Dark Eyed Dreamers

Chapter Twenty-Six
Raegan

“I don’t even want to think about them anymore. I’ve got you and Jack and that’s really all I need. Fuck Alex, Fuck Mikayla, and Fuck Zack!” Braelyn spoke angrily as she drove us to the mall. We told Jack we needed to have some sisterly-bonding time on what appeared to be our last birthday together for a very, very long time.

Then Andrew McMahon’s voice blared from her phone as Something Coporate’s Konstantine began to play.

The ringtone set for when Zack calls.

“Fucker” she said, “Stay quiet, I’ll put him on speaker.”

I nodded anxiously.

“Hello” she answered dryly.

“Hey babe. What’re you doing?” his voice was monotone.

“I’m driving myself to the mall, why?”

“Do you want to get food or something when you’re done with that?”

“Jack already took me for food.”

“Well, Happy Birthday, I guess.”

“What?!”

“Well you clearly don’t want to see or hear from me, so I’ll just leave you alone.”

“Are you serious right now?”
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“Braelyn, what do you want from me? I called to see if you wanted to get lunch, and Jack’s already done it and judging by your tone of voice, you don’t even want to be bothered by me.”

“No, Zack, right now I don’t want to be bothered by you. Every birthday since we became friends you came up to my room at the ass crack of dawn to wake me up and be the first to wish me happy birthday. Not this year, though. Our last one together, and you just say ‘fuck it! It’s not like I’m leaving her for a year in 2 weeks. No biggie.’ Fuck you, Zack. I’m tired of your bullshit.”

“Whatever, Braelyn. I tried.”

“Bullshit!” she yelled, “You didn’t try, not that I’m surprised.”

“I’m hanging up now. Goodbye Braelyn. Oh, and Goodbye, Rae, as I’m positive you’re listening to this on speaker.” he said then hung up.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Brae screamed and threw her phone onto the floor in front of me as we approached a red light. She put her head on the steering wheel, and sighed. I didn’t say anything, or even move. Zack’s the only one that can ever talk to her when she gets like this, but now he’s the one that’s hurt her.

Pulling into the parking garage, we couldn’t help but notice every single slot taken. I cursed under my breath as Brae cursed loudly. We both hated being crowded.

“I really don’t want to be here right now” Braelyn said as we walked through Urban Outfitters.

“I know, but Mom and Dad left us a credit card with a two-thousand-dollar limit.”

She sighed, “That is true. God, I hate that they just abandon us all the time. You can’t just throw money at your kids and expect that to make up for your absence.” she said. “Do you think this would look alright in my dorm?” she asked holding up a small Buddha-shaped table lamp.

“It’s a baby Buddha” I replied.

“It’s a lamp”

“I like it.”

“Me too. Buy it.”

So she did.

“Raegan” she said, almost as if she were having an epiphany.

“Uh, yeah?”

“We’re nineteen.”

“Uhmmm… yeah?”

“This is a new chapter in our lives. We’re becoming independent women.”

“Yes. Yes we are”

“And with this new independence, I feel like I need to take on a new responsibility.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want a puppy.”

“A puppy?”

“A puppy.”

“To the pet store, I guess.”

An hour later, we walked out with Braelyn’s new puppy in hand. He was a beautiful little Boston Terrier pup, and Braelyn carried him in a plastic crate while I carried her and my bags from our earlier shopping.

“So we’ll go home now. I can call Jack up and he’ll come over. He’s had a dog before, so he should know how to do everything. You know, get it all set up with the-”

“Braelyn!” There was a scream from the second floor down toward us. “BRAELYN!” the voice cried louder.

“Dear Lord, is that someone calling my name?” She asked, red faced.

I looked up to see Zack jumping up and down on the second floor. He had a bouquet of spider mums, her favourite flower.

“BRAELYN MARIA HALE!” He screamed once more.

“WHAT?!” she screamed back, finally looking up at him where he hovered above us.

“BRAELYN MARIA HALE, I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU IN FRONT OF EVERYONE HERE THAT I LOVE YOU AND THAT I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, AND I’M SORRY FOR SCREWING UP TODAY AND RUINING YOUR BIRTHDAY, AND I’M SORRY I MADE YOU UPSET, AND I’M SORRY FOR MAKING PEOPLE STARE AT YOU NOW BECAUSE I KNOW HOW NERVOUS IT MAKES YOU. I JUST WANT YOU-- AND EVERYONE ELSE-- TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY GIRL I WILL EVER LOVE AND I NEVER WANT TO SPEND A SINGLE MINUTE WITHOUT YOU EVER AGAIN.” he screamed.

She stood there speechless. He ran down the stairs next to him that curved away from us. She set the puppy crate down gently and ran toward him. She jumped into his arms and kissed him. The crowd cheered, and she whispered something to him that wasn’t audible at all.

They soon walked back over to where I was standing, and Zack took every bag from me and walked us to our car. He kissed Braelyn on the lips and told her he’d meet her at our house. I texted Jack, telling him to meet us there as well because I didn’t want to be home alone tonight now that she was good with Zack again.

Once at the house, we let the puppy outside to relieve himself. Brae brought him back inside where I was playing with one of his squeak toys, Jack was getting him water, and Zack was reading a puppy care book.

“It says here that you should have a name picked out for him before you buy him. That way he won’t go any time without having a name.”

“I’m going to name him Yoda.” she said simply.

“That’s perfect!” I exclaimed, laughing, as Yoda tired to walk across the hardwood floor with his soft paws, only to slip and slide his way to the water bowl Jack just set down.

“I think we should just have a night in. What do you think, babe?” Brae asked Zack.

“Whatever you want, babe” he said, kissing her lips.

“How about you go pick up some Chinese and a movie, and I’ll wait here with my new boyfriend, Yoda?” she said sarcastically.

“Fine, I see how it is.” he replied.

I watched them joke and felt sad that they fit so well, when Alex hadn’t even bothered to call me on my birthday. I was jolted from my thoughts with the slam of the kitchen door next to me as Zack left to fulfill Brae’s requests. When he returned, the two disappeared up the stairs and into Brae’s room with Yoda following closely.

“So Raebear, Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride?”

“Nightmare, definitely” I said, trying to sound excited. I popped popcorn as he put the DVD in.

“There’s children throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads” I sang along

“They’re busy building toys and absolutely no one’s dead” Jack sang back.

The door bell rang.

“AHHH! PAUSE IT!” Jack shrieked.

I chuckled, pausing it, before getting up to answer the door, expecting the pizza guy.

“Okay, so here’s twenty for the pizza and wi-- ALEX?!” I screamed as I saw my boyfriend standing before me.

“Hey baby. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get a hold of you all day, I’ve been setting things up. Come on!” he said, grabbing my hand. It suddenly didn’t matter that he hadn’t contacted me all day. He was here now. He remembered. He even had something planned. He was so … perfect.

“Wait, Jack’s here. We’re watching a movie. I can’t just leave him. Come in for a second” I pulled him by the hand.

“Jack ! Alex is here. I’m so sorry to ditch you like this but-”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. He said, getting up. Happy Birthday, Rae.” he slid on his shoes and walked out.

“Alright, let’s go” Alex whispered in my ear.