Broken Glass and Bleeding Hearts

“No! Please no! I beg of you no more!” I stopped and shook my head no as I protested my mom and aunt dragging me into another store filled with scented soaps and such. I felt each of them grab an arm of mine and tug forward.

“Ellie stop it and come on!” I looked at my mom and pouted. By this time I didn’t care if I was being a baby. I wasn’t even sure why I’d agreed to come Christmas shopping with them in the first place. Oh yeah, they promised that it would be fun. Ha ha, liars.

“No I refuse to go into another sweet scented dungeon of torture! I won’t do it!” I pulled back as everyone looked over at us.

“Ellie you are causing a scene now please just give up.” I looked at my aunt and laughed.

“You do realize that I do not mind causing a scene right? I’ll yell cannibals if I have to! Now don’t make me go inside that store!”

“I know why she doesn’t want to go inside,” I sighed in relief when my aunt dropped my arm, of course I didn’t expect her reasoning. “She’d rather be at that other store. Buying something to wear in front of Matt.” I followed as she pointed across the way before I squealed. Two can play at that game.

“Oh my god! I hadn’t even thought of that! I mean we were planning on waiting but now that you brought it up that is a great idea!” I squealed again, opened my eyes wide, and left my mouth open in a grin.

“Angie what are you doing? She is too young for that!” My mom gasped at her sister and I burst into laughter.

“What? She said that she would rather be there. We both know that she means it.” My head snapped up and this time my jaw dropped.

“I was being a sarcastic little ass just trying to play along with your game!”

“No you weren’t. Come on sweetie I’ll go over there and help you pick something out since I’m sure it would be so much more awkward with your mom. To Victoria’s Secret we go!”

“Mommy! Help!” I moved behind my mom, which didn’t work since I was just as tall as her now, and tried to duck.

“Well you either come in here with me or your aunt will drag you over there.”

“Okay okay! Let’s go!” I inched towards the door and they strolled through, both smiling. I followed them around as they looked for more Christmas gifts and rolled my eyes at them as they discussed what to get for whom. “You know, this is cruel and unusual punishment and I didn’t even know what I did to the two of you.”

“Sweetie what do you find so criminal in scented soaps and lotion?” My mom watched me as I moved away from whatever she was holding.

“The smell. Ever since my good smell kicked in these stores smell funny. Everything blends together more than it ever did. And I’m allergic to that grape one you are holding. You got it for me a few years ago and I itched like I had fleas.” I backed away slowly from the one she was holding, remembering the horrible feeling it gave me.

“That will go away, you’ve just got to learn to tune onto one scent at a time instead of all of them.” She replaced the soap that I was allergic to as she explained it to me.

“But it smells so weird in here.” I looked around nervously. I hated it when my sense of smell was screwed with, it made me feel unaware lately.

“Just try and ignore it.”

“So Ellie are you going to bring Matt to the wedding as your date?” My aunt’s question was enough to distract me from the smell.

“Yeah I guess,” I answered before I started mumbling a string of complaints that were inaudible. “might as well since he already cheated and looked at the damn fluffy pink marshmallow dress.”

“I’ll be done in just a minute.” My mom took her items and got in line to pay, causing me to sigh in relief.

“I want you to tell me something and be honest. Just between us.” My aunt took a spot at my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

“Oh for the love of all that is freakin holy please not this.”

“You and Matt aren’t thinking about doing anything are you?”

“For the three millionth time, no. First the guys, now you, who is next?”

“The guys?”

“Yes, the guys.”

“Wow.”

“Okay I’m done.” My mom walked up and I smiled. I was free!
Later that afternoon I found myself at home since my mom and aunt had went to her apartment to work on something or another. I had the T.V. on and was working my way through the bowl of popcorn when there was an unexpected knock at the door. I sat the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and went to answer the door, looking through the peep hole first of course. “Matt!”

“Hey Elliebear. Are you busy?”

“Um no not really. Get in here.”

“Popcorn!”

“I’ll go make another bag to fill up the bowl again.”

“Geeze Ellie I won’t eat it all.”

“No I’ll help you though.” About 45 minutes later we had settled in comfortably on the couch as we watched some strange vampire movie on the science fiction channel. I was laying on the couch with my head on Matt’s leg, by his knee so that I could roll over and look at him whenever I chose to.

There we were, on the couch in my living room perfectly at ease with one another. I was too deep in thought to even pay attention to the movie and Matt was rubbing circles on my arm with his hand. I’m pretty sure that it was absentmindedly since he seemed to be paying attention to the movie. It was somewhere around then when everything started to fully sink in.

We’d always been like this in a way. I mean we’d always been more comfortable around each other than anyone we’d ever known. Then there was the undeniable fact that when we’d moved on from being just best friends to more there was no awkward transition phase. Everything was just so natural when we were together. Like this was how things were meant to be, like we just belonged together.

I closed my eyes and sighed contently feeling more than relaxed. “Elliebear what were you thinking about?” I jumped slightly at Matt’s voice, honestly I hadn’t expected him to say anything.

“Just how comfortable we are together and we always have been.” I felt a shiver run through me even though I hadn’t realized that I was slightly cold. I felt Matt reach for the blanket on the back of the couch and spread it over me.

“We have always been like this haven’t we? I’d never thought about it.” His voice was still low which meant that he was still thinking about something.

“Do you want me to move?”
“No of course not Elliebear.” I smiled and closed my eyes, allowing the warmth of the blanket to sink in and the fatigue of being up the previous night with nightmares take over. All I really wanted now was to sleep and I knew that Matt wouldn’t stop me.

“I think we can wait a little bit long to wake them up don’t you?” I heard my mom’s voice whisper. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter and rolled closer to the warm object that I was cuddled up against.

“I think we should.” That was defiantly Matt’s mom.

“Where is a camera? I feel the need to document this for future reference.” I smiled as I listened to Matt’s dad. I stayed smiling until I heard a camera go off, then the smile quickly faded.

“Just pretend to be asleep and they will go away.” Matt whispered in my ear. I smiled and evened out my breathing. I’d completely forgotten that we’d promised to go to dinner with our parents that night.

“We should get up.” I whispered when they left the room. I heard Matt sigh and sit up.

“I hate it when you are right.”

“Shut up.”

“Look who is awake.” I heard Matt’s dad laugh at our little discussion.

“Dad why do you always listen?” Matt groaned without looking back at his dad.

“I’m going to go get ready.” I pulled myself from the couch and headed for the stairs. It didn’t take long for me to get ready and soon I found myself sitting in my bedroom alone. Dinner had went well like I had expected it to.

I was sitting on my bed reading Dracula when my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Zacky’s picture and name on the front screen. “Yeah Zack?”

“Ellie you need to be ready by 9 tomorrow morning okay?” I groaned as I heard his request of me. I hated mornings and being ready by 9 on a day that I didn’t have to be was not something that I wanted.

“Why? That is too early for me and you know it!”

“I found some stuff out about Angelica that I think you need to know, and I’m taking you with me to spy on her.”

“Fine but I need to be home by at least noon. I have Christmas presents to wrap.”
“What did you get for me?”

“Nice try Zacky. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight.”

“Night Ellie.” I shoved my phone back into my pocket and went back to reading. Leave it to me to read Dracula after I discover that I’m a vampire, and enjoy it this much.