Cutting Out Paper Hearts

“Well, they looked different.” Denny said, putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of us. Once we get back home, we sat down in front of the TV and hadn’t moved an inch since. This is how we spend all of our time together. I bit my thumb nail, looking at my brother who was rubbing the back of his neck.

Examining my thumb nail, I asked, “So which one do you like?” He glared at me but turned bright red. Nailed it. Denny sighed, leaning his head against the back of the couch. I watched him glance at the clock. “We have ten minutes till your boy gets here.”

“He’s not my boy.” Defensive much?

“But you wish he was your boy.”

“Shut. It. Bay. Lee.” He hissed at me and for a few minutes, I did, but then I got bored. I mean, how long can a person really stay quiet. I turned to my brother while he focused in on the TV screen. I laughed at my brother’s now blushing face.

“Thurstan?” I raised an eyebrow and he turned bright red like a tomato. Bulls eye! Denny rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Denny and Thurstan sitting in a tree. F-U-” His hand covered my mouth, muffling up the rest of the song. Hurtful, but good timing seeing as that was the time Mom entered the room with Bethany, Thurstan, and Roydon. Denny looked about to faint and I couldn’t not laugh.

“Nice to see you again, Bailey.” Bethany chuckled, a hand over her mouth. I bit my lip, looking over the back of couch at them. Thurstan was shifting in his seat, staring at the back of Denny’s head while Roydon stared at the floor. Bethany turned to my mother. “This is a very nice house you have. It’s changed very much since I’ve been here.”

“How about you go back?” I snapped out of nowhere and for no real reason. I covered my mouth, looking at everyone’s reactions: all shock besides Roydon’s which was either hurt or nothing. I couldn’t really tell with him. I shot up, running up to my room and slamming the door. That was embarrassing.

“Bailey, honey, open the door.” I glared at the closed door, not planning on opening it or unlocking it anytime soon. My mom sighed on the other side, turning the doorknob. She knocked on the door a few times and when I said and did nothing, she went back downstairs.

“I have a key, Bay.” Denny told me, shoving the key into the doorknob slot and unlocking the damn door. I watched him close the door behind him while I sat frozen on the edge of my bed, hoping he’d just go away. Denny sat beside me, putting a hand on my bed caringly. “So, what’s up?” He popped the ‘p’ on up.

“Why are they fucking back, Den? They left without a word on my birthday and now they’re back on my birthday. I’m not going to just forget that; it’s their fault my birthday sucked that year. They could have at least gave us a warning; they could have let us say goodbye. I hate May ninth; it’s the worst day in the whole year.” I argued, controlling my voice so no one downstairs could hear it. Denny rubbed my back, caringly. “I want to move.”

“Bailey, your overreacting.”

“No. I’m not.”

“Yes. You are. Any other person who lost their best friend then suddenly got them back would be happy right now, but not you. You’re mad at them for leaving ten years ago. Let it go, woman and be happy they’re ba-”

“No, if they wouldn’t have left, you and I would still be close-”

“We are close, Bay.”

“But not like before. Not after you went through your jackass phase where you’d hit me and push me around and make me feel bad for no reason. It’s all their f-”

“No it isn’t, Bailey, that was my fault. I didn’t have to act like that, but I did anyways. You can’t blame them just because you’re mad at the them.” I bit my lip. Dude has a point. I smacked Denny’s arm, making him glare at me. “Why’d you do that?”

“Because you’re right.” Denny burst into a smile, hugging me. I shoved him off, accidentally causing the lanky boy to fall butt-first onto my bedroom floor with a whine. He sat on the floor, giving me a glare while rubbing his lower back. “You should really stop being right.” Denny nodded his head.

“Yeah, if it’s gonna cause me pain.” I laughed, pointing at my brother while he stood up and stuck his tongue out at me. “C’mon, you have a family to be nice to and forgive.”

“Fuck forgive,” I mumbled, “let me run away.”

“I wish I could.” I barely heard him say before I was pulled against my will to the living room. Mom and Dad were sitting on the love seat and the Barnes family on the couch. Denny and I sat uncomfortably in recliners between the two.

Silence. I shifted; I can hear myself and Denny breathe.

“So, uh, where’d you move to?” Dad asked, rubbing the back of his neck.