Listen To Your Heart.

It was the first news I had heard from home since I got here, my family had pretty much cut me off. My brother had finally come back from the army; he wanted to see me before he had to go back. My brother and I are very close; it was hard watching him leave. No one in my family cared he was going to war stricken countries, all they could think about was what was for dinner. This is one of the reasons I hated my mother, she only loved one child, my little sister Allie. Allie is only a year younger than me but she always got the attention.

Nicholas was driving down to Arizona to see me, so I asked Jenny if she minded having him over for dinner, he would be here any moment and I was making sure everything was perfect. Chuckling came from behind me and then John pulled me into a hug. “John, I have to go fix my hair. Do I look okay?” John was still chuckling, when he turned me around to have a look.

“Bee, you look beautiful. Stop stressing, plus it’s not like you haven’t seen him in ages and need to make a good impression.” John winked at me and then started laughing. “Stop scrunching your nose up Bee, relax” I took a deep breath to slow down my pulse; I gave John a hug when I heard a car pull up out the front of the O’Callaghan residence. “He is here!” I pulled away from Johns arms and ran down the stairs. I must have looked like a little kid but I didn’t care.

I opened the door and ran towards my brother; I jumped into his arms and started crying. It had been 5 years since I saw him last. “God, you’ve grown. I can’t believe my little sister is 18.” Nicholas started chuckling. I let my arms fall by my side as I stepped back to examine my now 25 year old brother. He had changed so much, he was definitely more built, and his messy blonde hair had been shaved. He was still very handsome though, I smiled.

“Stop crying Bee, c’mon I want to see John. Didn’t he tell you? That’s the entire reason I came” Nicholas winked at me and I playfully punched him in the chest, which was now ripped. “What happened to your beer belly?” I laughed and Nicholas pulled me into another hug. “I missed you Bee” I laughed. “Enough with the mushy stuff, come inside.” We shoved each other all the way to the front door, when we were greeted by Shane, he had the biggest grin on his face. “I’m Shane, it’s so cool I'm meeting an actual solider” Nicholas and I both laughed, Nick rustled Shane’s hair. “Well kiddo, later when it’s just you and me I’ll show you some killer kung fu moves” Shanes eyes lit up, Nick always had a way with kids.

Jenny walked in, she also had a smile on her face. “Nicholas, we’ll you’ve definitely grown since the last time I saw you.” They hugged each other and Nicholas laughed. “I wanted to thank-you so much Jenny for having my sister stay with you” Jenny rubbed my cheek, “It’s always a pleasure Nick, she’s a darling” Nicholas looked at me confused, “We are talking about my sister aren’t we?” I shoved Nick and he started laughing. John came down the stairs and shook Nicks hand, they were good mates before we left town. “John oh, how are ya boy?” John smiled, “Good Nick. Not a boy anymore though, I’m a man.” John started flexing his arms and everyone started laughing. “Well come on, dinner is ready”

~

The night flew by so quickly, at dinner Nicholas and Mr. O’Callaghan were deep in discussion about the US army, after dinner Nick showed Shane some fighting moves that wouldn’t be able to capture a mouse but made everyone laugh, and now I found myself sitting outside on the grass, clearing my head.

“They’re beautiful aren’t they?” Nicholas came and sat next to me, I smiled and looked back up to the stars. “They are” I rested my head on his shoulders. “The stars look different in every country, but they always remind me of home. It’s amazing that everyone looks up at the stars, and they are the same stars that have always been there and hopefully will always be there.” I smiled, I constantly told Nick he should have been a poet. “How are mom and dad?” I looked over to Nick, “They’re good, and mom’s still the same old perfectionist. Only saw dad for about an hour, but aye I guess not much changes, even over 5 years” I wasn’t exactly jealous that Nick had seen dad, I just got use to him not being around.

“Bee, what’s the deal with you and John. He pretty much stared at you the entire time during dinner.” Nick raised an eyebrow and laughed. “We’re just friends Nick, best friends actually” Nicholas laughed, then he actually went serious. “Why are you here Bee?” I looked at him confused. “It was John’s birthday, plus I haven’t seen any of them for 6 years. I wanted to come home Nick” he sighed. “Is that all Bee?” I looked down, he could always tell when I was hiding something. “I had to leave, I had no other choice. You know me and mom never really liked each other, but it just got worse after you left.” Nick put his arm over my shoulders. “I didn’t want to leave you Bee” I looked up. “I'm not blaming you, you got your chance to leave and if I had of I would have taken it as well. This was my chance, so I jumped on it.”

Nick sighed. “I was planning on getting a killer tiger tat across my back” I winked at Nick. “You reckon mom would let me inside the house?” we both started laughing. Nick cleared his throat and started his impression of mother dearest. “You’re not coming in my house with that thing on your back!” we both laughed.

“When are you going home Bee?” I looked up at the stars and smiled. “I am home Nick”