleep. Real quick, how are you doing?" he asked
"I'm fine," I said, hanging up the phone. I put the phone back on the bedside table, pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep.
When I finally did fully wake up at ten, I got a shower, got dressed and spent the remainder of the morning eating a bowl of cereal and flipping through the channels. I kept an eye on the clock and texted Mark.
'You still coming out?'
After ten minutes of no response I figured he must have fallen asleep. I sighed; I haven't been able to hang with anyone lately. My best friend Kate is with her family in Georgia and currently Alyssa is too busy giving head to random guys she meets on Tinder. I totally support the whole hoe phase, we all been there, but it should be a phase. She's wanting it to be permanent. I just let her go. I don't want her crying to me when she gets a disease because I know damn well she isn't using protection.
The one person I really missed was my sister Sarah. She had died in a car crash last year and ever since things haven't been the same with me or Mark.
Mark works night shift; that's how he learns to get through it I guess. He works then when he gets off, he passes out.
I try to talk with my mom every so often but even she has been distant with me. Seems like no one has really been coping with it.
I get up off the couch and head to the kitchen putting my bowl in the sink and grab a Gatorade from the fridge just when the doorbell buzzes.
A little half smile spreads on my face. I set my drink on the counter and head for the door.
When I opened the door, I was expecting Mark, but the guy who stood on my doorstep made my heart stop and my mouth run dry.
James stood on my doorstep with his long black hair and the same blue eyes. He was wearing a simple black short sleeve shirt with pants that just clung to his hips.
James was an old friend from high school that when he graduated, he went off to college. We stayed close and we still talked but I hadn't seen him in four years. It was good to see nothing has quite changed with him.
"Hey stranger," he said with the same charming smile I remember from school.
I smiled and before I could stop myself, I hugged him, hard.
"What are you doing here?" I asked and my smile got bigger as he hugged me back and gave me a little squeeze like he always used to do before letting go.
I stepped aside letting him come in while looking behind him and not seeing any car.
"How'd you get here?" Then it dawned on me. "Mark dropped you off."
He smiled. "Yeah, he was going to stay too but he was tired from work. He wanted just me and you to catch up a bit. He'll be by later on today." He sat down on the couch and glanced at the TV. "Plus said he wanted to stop by and see his girl"
"Yeah. You just get in today?" I asked
"Nah, plane landed yesterday. Spent the day with mom. Now I'm spending the day with you." He smiled. "I'm planning to move back down here. Figured I could move back to be closer to my mom and all, be closer to you."
I smiled. Standing by the couch. "Do you want anything to drink or eat?" I asked.
"No thank you, I'm good," he said and I sat down beside him. He gave me another little hug and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. Oh, did I mention I have major feeling for him ever since high school?
"It's good to see you. You look like you haven't changed much," I said honestly.
He nodded. "You've changed though, look beautiful. How you been?"
I blushed. "Thanks, I've been good. Hanging in there." He brushed a stray hair behind my ear and my smile got bigger; I was pretty sure my face was going to crack at this rate.
He smiled his big boyish smile. "Aww, did someone miss me?"
I laughed. "Of course!"
"I missed you too," he said.
"So, tell me about your trip. How was your flight?" I asked.
"It was good. You don't want to hear about that; it was just a boring flight. And you already know how college has been. Oh, and I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in like a week. I wanted to keep everything a surprise," he said still smiling.
"I'm glad for the surprise," I said. We sat there staring at each other for what felt like a minute before I broke the awkward silence. "So, what do you want to do?" I asked.
"Up to you, taking you guys out to dinner at five and Mark is meeting us there," he said looking around the room.
"Not a lot has changed since high school. I've left it about the same way my dad had it. The only difference is there's more of my paintings on the wall."
"Paint anything new?" Standing up, he went to look at one of my old but best paintings. It's a landscape, almost all of them are, but it's the only one that has a mountain. My mountain looks like someone blew up the top of it, but the rest is pretty good.
"No, haven't really had time. I was given this really big canvas someone at work found in their garage, still in the plastic. I have some ideas for it but been busy with work."
"They're really good," he said, glancing at another one, my green rain forest. "You ever think of selling them?"
"I sent you pictures so you've seen them all, and now they're on the wall. I can't seem to part with them," I said, getting up and standing beside him as he admired my work; this is the first time he's seeing them in person. He's seen pictures but that's it. I have three paintings in the living room, my rather best ones in my opinion. My mountain, a rain forest and a black and white one of a dead forest. By far I've had more compliments on the black and white one than any other.
"Yeah, I know, they look better in person though," he said.
"I've got more down the hallway and one in my room," I added. I walked down the hall and he followed. In the hall hangs five paintings. One of my first paintings is of trees and a pond. Next to that is a remake of the same one. Both are not the best; it seems I'm not the best with trees. The next one is a painting I did of a waterfall, back when my mom was around; we painted that together. The next two that were on the opposite side of the wall, were some that my grandmother had painted when I was little. One I had painted with her.
James stopped and looked at all of them. He was beginning to look like my biggest fan. I glanced at his face.
There was a small genuine smile there, his eyes seemed to look bright in wonder and in that instance, he looked so much of the boy I met in school.
"You want to see the one in my room? I hung it up in my room to dry, but just never found a place to hang it. I mean I guess I got room in the hallway," I say as I walk down to my room. I'm glad I cleaned my room but I'm silently praying that I took my laundry basket out.
"Yeah," he said as he followed me to the room and stood at the door.
Should I apologize for the mess? I opened the door and walked in, grabbing the painting off the wall that was hanging by the door. James stayed standing in the doorway.
I brought the painting to him and he looked down at it.
It's a dark sunset over water with a few trees; one of the trees looks like it's leaning, '
looks like there's a sink hole
' Kate had told me. It seems everyone likes this one too. I guess my best ones are the dark color paintings.
"It's beautiful," he says and I put it back on the wall.
Another round of awkward silence as I stood in front of him looking around the room.
"It's cute." I look up at him confused.
"When you feel awkward you sway a little bit."
I didn't know what to say as I didn't even realize I was doing anything.
He smiles and chuckles a little. He tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear stepping closer to me.
I looked up at him, he was so close I could smell his cologne.
He smiles down at me. "Can I tell you something?"
I nod not wanting to say anything.
"I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, but couldn't seem to do it over the phone," he said, staring into my eyes. It was almost like he was searching for something.
