"YES! EDWARD IS AWESOME!" Paul shouted happily as he and his siblings sat on the couch watched a Full Metal Alchemist episode. Edward Elric was currently battling a suit of armor number 48 in the 5th Laboratory. Shelly just rolled her eyes at her older brother,
How immature can he get, she thought. Peter looked a bit annoyed at Paul.
"I still say Goku could kick Ed's butt any day!" He proclaimed. Paul glared at his twin brother.
"Take that back, Humuculous!"
"Never, Saiyan!" Before she knew it the twins were, once again, fighting.
Okay. How immature can they both get? Now her eye was beginning to twitch. They continued.
" You're ugly!"
Twitch, twitch...
"You're butt is ugly!"
Twitch, twitch, twitch...
" Your girlfriend's ugly! Oops! Forgot, you don't have one!"
Twitch, twitch, twitch...
" Idiot! Neither do y–"
SLAP! SLAP!
Shelly stood over the whimpering boys.
"Knock it off! BOTH OF YOU! Seriously! It's hard to believe I'M the youngest! Call me when you both decided to grow brains!" Shelly yelled as she grabbed her ballet bag and bursted out of the living room. Leave it up to the twins to be so childish that Shelly's head would explode. She often wondered if they'd ever be the respectable young men all the adults said they'd be. Deciding she couldn't be in the house anymore, she went into the entrance to look for the keys.
" Hey, kiddo. Where you goin'?" her father asked, spotting her rustling through the pile of junk on the table beside the door. Shelly gave him a moody glare before resuming her search.
"The keys. I have ballet, remember?" Her father frowned and walked over to help.
" I remember. You've only been doing it since you were–"
" Five, Dad. And, yes, you do forget. Quite often. Referring to last Friday when you forgot to come to my meeting for the summer program. Don't lie to save my feelings, Father. When you lie your pinky twitches." Shelly ranted bluntly as she found the keys and walked for the door. He was about to protest before catching the last part of the sentence and eying his pinky.
" It does?" He noticed the sudden lack of Shelly beside him.
" Shealese! Wait– " He called after her, but she had already shut the door.
Standing on the concrete porch, Shelly stopping to shake her head and grin.And with that, she got into the car and pulled out of the driveway.
She raced down the block and turning the corner. She continued driving before stopping at an all too familiar house. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed the number. After a few rings someone picked up.
"Hello?" Asked a confused, sleepy voice from the other end. Shelly smiled,
" Morning– er– afternoon. You ready?" Shealese asked indifferently. She should have figured she'd still be asleep.
" For what?" The voice proceeded to yawn very loudly.
" Dance, Sarah. Remember? You signed us both up– without my permission, I might add– so that you could get more ballet experience for next years classes." Shelly wasn't exactly bitter, but since she'd already graduated to pointe, she was a little disturbed that Sarah had singed them up together for a summer school intermediate ballet course. But after a lot of begging and pleading on her friend's part, there she was.
" Huh?" She heard Sarah perk. She sighed. Her accent was often too much for Sarah, especially when she talked in run-on sentences. Having a ditzy friend with an Australian accent bugged sometimes.
" Dance!" She clarified.
"OH MY GOSH!" Shelly held the phone away from her ear too late.
" Ow..." She grumbled inwardly at the girls sudden outburst.
" I totally forgot!" Chimed in Sarah. Continuing the wrestling to find her things in what Shelly knew to be a perfectly clean room, which left her to wonder what there was to wrestling in.
" I figured, Sap." Shelly replied, nonchalantly picking up a stray hair from her jeans and tossing it to the side. She then received a hrmph in reply to her nickname. "Sap" was a middle school name that Sarah acquired because of her romantic ideals, and the fact that it was her initials. Shelly only learned of this last year, though, when she moved to Columbus, Ohio.
" Ahhhh!" Sarah growled over the phone. Shelly settled deeper in her seat.
" Alright, Sarah. I'll wait for you out here. Hurry up! Or I'm going home!" With that, the platinum blond hung up her phone and put it aside. She waited until she saw the flow of red hair racing toward the car before starting the engine again. Shelly released a small finally before pulling into the street.
After a few more minutes of Sarah ruffling through her bag to check everything and a few more moments of silence, she spoke up.
" Okay. You won't believe the junk that guy tried to pull yesterday!" Shelly rolled her eyes.
Here we go... She slunked deeper into her chair, bracing herself for the non-stop bantering that was about to come from her best friend's mouth. Sometimes she wondered how much more of this "That Guy" stuff she could handle before she slowly began to go insane. She was, of course, referring to Nick Yu, who was a long-time friend of Sarah's who was madly in love with her, although, clueless to the fact that she didn't want what he had to offer. She was a Mormon girl and he was an inactive Mormon boy who traded it all in for the bad boy act. And with how stubborn Sarah was to her faith, Nick didn't have a prayer.
She slowly, and carefully slipped into her own thoughts. After about what seemed like an eternity of (half) listening to Sarah say "Nick this", and "Nick, that", they were pulling into the studio parking lot.
" Honestly, Sap, why don't you just marry the guy now and forever hold your peace!" Sarah gasped at the blond's comment. Shelly could have sworn she saw her almost faint.
" Wh-what? I'd never! That stupid, pig-headed, two-faced–" And it went on. Shelly tuned out the carrot top as she started looking to turn into the lot, but right as she was pulling in, a large form of a blue minivan shot into view, forcing Shelly to slam on her breaks.
" WOW!" Shelly pushed on the breaks as hard as she could as Sarah gave a sharp screech. Thankfully, the van had pushed it's breaks in time, too. Now there was about an inch between the two cars and impact. Shelly exhaled all breath she had gasped into her lungs.
That was close. I'd never hear the end of it from the twins if I wrecked this car... Shelly was shaken out of her thoughts by loud honking coming from in front of her. The blue minivan was honking at her.
" Hey, move it!" The woman yelled, sticking her brunette head out of the window. Shelly's eyes narrowed, studying the woman briefly.
" Okay, okay! Crazy soccer moms!" Shelly thought aloud. She pulled more over to the side to let the woman pass. The lady raced past, almost side swiping Shelly in the process. With that, Shelly fully pulling into the parking lot to find a parking spot.
" Geez. You know there are pills for people like that!" Shelly spat nervously. She felt her palms sweating and her adrenaline trying to take back what it had released. She pulled into a spot and parked. Once the engine died, she leaned back in her seat.
What a maniac, she thought. She reflected back to the woman's face. From what she saw, she thought she remembered her eyes looked a bit red. She remembered what eyes looked like after crying all too well, but the woman didn't seem to have those eyes. She shook her head.
"Well, if she was driving with a hangover, then that seems like a personal problem to me!" She finally concluded, taking a glance at Sarah who had been strangely quiet since she had screamed. Shelly instantly regretted it, because she nearly peed her pants from laughter. Sarah was staring head on, blue eyes wide, mouth open, and body stiff. It looked almost too funny to be real. Hearing Shelly's laughter Sarah snapped back into reality. Slowly turning to look at the blond, she nearly cried,
" I thought I was gonna die! How is that funny?" Sarah grabbed a ballet slipper from her bag and proceeded to slap her friend out of her laughter, which she learned didn't have any effect.
" Shelly– Stoooooop!" Sarah pouted as she sank back into the passengers seat. After a few more minutes of listening to her best friend's hysterical laughter, Sarah finally grabbed her bag and got out of the car. Shelly fallowed.
" Come on, Sap! You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" Shelly called after. She didn't understand why it was such a big deal that she had laughed, but Sarah wasn't having any of it.
" Oh, go away!"
" If I do you won't have a ride home!"
" I'll walk!"
" You won't!" Shelly caught up with the red-head. Sarah had a smirk on her face and elbowed her playfully before ruffling her short blond hair. Shelly flipped her hair out of her face and continued walking to the entrance. Shelly then realized what had just happened. The woman's face still in her head. She chewed her lip, looking at Sarah and then remembering her face. She started smiling again, then she felt a churn in her stomach and she remembered. She couldn't allow herself to forget and instantly felt stupid for letting herself laugh. She didn't deserve laughter like that.
The two girls walked out of the studio several hours later, both similarly exhausted. Shelly nearly dragged her bag behind her, and Sarah already doing so. They trudged toward the car.
" You know, sometimes I wonder what it is about dance intensives that I like after sessions like that with Miss 'Point you're toes! Point your toes!'." Sarah said. Shelly only grunted in response, but really, she wondered the same thing. She'd probably never know, she figured. They loaded themselves into the car and got situated. Shelly reached into the back to plop her bag on the seat when she spotted something on the floor. Picking it up, she saw it was a miniature clock. She examined it while sitting back in her seat.
" Hey, Sap. This come out of your bag?" She asked, not even looking at her friend. Sarah looked up from her shuffling.
" Oh, yea! I found it the other day at school. It must have fallen out when I was wacking you with my ballet shoe." She answered bubbly, reaching for it. Shelly moved it away so Sarah couldn't reach it.
" That statement was very insensitive considering how hard you hit me– and you just picked it up? " Shelly remarked, giving Sarah a puzzled look. Sarah frowned.
" Yes, I did. It looks cool, doesn't it? And you deserved the beating." She reached further over Shelly to retrieve it. The platinum blond let her take it, but still eying it suspiciously. It gave her a bad feeling...
" No. It doesn't look cool. I think it's weird that you just collect random things off the ground." She stated. Sarah waved it off, being used to Shelly's blunt– and often rude– honesty.
" Aaaanyway, seriously, I though I was gonna die. I mean–" It started... Again. Shelly only nodded to Sarah's ranting, already lost in her own thoughts. She cautiously pulled out of the parking lot looking for any blue minivans in the process. Once the coast was clear, she continued.
" – not to mention how hot it is in there! Don't they understand that it's SUMMER. Gosh! Hey, Shelly, this is the turn." She pointed, catching Shelly off guard.
" Oh, sorry." She apologized. She pulled into the next lane and turned left onto Sarah's street. She'd gotten so lost in her head she'd almost missed the turn; she was on automatic to her house. Once they pulled up to the driveway, Sarah started fumbling through her stuff, not realizing that a certain clock had fallen out again. Sarah got out of the car and walked to the other side, bending down to Shelly's window.
" By the way, thanks for doing the ballet thing with me. I know it must seem a little redundant since you're already on pointe and all."
" Ah... Don't worry about it. I had fun. Besides, you could use all the help you can get!" Shelly teased. Sarah looked offended and punched her playfully in the arm. Sarah laughed while Shelly half smiled..
" Seriously, Shell, you're a lifesaver. Especially since I know it's close to you to the anniversary and all..." Sarah trailed off, but Shelly knew what she really meant by that. There was a silence.
" I know you don't like it, so I thought maybe we could–"
" I'm fine, thanks." Shelly reasoned. Sarah always wanted to make an opportunity for Shelly to "open up". She just needed to get through it all.
" You sure? You've been kinda spacey today. Like you almost missed–"
" Yes, Sarah. Thank you, but no thank you. Can I go?" She snapped. Sarah looked taken back, but nodded and walked back from the car.
" See you tomorrow, Shelly." Shelly nodded.
" Bye, Sap." And she drove off, leaving a hurt best friend on the sidewalk.
She promptly pulled into her driveway at about 5. Looking around, she saw the clock on the passenger's seat. She glared at it and made a mental note to give it back to Sarah tomorrow. She painfully lugged her sore legs out of the car and trudged into the house with her bag in hand. She knew she wouldn't be able to carry her duffle all the way up the stairs– let alone herself– so she dropped it at the door, putting the keys on the side table and moving on. She should have noticed the black heals parked with all the rest of the shoes, but since she never took her own shoes off like she usually did, she wasn't prepared. That's when she heard voices. No. She heard laughter from her family, which in itself wouldn't be too improbable, but it was the fact that it was accompanied by another woman... In any other house, a woman's voice would be the mother, but in Shelly's house, where she was the only girl, it wasn't normal. Shelly's suspicion rose.
"Shelly? Is that you?" Shelly almost responded, but instead walked into the dining room to present herself.
Around the table was her oldest brother, Gabe, who was back from the University, the twins, her father, and a dark haired woman. She had dark brown hair and light green eyes that were settled on her. Everyone at the table was staring at her. She felt like she'd suddenly grown a new head and felt uncomfortable. Her father cleared his throat. Shelly's eyes narrowed. Father's clearing their throats was never a good thing.
" Shealese, welcome home."
" Who's she?" Shelly never liked beating around the bush. It just got too messy.
" Well, uh, I was going to tell you this aftern–"
" That's not what I asked, Dad." Shelly knew her bluntness usually came off strong (and rude) and she knew it was coming off especially awkward to the guest, but the atmosphere in the room was getting to stiff for Shelly to care. Shelly's father was used to Shelly's attitude, so he quickly adjusted and answered the question.
" This is Monica Turner. She's a coworker of mine." Shelly raised an eyebrow. She knew what she wanted to say, which was, you know that dating coworkers isn't a good thing for your job, or do people usually invite lady coworkers home for dinner without dating them. Or something to that effect, but she couldn't. She waited. Her father asked her to sit down, but she refused.
Shelly didn't want serious, and she knew that if she sat down it would become serious.
" Well," her father continued, reaching his hand across the table to hold Monica's hand. Shelly felt herself flinch when they touched.
" Monica and I are dating... Seriously." Shelly didn't have any reaction at first. How could she? Obviously everyone else had known about it except her. No one started dating seriously until they'd been dating slightly, which she didn't even know he had been dating at all.
" Since when do you date?" Shelly asked forcefully.
" Well, Shealese, that's the thing. We–"
" Oh! WE? That's rich. So, all of a sudden– you– what happened to my mother?" Shelly tried to organize her thoughts. What was it she was trying to say. Her father tried to speak up, but she wouldn't let him.
" What? What happened– I mean..." Her mind started to flood with memories, thoughts. It all made sense. They all knew she couldn't handle it, so they kept it from her. She was the liability– the broken one. Just like her mom had been... She had to get out of there. Nowhere near Monica, her father, her brothers... Everyone. She saw what was happening. All over again.
Before she knew it she had flown out of the dinning room and already grabbed the keys. Maybe her father called after her, or even Gabe, but she wouldn't know. It was all a blur of hyped-up emotion. She heard the wheels screeching as it sped away from the house. She wouldn't look back– she wouldn't dare look back.
Another mother. She'd never considered it. She just always assumed her father didn't either. How could he? She felt her heart nearly beating out of her chest. Why was it even still beating? The cars honked at her. What for she didn't care. All she cared about was getting away.
"I'm too tired today, Shelly... You can go to ballet tomorrow when I'm feeling up to it." She heard. She held her head. It didn't stop it, though.
" Richelle! Oh my go– my baby! MY BABY!"
" Why are you torturing me? Leave me alone..."
" I'm just so tired..."
" How can I be okay when my baby girl is dead, Shelly?"
" Don't do ballet, Shealese. It looks painful, I can't lose another child..."
" STOP IT! I WANT THIS PAIN TO JUST GO AWAY!" She cried, slamming her fists on the wheel. She swerved and heard skidded wheels. She saw a bright light coming from the passenger's side and turned to look. She saw the front of a dark blue mini van speeding toward her before it finally hit...
Her life had just hit a plateau. It was consistent– smooth. Getting used to what was going on and adjusting to it. She'd finally felt alright after the suicide. She was able to just be going through the motions and feel okay through the day. Her therapist had said that was what she needed.
Her father had once been madly in love with her mother. Even when things got bad, he wanted her to be alright. Shelly was mad with trying to figure out what changed. He was devastated when she had died. What had changed? How could he just move on and not remember her. How could he be able to just move on after what had happened and just leave behind what they had been through. They couldn't just forget their failures... Her failure.
Now, she didn't know what existence she was in. It was confusing. Her body seemed to suspend. The only possible explanation was that she was dead and she had moved onto heaven. Waiting for Jesus to come and judge her like she'd always heard would happen when she died, she laid there. Or, what seemed like laying. It was all white around her, so she wasn't sure what was the ground and what was the sky. It was all the same. Almost like in a dream, but it felt so real...
" Hello." Said a voice. She looked around for a white robed man with a beard, but found a child-like white figure instead. Shelly wondered if he was what angels really looked like. She got up, realizing that she had been lying on a ground. The child had no features. He was just a blob.
" Who are you?" She asked. Suddenly, the child grew a mouth. The mouth curled up into a grin that sent shivers down Shelly's spine.
" I am Truth." She was suddenly confused. When was there any mention of Truth in the Bible, or even that Book of Mormon Sarah read. This didn't seem real.
" You don't want to feel pain, yes?" He asked slyly. Shelly wasn't sure whether to say yes, so she said nothing.
" Well, then, we'll take that in exchange..." A gate, which Shelly wondered had actually been there the whole time, started to open. She questioned allowed what was happening, but got no reply. She had no control as the black hands that were leaking from the door stole her into it. She screamed for mercy.
" No, please! What's going on!" She demanded. Truth smiled.
" Equivalent Exchange." And then it closed. The hands grabbed onto her. All around her. She saw nothing but black and could feel the hands.
" Soon, you won't feel any pain..."
She could feel the hands pulling at her skin. She cried. She begged for them to stop. It hurt. The agony was too much. She wanted them to just kill her, but they only laughed. She felt as if every molecule– every cell– of her skin was being peeled off.
" STOP! NO! STOP, PLEASE! I DIDN'T MEAN THIS! PLEASSEEEE!" The pain never stopped, but her world seemed to, because she lost consciousness. The next time she woke up, she was didn't feel like she was anywhere, like she was suspended again. Only this time, she wasn't sure she was even alive. She knew she could see, and hear, and even smell, so she didn't know if she was actually there. There was gun fire and smoke going on all around her. She thought she saw rubble and the buildings around her looked damaged and nothing like she'd seen before. She saw a woman standing over her with an urgent tone. She was wearing an old fashioned nurse uniform.
" Are you alright, miss?" She asked. Shelly wasn't sure if she could speak, she couldn't feel her throat, so she didn't respond. She just watched through hazy eyes.
" It's alright, miss. We'll get you to Central Hospital as soon as possible. You'll be alright." Shelly thought that sounded okay, considering what had just happened, so she laid still and waited for help. Although, she fell asleep before she even saw the inside of the ambulance.