What the Hart Wants

“Hey, Mom,” Jeff walked in holding a few articles of clothing piled high on his chest, quickly dropping them at sensing the tension. “Mom? What happened?”
She turned to her son and gave him a quick squeeze on his shoulder. “Show Lorelei the clothes, I’m going to go speak to your uncle.”
“Okay,” Jeff said, picking up the clothing before giving me a wide big smile. He gave a nervous chuckle, “um, yeah these are for you.”
He placed the bundle on the couch so I could sifter through them. The were clothes. Big baggy tee shirts, and wife beater tops. With three pairs of sweatpants and two baggy work out shorts.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d want, but these are all mine and you can pick and choose.” He gave a smile as I looked through them and picked out a Halo Reach tee and plain work out shorts.
“Can I wear these?” I asked.
“Do you even know what that is?” he said with a laugh, pointing to the tee.
“Yeah, it’s Halo Reach. I had a friend a year back, she moved away, but uh, her brother let me play some. I’ve tried to keep up with Halo, and Red vs. Blue since but I obviously haven’t played since.”
“What do you mean obviously?” he asked the smile replaced with confusion.
It then became clear that no one told him about the situation. I pondered what he thought of me. I was just some girl with bruises on her neck and a fat lip with some crazy guy screaming out for her.
Maybe it was better that way?
“Oh hey Lorie,” Dean said, saving me from an awkward conversation.
“Rory,” I said giving him a smile, “actually.”
“Oh, okay, Rory then.” He said with that handsome smile. “The bathroom is right around the corner if you want to change into those.”
“Rory is into Halo,” Jeff said as I stood for the restroom.
“Alright!” he yelled, giving me a pat on the back. “I’ll go set up the x-box.”
I quickly changed, happy about having ANYTHING else other than the damned skirt I was cursed to wear. I changed quickly and happily, tempted to throw the clothes into bin but decided against it.
“Rory! Over here!” they yelled, and I maneuvered around the very lovely if not huge guest house. Pictures were displayed all over the home showing what seemed like a story of happy times.
Dean seemed too look more like his father, sharing the same bone structure and eyes. Where as Jeff had the same structure but only softer and less rugged.
“Rory,” Jeff rounded the corner, “the game is ready.” I gave a nod and went to follow. “Oh do you need a bag?”
“That would be great.”
He quickly scurried off as I rounded the corner and saw Dean setting up seats. “Ah there you are,” he had a huge smile on his face and I was tempted to turn around and hide in the bathroom. “Come on, we’ve got you a seat.” His huge smile seemed to radiate warmth. Causing me to do the very opposite of what I was tempted to do just a second ago.
He caused me to feel more confused than I think I’ve ever been. I couldn’t shake the confusion, nor could I understand the reason. I was beginning to get frustrated.
To add more to my plate, I have this strange confusing feeling toward a Buckley. The family that protected me the most in such little time.
“Okay, but I’m not really the greatest at it. I haven’t played for a few years now.”
“It’s okay, we’ll team up against Jeff,” he said with a smile. “Jeff!” he yelled.
“What?” Jeff replied holding out a plain grocery bag for my clothes.
“I’ll team up with Rory, go set up your so we can all play.”
“But I thought,” Jeff started before giving a huff and running to the opposite end of the room.
The room was rather large, more so than I would have thought when I first walked in. It was obviously shared. When you first walked in room was beautiful and neat, as if to appear clean and kept up like the rest of the house. However the back end of what probably was a living room was now a shared bedroom.
The end of the room was dark and dank, much like what I remember boys to keep their rooms.
Memories of Emmet, Edwin and Sarah came in mind. Emmet and Edwin were twins and seemed to be exact replicas of each other, and their room was always like this. Dark and chaotic.
The Godfrey’s were a very loving family who didn’t know what was going on but had an idea. They easily took me in as one of their own. Giving me my iPod for a Christmas, and a giving me a safe place to turn to when my aunt and uncle became unbearable.
They kept my faith in real families alive. Gave me the chance to see that it just wasn’t beyond the window. Let me take part in it all, the good, the bad and the love.
“Rory?” Dean brought me out of the past, handing me a controller.
I took it with no apology and tried to concentrate on how to win. And trying hard not to cry. Emmet and Edwin’s favorite game was Halo and though I tried to remain knowledgeable on the world of Halo, it still made me wish for a world where Selsi wasn’t created yet and that the Godfrey's were still in town.
Even if it meant keeping the bruises and the beatings Uncle Pat and Aunt Patty would dish out back then.
“Okay, so go after the blue guy and I’ll see if I can let you get most of the kills,” Dean said with a smile.
“And I’ll try to make sure I kill him more than you!” Jeff said at the edge of the room, playing on what I could only assume was his T.V. and x-box.
I gave a full hearted chuckle at that and began my search for Jeff so I could possibly kill him. Finding that though it had been more than a year and a half I still was able to play.
“Rory?” Dean asked after several minutes of rather intense game play. His voice was quiet and held a tone I wasn’t familiar with. “What happened?”