Let My Heart Rest In Pieces

Let My Heart Rest In Pieces 065

Chapstick

Leaving my family behind, once again, after Christmas had been overwhelmingly heart wrenching, but it had been easier than the last time, when I was moving to New Jersey. When on my trip back home, I felt lighter, freer, than I had been when coming here. And the only thing I could possibly think of for that feeling is that I had left some kind of heavy weight back in California.

Maybe it had been seeing my mother's grave after so many years, or maybe it was the fact that I had my own life back in NJ. No matter what it was, I was glad to feel like this again. You never realized you missed something until it was given back to you.

I looked over to my father, who was curled into what looked like an uncomfortable position and sleeping. He had told me, "Like hell I'm staying awake on the ride back home." I laughed silently at that and studied the sleeping man. Even if it was only a little bit, I think my father had gone through the same thing I had. Now, we were both freed birds that were flying with new weightlessness.

After half the plan ride was already behind us, I felt the need for sleep, hoping it would somehow get rid of the let jag that I was going to feel later on in the day. But nothing seemed to ever help. Damn time zones. Just like that, as soon as I fell asleep, it seemed like I was being woken up again by the pilot telling us that we had thirty minutes until we landed.

I woke up my father to tell him to put his seat belt back on, which he grumbled at me for, and then went to stare out the window. It was a cloudless day outside, and because of that, I could see the scenery from the window. The trees and buildings that had seemed so strange when first coming here were now so familiar to me and warmed my heart. I was home.

"Ugh, it's all cold again. Come on Dad, let's jump back on the plane before anyone notices we're here," I whispered quietly while my father laughed.

"That seems a little impossible right now," he replied, pointing his finger into the welcoming crowd. I looked to where he was pointing and my face lit up like it was Christmas again.

There they were, all my friends, standing there with welcoming signs as well as balloons in their hands. They all saw me coming a second after I spotted them and when our eyes locked, they all screamed my name, most of them jumping up and down in their excitement.

Dad gave me a push, an encouragement to go to them all. I gave him a small smile before I sprinted forward, jumping into the arms of them all.

"Envy! We missed you so much!" Dan yelled, kissing my face over and over again.

"Ew, quit it, you have cooties!" I teased, pulling away from the wet kisses to observe them all. Each and every one of them looked genuinely happy to see me, and I couldn't feel any more loved than I did at this exact second.

I said my hellos to each person individually, hugging them close and asking how their Christmas had gone. The second to last person to come up to me was Frank, and he had that unmistakable smile on his beautiful face.

"Did you enjoy your present from me?" he asked, one of his eyebrows raised.

"I did, although it would have been better if it said '#1 Groupie' on it."

He rolled his hazel eyes at my comment. "Women, you can never please them."

"Nah, you just need to learn how," Jeremy's deep voice interrupted. I looked over at him, giving the boy a quizzical look.

"And how would you do that?"

"Like this!" he exclaimed, pulling me towards him and dipping me like we were dancing.

His mix matched eyes were serious, even though the move he was pulling was totally ridiculous. "Trust me on this Envy."

I didn't have time to ask him what he meant, or that I barely trusted him when it came to his antics, before he kissed me. Planted a big one right on my mouth in front of my friends, not to mention the strangers in the airport. The people who had witnessed the scene were clapping and "Aw"ing while my friends hooted and encouraged the boy.

He brought us up from the dramatic kiss with a grin on his face, eyes playful again.

"And that, dear Frankie, is how you please a woman."

I glared at him and noticed the smaller male was dong the same. I caught on to Jeremy's plan somewhat and scoffed.

"Could have used a little Chapstick."

~~~~~

"I swear to god Jeremy, I'm going to kill you," I hissed at said boy as he sat across from me.

"Look, I was just trying to help! I'm hoping that we can get him jealous enough that he realizes that he loves you and not Tamara."

I sighed and ran a hand through my brown hair, which had gotten longer than I had realized. "I think you just wanted to kiss me."

"That too, but I was trying to help."

I laughed and threw a piece of junk mail at him, hoping that it would give him a paper cut deep enough to bleed him out. No such luck, unfortunately. He just laughed evilly and tossed it to the floor.

"Look, you don't need to help anymore, alright? While I was in Cali, I just… I figured out how to let go, you know? If he wants to be with Tamara, I'm not going to do anything about that. I'm going to be happy that my best friend found someone that he likes."

Jeremy gave me a look that said he didn't believe me but he let it go, thankfully, and nodded his head. "I know you want to get off the topic of Frank, but that's too bad. Everyone was excited for you to be home that I think we all forgot to tell you something."

"That has to do with Frank. I don't know, did he finally grow some chest hair?" I mocked, sad that Frankie himself couldn't be here to hear my joke of him. My friend chuckled but shook his head in a no.

"No, that will never happen. But, he's having a party at his house for New Years. His mom is going to a work party and she said he could have his own."

I rolled my brown eyes, thinking about what a disaster that party was going to turn out to be. "Who's coming?"

"Just our little gang, he thought it better that it was only us. You gonna come?"

"Without a doubt," I answered.