Wedding - Short Story

This story was inspired by my sisters wedding but is mostly fiction - Boston

She began messing with her hair, bobby pins hitting the surface of her vanity as they fall out from between her lips. “Olivia! Are you almost ready?! Its five minutes past when we were supposed to leave!”

“Give me two more minutes!” As she settled on the way the curls fell around her face she slipped into the dress her sister had chosen for her. The dress will do nothing to hide the long rough line running the length of her shoulder blade that never did go back to being normal. This of course was not taken into consideration as the others all loved it and didn’t have to face the firing squad of questions hashing up last years’ hell she had been put through.  The next step was to fasten the strap retraining her feet into the ridiculously uncomfortable shoes her sister just had to have. “They will look better in pictures!” was Leslie’s selling point. I’m never getting married, this is so stupid, and torturing yourself and your family…it’s all a complete waste. Olivia was never the type of girl that got dressed up to impress anyone. She was the type of girl that threw on her favorite Led Zeppelin tee and a pair of cut off shorts and toms and ran out the door for pretty much any occasion. The usual occasion being her sneaking off to Henry’s house to feel that rush come over her erasing any and all memories for just brief moment. “

As Olivia made her way down the stairs she could feel the tension in the air, everyone stressed out over running late on such a momentous occasion and she was smack dab in the middle dragging her feet. With one final unsatisfied glance in the hallway mirror she ran out the door to the limo waiting on the street.

While climbing into the totally over the top extravagant car that’s only purpose was to get them from point A to B, an agonizing sound emerged through the chaos. This sound, so quiet that no one else had heard, seemed to echo in her mind. The words, catastrophe, disaster, bride kills sister at wedding, running rampant through her mind as she pictured a giant hole exposing the lacy slip she was so opposed to wearing but was now glad to have something between her thong and the open air.

Why! Why! Why! does the universe hate me! Fuck this, I am seriously giving up. Normal will never happen for me, why do I even try.

The burning in her eyes began and she fought with herself with everything she had.

You will not cry. You will not cry. Do not ruin this for Leslie. Man I wish I had a z-bar right now. Damn Henry. Always to messed up to be reliable, but god those eyes let him get away with letting me down a thousand times over. What I wouldn’t give to just look into those eyes. To just sink into bed, the wall playing in the background. Perfect.      

The ten minute ride from the house to the church seemed to last an eternity as she contemplated jumping out and running at every red light.  How was she going to tell Leslie she ruined the dressed she paid a small fortune for? Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. Thousands of scenarios playing back to back in her head as they pulled up outside the church. A sinking feeling came over her, “Please let it be okay, I’ll do anything” the words whispered under her breath to no specific person in the sky as she stepped carefully out onto the curb. Her mother would have been ecstatic if she had heard her talking to the sky. “You do believe!  The lord is always listening” is what she would say. It’s a good thing that didn’t happen because then she would have had to let her mother down yet again by having to explain why it is she doesn’t believe.  This is not the day for another one of those discussions.

A small breeze began to blow and Olivia’s nightmare was a reality. She began to run to the back door of the church with her mother chasing behind and in a panic stricken voice said, “what have you done now?!” That sense of disappointment no matter how familiar always stung. That feeling that ran all the way back to grade school when she got into a fight with Jax Martleby and it was of course Olivia’s fault.

Once inside her mother disappeared for what seemed like just a second but must of have been longer because when she returned she was carrying a single needle with a long thread attached. Though the thread was the completely wrong color, her mother was able to fix yet another one Olivia’s’ mistakes just in time for her to run to meet with the other bridesmaids.

With an overwhelming sense of relief, she grabbed the purple and yellow bouquet, which even she had to admit was beautiful, and began walking. One, together, two, together and just when the end was in sight and she could feel the weight lifting off her shoulders….

SNAP!

With a crashing bang she fell to the floor. As she looked up at her sisters face now peeking around the corner, twisted with anger, she thought to herself. “Fucking heels.”

Untitled Short Story

This is a light hearted short story that is meant to be mainly aimed towards teens - Boston

Jaime called the night before last to say goodnight. Lilia loved hearing his voice on the phone, it gave her the feeling of comfort; the kind of comfort you would get if you were wrapped in a warm blanket sitting by the fire drinking hot chocolate. This was her favorite feeling. He had been gone too long; six whole months had already passed since she last saw those aqua blue eyes and silly gelled hair of his. She told him on multiple occasions that she hated his hair but at this point she would gladly feel those spikes against her cheek. Stanford wasn’t all that far from L.A. but it was far enough to drive a wedge in their budding relationship. Their conversation was short, he had been studying, was tired and seriously lacking good conversational skills so Lilia kept it light. She knew she would have to tell him eventually of her plans to move at the beginning of next month but this was not the time. Jaime knew she was not happy living with her parents, it was no secret she was a disappointment in their eyes. What he didn’t know was that she had applied to Yale University last month and got the acceptance letter in the mail last week.  The excitement she felt as she carried the large envelope up to her room and quietly opened it was something she never knew was possible. The idea of being all the way across the country from her parents made her light up like the lights on Hollywood boulevard. The Slanes were thrilled at the thought of their oldest daughter attending the prestigious Yale University; you could practically see them force feeding a law degree down her throat. Uncle Carter had mixed emotions towards the move. He wanted her to be happy and often gave her such advice as “Lil, you do whatever is in that stubborn heart of yours and you’ll reach the moon”. For a lawyer, he sure did have a lot of hippy in him. He was nothing like her father and that was why they got along so well.

            The phone rang as Lilia was slinging her messenger bag onto her shoulder on her way to one of her final classes at UCLA. It was Jaime of course but there was no time for pleasantries, not even for a hello for as soon as he heard her voice he began his announcement. “I’M COMING TO GET YOU! GET READY!” His excitement flew through the phone and into her chest throwing her back onto the couch. Excitement, followed quickly with confusion filled her as the only word that could drop from her jaw was “How?” Jaime explained how he had the weekend off and had left early this morning to surprise her and he would be there in about an hour. This is perfect, she knew this would be the opportunity she needed to tell him but she was sad to let go of the comfort of telling him over the phone. Class would have to go unseen today and she was perfectly okay with this fact. When he showed up at her door she could do nothing but throw her arms around him neck and take a deep breath, taking the time to inhale every bit of him she could. He kissed her long, and passionate before opening the car door for her. She was still dizzy from their kiss as they drove to the park. He had stopped at the store and bought things for a makeshift picnic trying desperately to be romantic and being surprisingly successful in his efforts.

            As they sat on the beach towel that was substituting for a blanket and ate their ready-made sandwiches an uncomfortable feeling set in. This was it. She had to tell him. It was beautiful out, the perfect seventy five degree breeze swept her brunette curls across her shoulder and the sun warmed her skin, she couldn’t imagine ruining this with her news but it was inevitable. She decided the best way to tell him was to show him, so that’s what she did. With an uncertain smirk, she slipped the letter into his hand.  It was just a piece of paper, worn out from being unfolded, read and re-folded a thousand times and yet it seemed to carry the weight of the world as he held it. She watched as confusion and then sadness swept over his face. Finally, he lifted his eyes from the letter to meet hers. A single tear fell effortlessly down his cheek washing away any doubts Lilia had about how he felt about her. “So you’re going” was all he could say before his voice cracked with emotion. There was a long silence as they sat and held each other and then suddenly a smile twisted the corners of Jaime’s mouth “I graduate in two months” Confusion and then excitement filled her as she realized, he’s following me to Yale? He’s following me to Yale! She nuzzled her nose into his neck and started to daydream about Yale.

            The next few weeks flew by in a blur and the next thing she knew she was standing outside LAX. Jaime waited patiently as she said her cold goodbyes to her parents, promising to check in with them when she landed. With a pivot and three quick steps she was inches away from his face.  Lilia’s voice struggled “I’m going to miss you more than anything”. As he used his thumbs to wipe away the tears from her cheeks he kissed her forehead. “I will see you in one month, piece of cake!” and with one last kiss she was on her way.                                               

Dream

Eyelids,

                Blackness,

                                Slight fear of the unknown,

drifting, slowly, in and out….

A creak…

                A crack…

Fighting the urge to stay awake

Fighting the urge to fall asleep

Stuck in the middle.

Sudden forgetfulness flows in followed by a new world;

The days lessons slipping into unfamiliar patterns

Awake with thoughts of the nights adventures

a new day begins with the opening of a door

but the adventures of the night stay fresh in the mind,

                Until…

Light…

A cool breeze…

An outside voice speaks, dragging you into reality and you are not longer

Alone.  

Some Flash Fiction / Short Story

Conceided

There was never a real reason for it, the repeated looks in the mirror. He needed to see himself at all times. Always satisfied with the man looking back.

The park

3 little girls playing with a red Frisbee are standing under the old maple tree; the very tree that just happens to be my perfect reading tree. The curves of its trunk mold perfectly to my back and my limbs fall perfectly below its limbs. Though they are completely unaware of their trespassing I cannot help but to feel betrayed. With my book still in hand, I begin to wait, to wait mostly for my tree to be available but also for this feeling of betrayal to dissipate. They can’t be older than 6 years of age so I think to myself, Where are their parents? Legal guardians? Otherwise? It’s not safe these days for little girls to be alone at the park, with all the murder and abductions. I hear a voice calling from behind one of the many inadequate trees filling the park and the girls freeze in response. A flush of victory runs through me as they pack up their Frisbee and run towards the hidden voice. The leaves crunch beautifully under my feet as I race to my perfect tree, with its perfect curves. I sink slowly down into my spot and open my book.  Success.

"Never Settle" - Prose Poem

I will settle for nothing less

You broke my heart and forced me to walk on eggshells

Someday I will feel a sweet caress

Looking back it all seemed natural

The cuts riddling the soles of my feet, weight pressed at the toes

I will settle for nothing less

Seems more like memories

Reminding me that this is not how it should be

I will someday feel a sweet caress

I should not ever fear the wrong words falling from

The tongue in a way that they hit the ears harshly

I will settle for nothing less

There should be warm light

Enveloping your soul, forcing flash flood smiles

I will someday feel that sweet caress

There should be a feeling of safety, never wanting, never wondering

If I should die still searching, that will be okay for

I will settle for nothing less

But I do hope that one day I feel that sweet caress.

Midnight

I wake after midnight and hear you

breating next to me

I watch your chest rise and fall

and it brings warmth to the night

The mattress sinks beneath us

creating a perfect mold of our bodies entangled

Your skin brushes against mine as you adjust your position

sending fire through my veins

Its late and I should be asleep

but

I am content

I am happy

just bathing in this moment.

Introducing Me...

About 3 years ago I made a spur of the moment decision to move half way across the country to Fort Worth, TX. I grew up in the outskirts of Boston, MA for the first 23 years of my life. As much as I loved it there I always knew I wouldn't stay there for good. So when a friend of mine moved to Texas, I was able to come visit. The last time I "visited" I ended up extending my stay for 3 weeks and found myself interviewing for a job. After getting the job, I proceeded to fly back to Boston, pack all of my belonging into my car and 3 suitcases in a time period of 2 days and flew back to Texas to begin my new life.

If you knew me at all you would know this was highly out of character, it was normal for me to get anxiety driving an hour from my house let alone across the country. It was not surprising to have almost everyone I knew telling me I wasn’t going to last more than a month here. I was quick to believe them at first, the first few weeks being extremely nerve racking and scary. But once I passed the "OH MY GOD IM STUCK IN TEXAS" stage I began growing into the person I always knew I could be.

Now that I have given a little background on myself, I will explain a little about what this blog will be used for. I have always been interested in writing. Whether it be reading novels by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens or writing quirky or depressing poems, I have always been fascinated with the power of words.  Their ability to take you to a place you have never been or feel a feeling that someone wants you to feel. Fascinating. The more I read and write the more I want to continue. I recently took a creative writing course that allowed me to explore the world of short stories. This was new territory for me and I was excited to find that it was something I enjoyed immensely, though I don’t consider myself a true writer, I enjoy doing it and would love feedback to help me grow in the world of writing. I will be posting everything from flash fiction, short stories and poetry to my random rants on whatever is going on in my life. This may or may not be what you are interested in but I hope I at least make an impact on someone. Enjoy! 

-Boston ;)