I Meant What I Said

The Simple Things, They Make My Heart Go

The next morning, Bree woke up to the sound of “She's a Lady” running through her room. She loved the iHome alarm clock her brother had given to her before he went away to college. She especially loved that it played music from her iPod, instead of the music from the radio.

She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes before looking at her alarm clock again. 6:45 AM on Tuesday, October 7th. Only a few more days until the long weekend. She couldn't wait for her brother to come home from college.

Bree got out of bed and walked over to glance outside her window. She loved living in a modest, quiet neighborhood, even though her house and the houses around it were far from modest. She reached over and slid the window open, a bit startled when the wind was colder than she had expected. Walking over to turn her hair straightener on, Bree looked at her bright walls covered with band posters and pictures of her friends. She smiled when she saw a picture of herself standing with her best friends Sara and Callie at last year's homecoming. Bree remembered that homecoming was coming up soon and she smiled even more.

After turning her straightener on, she opened the door to her room and walked down the long hallway towards the stairs. She turned and walked down them, the hardwood cold against her bare feet. Turning into the kitchen, she was surprised to see her mother standing at the stove cooking scrambled eggs. Bree was the only one in her family that ate scrambled eggs. She smiled as she realized her mother was cooking them just for her. She turned and saw her dad sitting at the island reading the morning paper. “Morning honey, sleep well?” Bree nodded and sat down next to him.

“What are you guys doing home?” Bree was curious. Her parents were usually long gone by the time she woke up.

“Well, your mother has a late meeting and my flight doesn't leave for a few more hours.” Bree cringed as she remembered that her father would be away in Sweden for almost three weeks. He continued, “I just wanted to spend some time with my girl before I went away.” He reached over and patted her shoulder. She smiled.

Bree stood up and walked over to her mother. She looked at the clock next to the stove. 7:00 AM. School didn't start until 8:15. She still had time. Her mother, Shannon, was next to her, still in her bath robe. They looked just like each other. She had the same blond hair and blue eyes as her mother, but Shannon was taller at 5'7”. Bree was only 5'4”. Bree looked at her mother and asked, “Do you want me to go get the twins up?” The twins were Lucas and Jacob and they were only 8 years old.

Her mother smiled at her and said, “No, honey, you eat your breakfast. I'll go get them.” Bree sat down with her scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice and waited for the stampede of the boys down the stairs. She missed having her older brother, Nathaniel, around. They were closer than she was to the younger boys. He was 19 and she had just recently turned 16. Bree held her glass of orange juice as the boys ran into the room and sat down at the island next to her. They were babbling about something but she couldn't make it out.

It was 7:15 and she decided she'd better go get ready for the day. She walked up the stairs and the long hallway to her room and opened the door. The smell of raspberry vanilla filled the air; it was the latest in her series of never-ending scents. She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. She pulled her hair down and watched it flow over her shoulders. She picked up her straightener and worked to straighten her hair. Twenty minutes later, she was done. She pulled aside her bangs and put on a blue headband. Satisfied, she walked to her dresser, pulled out a pair of Bullhead jeans and slid them on. Next was a camisole and her new American Eagle shirt that she had just bought. She slipped on her clogs and walked back to the mirror to put her make up on. A dash of mascara, a thin line of silver eye-liner, and some lip gloss completed her look. She grabbed her cell phone, texted Sara and told her that she would pick her up in about ten minutes.

Sara had been Bree's best friend for as long as she could remember. They did everything and went everywhere together- they were inseparable. Bree slipped her phone into her pocket and walked downstairs to the foyer. She grabbed her tote, her book bag and her keys, yelled, “Goodbye!” to her parents and ran out the door.

She unlocked her relatively new Ford Edge and slipped into the drivers seat. Just as she did, her phone played All Time Low's “Shameless” and she knew Sara had texted her back. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and read what Sara had wrote. “Okay thanks. I'll be ready :)” Bree smiled and put her phone in the center cup holder. She plugged her iPod into the dock and put her car into reverse as The Friday Night Boy's filled her car.

“So don't come back, don't even try, staring at your phone alone tonight. Baby, it's wrong, it felt so right, one last look into your eyes.”

Bree cringed as the words hit her. All she thought about was Jamie. She knew she couldn't start her day like this, she wouldn't think of him. She quickly changed the song to “Taking Chances” by There For Tomorrow and she felt better. She drove out of her neighborhood and onto the main road. Only 2 miles to Sara's house. By the time the song was over and the next had started, she pulled into Sara's driveway and beeped her horn. Sara came running out.

They had just about half an hour to drive to Dunkin Donut's, grab a hot chocolate, and still make it to school on time. Bree looked at Sara and noticed something was different. Sara had actually put a real effort into making herself look dolled up today. She straightened her chocolate brown hair, put on eye liner, added some blush to her olive skin. She looked stunning. Sara smiled and asked, “Ready to go?” Bree put the car into reverse and backed down the driveway.

Sara took the initiative right away to change the song. She changed it to “So Much Love” by The Rocket Summer. Bree felt her heart drop. She flashed back to when Jamie and her started this whole thing, for the first time, back in the spring.

They had just spend two whole hours with each other, just laughing and smiling, him hugging her at the right moment. She had butterflies for the entire time, and she was certain that she was bright red. At 4, he said he needed to go to work, and asked if she needed a ride home. She was only a freshman and she didn't even have her permit. He, on the other hand, was a sophomore and already had his license.

Bree smiled at him as they walked back inside to grab their bags. Jamie reached into her bag and grabbed her iPod, which was completely unfitting to him. It had a bright green case with neon orange headphones. She laughed as he messed around with it. He pulled the headphones apart and put one in his ear. He reached over to her. She asked, “What are you doing?” She squealed like a little kid as he tried to put it in her ear. He pulled her into a bear hug and managed to to get it in.

“Bree, just calm down, I wasn't going to murder you or anything.” He smiled at her and her stomach dropped. This boy was just perfect. As they walked out to his car, she was taken back at how attracted she was to him. His sandy brown hair fell right above his eyes, his green eyes melted her heart. He was taller than her by almost half a foot, but she liked that he was bigger than her.

They continued to walk down the hallway, with “So Much Love” playing into their headphones. The Rocket Summer was one of his favorite bands. She felt him reach over and grab her hand, his thumb gently rubbing against the top of her hand. She laughed a little. “What are you laughing at, Bree?” He looked over and smiled at her.

“Oh, nothing,” she replied and smiled back.

“Oh, I thought it was the song.” At that moment, Bree realized what they had been listening to.

Bryce Avery sang out, “So much love in you, you've got so much love in you, I'm amazed that I'm talking to you, you look like the songs I had heard my whole life coming true.”