I Love Your Switchblade Attitude

Harley had been waiting.

Waiting for the moment to come, waiting to feel the excitement, the anxiety, the thrill of it all.

Finally, after almost a year, that moment had arrived and she was far from ready.

Her knee continued to bounce nervously as she saw the dilapidated sign indicating that they would be turning into the familiar neighbourhood.

She felt her heartbeat increase, as her legs continued to tingle and her body to heat up, the air blasting from the vent above not helping her condition.

She shrunk back into the seat, the cool leather pressing into her skin as she let out a shaky breath.

She felt her stomach curl at the sight of the scene in front of her.

Their neighbourhood was the kind of sickly sweet residence that only had nice one story houses, with vibrantly green lawns, winding patios, potted plants that lined the porches and blooming flowers that lined the windowsills.

A flash of Harley’s childhood resurfaced in the back of her mind, and she remembered biking along the sidewalks as a child.

She looked away quickly, and met the eyes of their taxi driver in the rear-view mirror. His dull brown eyes looked intrigued as his gaze locked with hers.

“You okay, sweetheart?” She saw him smile, a disgusting grimace in her eyes, before he began digging in his pockets for a cigarette.

He rolled down the window and skilfully lit the stick with one hand, before bringing it to his chapped lips.

Harley coughed at the aroma, the wispy gray smoke travelling through her lungs as she exhaled.

“Take the next left.” She directed timidly, deliberately avoiding his question in hopes of distracting herself.

She felt a cold hand on top of hers, and retracted her hand quickly, startled by the sudden contact. Harley looked to the seat on her right, where a recognizable blonde sat cross-legged.

Harley had almost forgotten that she had not embarked on this journey alone.

“Calm the fuck down.” The blonde laughed at her friend, turning to face her. “I know you’re nervous, but it can’t be that bad.”

Harley brought her hands to lips and began absentmindedly tearing at her nails, something that only she did when she was nervous.

She knew that her friend was only trying to help her unease her nerves, but she felt much more agitated at the scrutiny of her gaze.

“Trust me,” Harley mumbled through her fingers, looking out the window once more to avoid her friend’s gaze, “it’s much worse.”

She was met with the memorable street that she had grown up on, causing her insides to tighten with both joy and unease.

The taxi driver continued drive, one hand professionally on the steering wheel while the other remained out the window, cigarette in hand.

Their ride had now slowed down to a leisurely pace, and Harley felt her mouth twitch apprehensively.

“It’s the house with the blue roof.” Harley felt herself speak, her hand resting in the door handle.

“On the left?” The taxi driver questioned, not bothering to receive an answer and instead pulling up on the cemented driveway.

Harley thanked him, pulling out a small wad of cash and paying him accordingly, watching out of the corner of her eye as the blonde who was seated next to her stumbled out of the car.

Harley watched as she trudged towards the trunk, tugging at her Louis Vuitton suitcase. The suitcase caught on the trunk, and as the petite blonde pulled harder, it came tumbling down onto her foot.

Letting out a variety of colourful profanities, the blonde howled and clutched her foot, causing Harley to chuckle quietly.

She dismissed the taxi driver, and headed to the trunk, easily lifting her bags out of the car and onto the driveway.

The blonde rolled her eyes, standing her designer suitcase upright. She followed Harley to the door, but soon noticed that Harley had yet to open it.

“What’s wrong, Har?” The blonde asked, placing a slightly concerned hand on Harley’s shoulder’s.

Harley eyes, which had previously been trained on the door handle in front of her, snapped up to meet the blonde’s cerulean ones.

Harley felt her insides curdle, and her mind cloud over, looking into her friend’s blue eyes with a blank stare.

“Huh?” She questioned finally, after an odd silence filled the air.

The blonde pursed her lips, not bothering to question her friend any further. Instead, she lifted her knuckles towards the door and pounded rapidly on the aged oak wood.

“What are you doing?” Harley hissed, instinctively grabbing her friend’s hand in her own, before ripping it away from the door.

“Obviously you aren’t going to open the door, so I figured I’d get someone else to do it.” She shrugged, batting her eyelashes innocently.

“I swear to god Colie, if my mom answers the d—” Harley didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence, as the door was pulled open abruptly in front of her, revealing a warm entranceway that radiated waves of comfort.

“Harley?” A voice called, and a head popped out from behind the door. It was a familiar head, one adorned in bleach-blonde hair with a gapped-toothed smile and big blue eyes.

Though she looked nothing like Harley, it was clear that both were related.

Harley was immediately scooped up in a bear-hug, and she inhaled the smells of exotic perfume as they wafted into her nostrils.

She felt herself smiling despite the butterflies that tickled her stomach, and slowly encircled her arms around her mother’s shoulders.

“Hey mom,” Harley whispered into her mother’s skin, suddenly comforted by the affectionate gesture.

The blonde beside them cleared her throat loudly, causing both mother and daughter to turn and stare at their guest.

“Sorry to interrupt the lovefest, but I feel quite awkward.”

“Oh,” Harley laughed, noticing the girl’s innocent grin. “Mom, this is Nicole, my roommate.” She gestured towards the blonde, who smiled appreciatively and introduced herself. “Colie, this is my mom Kathi.” Her mother smiled in return.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay here for the summer, Mrs. Rogers.” Colie beamed angelically, earning a snort from Harley.

“It’s not a problem at all. We’re happy to have you and if there is anything you need, Harley and I can help you.”

Harley’s mother smiled once more, quickly picking up the vacuum, which she had previously abandoned and began cleaning with a flick of a switch.

Over the whir of the vacuum, Colie managed to shout out a question, earning Harley’s attention.

“What’s with all the cleaning, Mrs. R?” Harley ignored the fact that Colie had already gotten comfortable enough to be on a first-letter basis with her mother, and instead looked around the room, finally realizing the immaculate environment around her.

The walls were spotless, the numerous paintings and photo frames aligned perfectly on the wall, the carpet freshly vacuumed, the rings on the coffee table no longer visible.

Numerous cleaning products littered the floor, and a pair of standard yellow latex gloves were haphazardly thrown onto the leather sofa.

“Yeah mom, why are you cleaning so much?” Harley questioned, eying her mother confusedly.

“Well,“ her mother panted, blowing the bangs out of her eyes, “since you and Nicole are staying here, and Rian and the boys are sure to come around...” She trailed off, looking nervously at the floor.

“What do you mean,” Harley paused, not believing that this could be happening to her, “Rian and the boys are sure to come around. Why would they be coming around? They’re on tour, remember.”

“Their tour ends today, sweetie.” Harley’s mother took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. “Remember?”

“No, I don’t remember! Because you never told me!” Harley’s mother chuckled nervously. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” Harley felt her insides swell in mortification and anxiousness.

There was no fucking way. She gripped her suitcase angrily, ready to summon the taxi driver back so she could leave. But where would she go? She had rented her apartment out, and flights were sure to be booked.

“Because I knew you would act like this! We both know that you’ve been avoiding this house every since school started! I don’t know what happened last summer, but you’ve refused to come for Christmas, Thanksgiving...anything! This is my one oppurtunity to spend some time with my only daughter this summer! I don’t know when I’m going to see you again Harley...”

“Mom you don’t understand. Rian, Zack, Jack, Alex...we...I...last summer was rough.”

“I just want us to be a whole family again, Harley. You have to understand, dear.”

“Mom, I can’t! I just won’t be able to deal with them here! I just ca—”

“Um, guys?” Colie cut in, her voice silkily amused.

“What?” Harley snapped, turning to her best friend, but stopped short upon realizing that the door had been pushed open by a familiar pair of calloused hands.

Harley’s eyes brown eyes trailed upwards, taking in the form of their bodies, before her eyes landed on a pair of identical brown ones. All at once, her throat became dry and her insides closed in.

Some people say you cannot determine something based on an event.

Those people are wrong.

At that point she knew.

Harley had a feeling this would be the worst summer yet.