“Ready?” he said, his shallow beard almost moving with the word itself. He wore blue jeans and a leather jacket over a sweater.
“Yeah, I guess?” I laughed softly.
We walked swiftly up the driveway to the front door that was on the left. My brother rang the doorbell. We stood there for a moment with no response. I gazed at my brother from afar. His stone-washed jeans were tight against his strong legs. His leather jacket made his back appear tense.
“Maybe the door’s open…” my brother said. He grabbed the brass doorknob against the white door. He turned it to the left, and pushed the door open. He stepped inside, followed by my daddy. “Hello.” I heard my brother say.
I stepped inside, hearing, “Oh, Zach, you look so much older!” from an older-female voice. I took off my sneakers, and jacket. My daddy had already taken off his, and I gave my jacket to him. My dad hung it up on the black coat rack. I placed my shoes in a small corner. The house itself was pure white, with white walls, tiled floors and carpeting. To my right, there was a door the led into the garage. To my left, there were the same black leather couches I remember, with a large grand piano, with the upper-floor overhang just above the couches. In front of me, there were two staircases. The one on the right led to a door which was the basement. The one on the left led to the upper floor. Right above me was the awesome chandelier which sparkled as it shined with light.
“Lydia…Lydia, is that you?” I heard my Grandma shriek. Zach moved, and I saw my Grandma Ida. She wasn’t my blood-related Grandma though. My real Grandma died of lung cancer two years before Zach was born. I didn’t feel any emotion towards her death, but I knew my daddy was affected by it. Grandma Ida was just as tall as I am. Her face resembles that of Hillary Clinton. Her hair was white and her eyes brown. She wore a peach colored blouse with black pants.
I said, smiling at her, “Hi Grandma!”
She reached out to me for a hug, “You are gorgeous! Where did all this beautiful come from?”
“I’m not sure?” I said as I gave her a big hug.
We let go and she held my face for a moment. Then she looked over to my dad, “And Scott, as brutish as always.” She gave him a big hug.
“Evening Ida.” he said as he hugged her back. The room began to fill with a sense of awkwardness.
I heard a high-pitched scream, and felt someone smash against the side of my body. The overwhelming smell of perfume rushed into my nose. I coughed slightly as the tightened grip around me began to unwind. I looked to my left, and saw my cousin, Lacey, looking back at me. She had straight, bronze hair like my brother and bright blue eyes like my own. Her skin was tanned. Her face was innocent and flawless, with an unforgettable smile.
She was 16. “Lydia! How are you? How was the rest of your summer?”
She wore a purple sweater and dark jeans. I noticed a shiny necklace around her neck, and immediately saw that it was the one my brother gave her for Christmas a few years back. It was a single pearl, surrounded by a circle of diamonds. It reminded me of my own necklace that I was wearing under my white sweatshirt.
“It was great!” I smiled back at her. I didn’t know what to say to her. Usually things come easily with her, but something was different this time.
“Uncle Scott!” she shouted, throwing herself into my dad, giving him a big hug. After a moment, she let him go, looking over at Zach.
Zach smiled at her, “You forget about me?”
She threw herself into him, “I could never forget about you!” She hugged him tightly.
I stared at them. She held him for much longer than I had thought. Every second that drifted by felt like an hour. Envy…more envy…more envy. She nearly swooned in his strength before she let him go. I had the intense urge to hold him next to me, and claim him as my man. My entire body ached. She looked back at me and smiled, just before she went back upstairs. My grandma and daddy followed her up. I heard more talking coming from upstairs as I watched Zach slowly take off his leather jacket.
“You don’t have to wait for Me.” he said softly.
I took a deep breath, “You’re the only one who won’t make this awkward.”
He hung his jacket on the coat rack and then walked to me. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
“Nothing is wrong why?” I responded.
He placed his hands against my upper arms, “Your muscles are tense.”
I took another deep breath. “You know, it’s really creepy how you can just see right through me.” I said softly, giving him a teasing smile.
He gave me a sexy smile, “Come on.” He took my hand and led me to the stairs. We walked together, my hand gripping his tightly.
We walked halfway up the stairs until Zach let my hand go, evading the sight of our family. I took the final step, and everything was just the way it was two years ago. There was an open kitchen directly in front of me. To my right, there was a long hallway leading to bathrooms and bedrooms. To my left, there was a large television, with brown leather couches. Directly to the left of the kitchen, there was the dining room all of this in one large area. Just beyond the glass dining room table, there is a sliding door which leads to a wooden deck. I noticed Hailey sitting on the couch, who was Lacey’s older sister, 21 years of age. She had dirty blonde hair, with green eyes. She was the same height as Zach, yet she was extremely skinny. She wore a brown sweatshirt with the front cut off, exposing her cleavage, along with daisy dukes. She was watching television and didn’t even notice Zach and I walk in. I looked to the dining room table, and I saw my aunt Erin, with her short blonde hair and green eyes. Erin was just as tall as my daddy, and she was much more aggressive for a woman than I am used to. She is the mother of Lacey and Hailey. Next to her, I saw my grandpa. He was looking down, and I could already feel the awkwardness begin to flow through my chest.
“Lydia! Come here and give your auntie a hug!” Erin called. I smiled as I paced to her, giving her a big hug as she sat on a chair.
I let her go, and she spoke, “Have you been keeping your brother in line?”
I laughed softly, “Oh, for sure! He doesn’t even breathe unless I say!”
She laughed, “Good girl, have to keep them boys in check!”
I gave her a big smile, but didn’t respond. I focused my attention to my grandpa. He was sitting at the far end of the table, barely looking at me. I walked to him, and he stood up, acknowledging my presence. He wore a white shirt, tucked into light brown pants with suspenders around his shoulders. His glasses were thick, and large. His white mustache just covered his upper lip and white hair was receding on his head. His body was near being only skin and bones, a fragile man.
I gave him a hug, and he barely touched me back. I said softly, “Hi grandpa.”
“Hello…” he said, in such seclusion, as if he was talking to air.
I looked over to my brother who was standing by Hailey at the couch. I observed as she jumped up from the couch, wrapped her arms around my brother’s neck, and hugged him, smiling as she did. I saw as his hands fell to her hips. I felt it again, the envy from before. It burned under my skin. I didn’t want her slutty, disease infested body anywhere near him. Every inch of my body wanted to push her off him, and just kiss him.
“Lydia…” I heard a voice say.
“Wait, what?” I asked, my grandpa looking at me.
“How is school going?” my grandpa asked slowly.
“It’s pretty good.” I said, taking a deep breath.
“Good…keeping your grades up?” he asked.
“Yeah, I am.” I said.
I glanced back to where Zach and Hailey were, Zach was gone and Hailey was back on the couch. I looked back at my grandpa. Zach was standing right next to him. I almost jumped. I didn’t expect him to be there. I didn’t stay to listen to them speak instead; I took a seat next to my aunt. I noticed my grandma was cooking food in the kitchen directly in front of me, along with my daddy. I took out my phone from my back pocket and clicked the screen on. I had four messages.
The first one was from my friend Dan, which read, ‘Happy thanksgiving!’ I replied back, ‘you too! ’
The second one was from my daddy, which read, ‘Try to talk with your grandfather more. He has been off lately.’ I didn’t respond. I wouldn’t know what to say.
The third message was from a random number. This read, ‘Just relax. Everything will be fine. Stay with Zach or Lacey and the awkwardness should pass.' I knew who was on the other end of the message. But I never added his number to my phone. I replied back, 'I know, I’m trying to '
I opened clicked the final message. It was from Lauren, ‘How’s the family?’ I replied, ‘ehh pretty much the same. How about yours?’
I looked up from my phone, and noticed my grandpa had sat back down along with Lacey, who was now sitting across from our grandpa. I put my phone back into my pocket.
My grandpa slowly spoke, “So, Lacey, how’s the boyfriend?”
I was stunned. “You never told me you had a boyfriend!” I said.
She blushed over her tanned cheeks, “It was like a two week thing. We decided to stay good friends.”
Suddenly, my brother snuck up behind her, slamming his hands down on her shoulders. She jumped.
“That’s because you’re too cute, he couldn’t handle it.” Zach said, as he began to massage her shoulders, neck and back. Her tiny laughs turned to slight moans as he rubbed her.
“That feels really good.” she said softly. I could see the muscles in his arms flex as he pleased her. I never thought I would ever say this, but in that moment, I wanted to be her. I needed to be her.
I broke from my emotions as I heard my grandma call, “Bruce!”
“Yes?” my grandpa said softly.
“Will you go down to the basement and grab the extra corn from the freezer?” she said.
“Yes, I can do that.” my grandpa said as he was trying to get up from his chair.
I jumped out of my chair, “I’ll do it grandpa!” I needed the excuse to leave the room. I couldn’t watch Zach and Lacey anymore. I paced through the room, rushing down both stairways to the door to the basement. I grabbed the knob and twisted, pushing the door open. I flicked on the light switch. The basement was unfinished; there were wooden beams and pink insulation that made up the walls. Mountains of cardboard boxes covered almost all of the space, but I noticed a small path leading to a white freezer. I walked over to it and opened it. It was like a giant ice chunk inside. I couldn’t see anything. So I just dug my hand into the ice.
