What the Hart Wants

I was on the couch enjoying popcorn and the boys murder one
another with fun and good humor.
Both were intent on winning hoping to be the best and show off for their girls. As silly as that could be, to show off in a game that is truly just a game…
“Awe! Come on man!” Jeff shoved Dean, laughing as his blue Spartan was assassinated.
“What?” Dean chuckled, a look of innocence’s on his face. “I didn’t do nuthin’,” he said with a small smile. He quickly gave me a peck on the cheek before turning to the door.
Kara stood there, her hair long with just hint of red in the straight blond hair. Her eyes light and eager as she sat next to Jeff, whom wrapped an arm tightly round her shoulders.
“Hi, babe,” he said giving her a similar peck on the cheek as Dean did me. “Look I’m almost beating him.” He said pointing to the score.
“Yeah if I commit suicide four times,” Dean retorted, pulling me off the couch and into his hip. Wrapping his arm around me, causing me to duck down into his embrace so he could kill his brother a few more times.
“Or, I could beg my best friend Rory to distract your happy ass and murder you that way?” Jeff threw back, giving me his big eyed puppy dog stare.
“My Lorelei wouldn’t do that to me, would you darling?” he said giving me a sweet kiss on the brow. Nodding I leaned heavily into him, letting them return to their violence.
I gave a contented sigh, life was perfect. Kara and I were sisters living with a middle-aged woman by the name of Phoebe McAnders who lived about a mile-walking distance from our boyfriends.
“Kara, Lorelei,” Mr. Buckley greeted, followed closely by his wife. He had what could only be considered a miracle recovery. Though he still a little weak, he is, from what the boys assure me, back to his normal self. “Do you girls have plans for dinner?” he asked, leaning, perhaps a bit heavily onto Mrs. Buckley.
Amanda, I chided she insisted we refer to her by her first name. Amanda gave me her kind warm eyes holding what I could only decipher as pity. Why would she pity me?
“We’d just love to have you for dinner,” Amanda chimed in, all pity dissolved from her eyes.
Did I just imagine it?
“Okay,” Kara said, taking out her cell phone. “I’ll give Aunt Phoebe a call and let her know.”
Aunt Phoebe, what she preferred to be called, was the cousin to Kara who took custody of her then me a month later. She was very much like an older sister, more interested in us happy than with strict rules and other bothersome things.
Kara came back in the room smiling happily as she sat next to Jeff. “Yeah, she said we could stay for dinner.”
“Oh good,” Amanda said, kissing her still slightly pale husband. He looked much like his brother, except where his brother had facial hair, Mr. Buckley was clean shaven. “Lorelei, could you help me in the kitchen?”
I gave a nod, moving to do so.
“Lorelei!” a voice called out to me. Kara’s voice, but when I turned to see her she was whispering to Jeff. “LORELEI!” her voice was strong but scared, and though it sounded just like her, it couldn’t be. She was still flirting with Jeff.
“COME ON, GET UP!” she urged but she remained in conversation. My breath began to become ragged and heavy, while my face began to flush.
“Lorelei?” Amanda asked, her eyes back to pity and her voice heavy with concern. “Are you alright?”
“GET UP!”
“Don’t you hear that?” I asked, covering my ears as the non Kara called out to me.
Amanda laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, “I don’t hear anything swwweeeeeetiie.” Her voice waved in unnatural ways.
I stared in horror as the room changed from the comforting living room to a bright yet dank cinder-block walled room.
“What’s going on?” I asked, tears falling as I tried to catch up with what was happening.
She froze, just like the whispering and chuckling in the background. Slowly I turned around, still covering my ears to block out the non Kara’s yelling.
They were frozen. Dean staring at me, unblinking and Kara with her head tilted back in a laugh while Jeff had a huge smile on his face. All were frozen in the cinder-block walled room.
“Come on, Lorelei, wake up,” non Kara’s voice was softer now. Not as urgent but frightened.
“But I am awake!” I called out, trying desperately hard to understand what was going on. My head spun round as I tried so hard to keep my thoughts straight. Nothing seemed to be working, and the non Kara was still trying to talk to me. But I couldn’t see her. I could only hear her, and maybe the tingles traveling up and down my body might be her?
Oh gawd I am so confused, I tried so hard to make sense of what was happening. I closed my eyes and tried so very hard to settle my mind. To go back to the real world and get a tight, huge loving hug from Dean and maybe take a nap.
When I opened my eyes my world changed completely. I was no longer at the Buckley home. I was in an oddly bright but completely void room.
My breath caught in my throat, this wasn’t where I should be! This wasn’t where I should be. I should be at the Buckley’s.
Fear grabbed hold of my throat as immense pain flooded the core of my body.
Tears trickled down scorching my skin with the very trickle of them falling. I’m in hell. I’m in hell and was just… I’m in hell and now my only goal of life is to give Kara an easier time in this hell.
Could I really pull that off?
Kara was on the floor in the corner of the room, “I’m so sorry Lorelei,” she sobbed, trying her hardest to live in the darkness in the room. To mesh into it, become it.
I stood. I would do this for her. In my dream, she was my sister. In reality she is my other half. Without her I would be nothing.
Looking at her I forced one foot forward and tried so hard to remain strong. I would do this for her. And if I do it right, maybe it would work for me too.
I knelt in front of her wrapping my arms around her, pulling her out of the shadows. We sat there for what felt like years. Finding comfort in each others arms, and every breath we took our resolve set in place.
We knew what had to be done. Without speaking, without even the tiniest of nods we knew what we had to do. What we had to do together.
We would make it out of this together and alive. Of that we would ensure…