Brynn sat in the large armchair with her legs hanging over the edge. She peered out the window of her living room at the late night sky. Sighing to herself she looked down at the floor at her best friend Holly, and her three new friends who were carrying on a game of truth or dare.
Taylor noticed that Brynn had been quiet for a long time so he scooted across the floor and sat in front of her chair. He leaned back and smiled up at her. Brynn put her hand on the top of his head and ran her fingers through her hair. "You ok?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm fine." She nodded. "My arm's a little sore but I'm ok."
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, placing his hand on her cast.
"What it's like to sleep on a bus." She grinned.
"Uhm, Hello..." Holly threw a pillow at Brynn. "It's Zac's turn. Come on. Get back over here."
Brynn and Taylor laughed and scooted back to the middle of the room. They sat on the floor next to eachother.
"Ok." Zac began. "Isaac, Truth or Dare."
"Dare."
Zac grinned. "Ok then... I dare you... to make out with Holly for 30 seconds."
Isaac looked at Holly and blushed. She laughed, afraid that Isaac was too embarrassed to complete the dare, she tried to talk Zac out of it. "Why does everybody always include me in their six plots for entertainment. It's just..." But before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Isaac leaned over, put his hand behind her neck, and began kissing her.
Zac's eyes widened and he looked down at his watch. After 30 seconds he clapped his hands. "Ok, good good." He paused. "OK. STOP!" He waved his hands in the air.
Isaac pulled away and grinned.
Brynn laughed. "So Holly, how was that dare?"
Holly blushed. "MUCH better than kissing a poster."
"And it wasn't even your dare!" Isaac laughed. "Ok now... Holly, truth or dare."
Holly rolled her eyes. "Geez Louise. Truth..."
"Ok." Isaac thought long and hard. "Last night you told me that you don't think you deserve happiness. Why?"
Holly glanced at Brynn who shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I've always just known that."
"But it's not true." Isaac protested.
"You don't know that, Isaac. You don't know why I feel that way."
"So tell me. Why do you think you don't deserve happiness?"
Holly took a deep breath and looked at the ground. Her voice filled with melancholy, she told them a story that she'd only ever told to three people in her lifetime. "When I was in first grade there was this girl named Erin. I guess she was my first best friend. I adored her but now I don't even remember what she looks like. I wasn't her best friend though. I was always in the way. Her best friend's name was Valerie and she was pretty much one of the most popular people in the school even though she was only in first grade." She sighed. "I didn't really knew what that meant back then. But at the end of that year, Erin moved to Texas. The only real goodbye I got was a postcard that said 'We Finally Moved'.
"My mom was really sad for me because she knew I was heartbroken. She drove me to Valerie's house and I still remember the look on her family's face when we pulled into the driveway. My mom's plan was to have Val and me be friends to ease eachother's pain. It worked and we were great friends. Then the next summer Erin came to visit but I never got to see her because they said that they were too busy. So Val's mom promised me I'd get to see Erin the next summer and we'd all go up to their cabin and hang out together.
"Next summer came along and I heard nothing. But one day I heard my dog barking outside and I went out to tell her to shut up. There were Erin and Val running through my yard. I pretty much almost fell over. I went inside, screamed, and then came back out. I invited them over to spend the night and they said they'd ask. Two days went by and my mom was getting worried about me because I was falling apart. So she called Valerie's mom and asked what was up. Val's mom said that I was never going to see Erin again because I used their family to get to see her. She said I was ungrateful, worthless, and I didn't deserve the happiness that having a friend like Erin could give me.
"And that was it. That was the last time I ever saw Erin. I was so happy in fifth grade to move away but it turned out that Val ended up moving to the same school as me and I've had to see her everyday since." She stopped and shrugged. "So yeah, I've got issues." She laughed it off. "Taylor, truth or dare." And with that, the story was over, and nobody said another word about it. Isaac however, was watching Holly the rest of the night, feeling guilty for making her tell the story.
"Truth."
Holly nodded. "Are you happy with your life?"
He thought for what seemed to be an eternity before he finally nodded slowly. "I am. I've never really thought about it before. I figure if you're unhappy there really isn't much you can do about it. But I am happy. Specially these past couple days."
Brynn smiled and looked down.
Taylor glanced at her and held her hand. He squeezed it lightly. "You never really know what's going to happen in your life." He looked at Holly. "Bad shit happens. God gives us obstacles. But the sun comes up the next morning, and you never know what the tide is going to bring in."***
Holly smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you're happy."
The game continued on for a while and Holly didn't say another word. Nobody noticed how quiet she'd been until she got up and left the room, heading towards the kitchen.
Isaac looked at Taylor and Zac. He didn't know what to do. He still didn't understand women. He never knew if he was supposed to help them, or leave them alone. He took the only route he knew he was good at and went into the kitchen to see if she was ok.
Zac sighed. "Well, I gotta go onto the bus and use my cellphone. I promised her I'd call tonight." He said, referring to his girlfriend.
Taylor waited until he left the room before he leaned over and kissed Brynn softly and sweetly on the lips.
"What was that for?" She asked, kindly accepting his kiss, but still surprised at his action.
"You're a great friend to her."
"To Holly?" She sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could be more."
He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him so that she was almost laying in his lap. She smiled and ran her hand across the smooth skin of his forearm. "Do you know why I'm happy?"
"Why?"
"Because I finally found somebody different. I finally found somebody who is caring, honest, beautiful, and..." He paused. "Ok I ran out of words but you get the idea."
Brynn laughed. She couldn't help but feeling like everything he was saying, she had heard out of his mouth before. It must have been in one of the many dreams she'd had about him. For three years she thought Zac was the one she would relate to the most if she ever met them, but she could never stop the dreams from coming, the dreams where Taylor would hold her in his arms and kiss her, telling her that he loved her. She never knew where they came from or what they meant. Now it was as if they were coming true right before her very eyes. It was something she never expected but she welcomed with open arms.
Isaac walked into the kitchen to see Holly sitting at the table with her head down on her arms. "Hey..." He almost whispered. "You ok?"
She turned her head away from him so that she was facing the wall. He sat down in the chair next to her. "I feel so stupid."
"Why?"
"For telling you guys that. You didn't have to hear it."
"But... it was a truth. You had to tell us. Well, you didn't have to tell us... if you didn't want to."
"That's the bad thing. I wanted to." She sat up and looked at him. "I wanted to tell you because I knew you wanted to know."
"I'm stupid for being so nosey."
"I'm stupid for being so..."
"Passionate?"
Holly laughed. "I was thinking more along the lines of worthless but hey, yours sounds much better."
Isaac laughed and brushed his hand across her cheek. There was a slight shine that showed him she was crying when he came in. It was why she turned away. But now she was smiling and joking. He was afraid it was all she had to cover up pain from her past. "Don't call yourself worthless... and don't ever think you don't deserve happiness." Holly sighed and looked away but Isaac put his hand under her chin and brought her face back to his. "I haven't met a girl worthy of as much happiness as you. Remember that."
Holly smiled. "I'll try."
"Ok then, truth or dare?"
"In a minute." She smiled. "I'll be there in a minute."
Isaac nodded and went back to the living room to find Brynn laying with her head in Taylor's lap. Her eyes were closed and he was running his fingers through her hair. He'd never seen his brother so happy before. He was glad that Brynn and Holly were coming with them to Erie the next day. He was glad he'd get to know Holly better, but even more, he was glad that Taylor wouldn't have to say goodbye to Brynn.
*** Ok these are two quotes. God gives us obstacles is from Where the Heart Is. The second one is from Cast Away but I probably have it quoted wrong. You get the idea.
Hearts of Fate
Stories
See Brynn and Holly