Heart Means Everything

The next day, which was Saturday, Alix had invited Jeremy over for dinner. It was the least she could do for him fighting Gunner.

Jeremy went over around seven like she had asked. She lived with her dad and brother, which Jeremy found out that they went to a sporting event in a different state. Even though Alix had lived with only those two males since she was five, she had no interest in sports, which is why she didn't go with the two. In fact, she wasn't interested in many guy things. She swore to herself from a very young age that she would never turn into a tomboy, and so far she had kept that promise.

Alix greeted Jeremy at her front door. She was wearing a blue, pink, and green floral dress with a braided headband around her head to keep her hair down.

"Hi, Jeremy," she greeted him with a grin.

"Hey, Alix."

"Come in." Alix motioned inside her house.

"It smells really good in here," Jeremy said, entering the house and looking around her living room.

"Thanks! It's almost done, probably about five minutes. I hope you like chicken," Alix said in a huge rush. She was obviously nervous.

"Love it," Jeremy reassured her with a smile.

"Great! Well, make yourself at home, and I'll call you to the dining room in a few minutes." She walked off in the direvtion that the amazing smells were coming from.

Jeremy's mouth watered. He was starving from not eating much at all that day.
He began walking around the room looking at the pictures hanging on the walls and standing on the fireplace mantle. Most of them were from when Alix was little. In one of her school pictures, she was smiling and had a missing front tooth. In another she was just a toddler, wearing a crown and a dress. There was also a picture of her and what Jeremy assumed was her brother playing in the leaves during the fall.

The biggest photo, the only one that had it's own wall, was a family portrait. Alix, her brother, and her parents were in it. They were sitting by a body of water, all of them wearing smiles on their faces. They looked genuinely happy.

Alix appeared in the doorway to the living room with a smile on her face.

"I see you like that one," she said, interrupting Jeremy's thoughts. She judged this from the grin he was wearing.

He nodded and finally tore his eyes from the picture. He was curious about what happened to her mother, but he didn't think it was right of him to ask. They had only started talking yesterday.

Jeremy flashed a bright smiled at Alix because he didn't know what to say. He wasn't good with small talk, and the way she looked wasn't helping his speech.

"Well come on," Alix said, walking over to him and grabbing his hand. "Dinner is ready."

They walked into the dining room, where Alix had already set the table and brought out the food. The table and chairs were white, and the walls were painted light blue, representing the sky, while the carpet was a sandy tan color, looking like sand. There were shells and lighthouses sittting on white shelves all over the room.
Jeremy thought the room was different, be he really liked it. The room soothed him. He looked out the window as it overlooked the beach.

He went over and pulled Alix's chair out before taking his own seat.

"Thank you," Alix said shyly, her face turning light pink.

Jeremy made a mental note to make her do that more often. She looked adorable.
"You're welcome."

Alix started putting food on her plate and Jeremy followed her lead. He looked around the room and noticed beach photography and paintings.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, noticing Jeremy's wandering eyes.

"Which are you into? Photography or painting?" he asked bluntly.

"Neither actually." She laughed. "My brother takes pictures, and my dad paints. I'm into music, but it's not like you can hang it on the wall very well."

Jeremy grinned at her. "Well, you could hang up lyrics, or melodies, or records-"

"Okay, smartass," she joked. "You know what I mean."

"I know," he said after he swallowed his bite of chicken. "This is delicious, by the way."

"Well thank you," she replied, then took a bite of hers. After a few moments, she spoke again. "Someone has to cook when there's no mom around."

Jeremy stopped eating, and looked into her eyes, feeling the want to know more about what she meant, but not speaking.

"Breast cancer," Alix told him.

"Oh... I'm...I'm so sorry, Alix. God, that's such a cliche thing to say, but...damn..." he trailed off.

"Thanks." Alix felt like she was repeating herself. "It's okay, though. Really. Yeah, I still get sad sometimes, but it happened almost thirteen years ago. You've got to get over things eventually, ya know?"

Jeremy watched her as she took a drink of water. He nodded his understanding.

"Do you mind me asking a question?" Jeremy asked quietly, still looking at her. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she really was.

"Shoot."

"How did you get through it?"

"Well," she began, trying to find the right words. "If I'm going to be totally honest with you, I did this." She lifted her left arm and Jeremy saw countless dark red scars lining her forearms and wrist.

Jeremy also lifted his left arm and pulled his sleeve up. "I know what that's like."

Their scars were both severe looking, though Jeremy had far fewer than Alix. He always worked on making his cuts deeper, more like gashes.

Alix clenched her jaw together, feeling the pain on her arm. Though she hadn't cut in years, she could still feel the slicing as if she were doing it then.

"Why'd you do that?" she wondered aloud. They might as well share their stories since they were in this far.
Alix continued eating as she listened intently to Jeremy.

"Dad was an alcoholic and a cheater. He left and it really messed up my mom. She stopped talking to me and turned to alcohol as well, and I became depressed. I did this," he pointed to his arm. "On my thirteenth birthday. My dad didn't call me, and my friends at the time didn't come over to my house or call either. It tore me up."

Alix looked him in the eyes this time. Her eyes showed sadness and sorrow. She reached across the table and took his hand.

"I'm really sorry. I can't even imagine..."

"No, no, it's fine. Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. This is really nothing compared to your story. Now that's something I couldn't imagine."

She gave him a sad smile and rubbed circles with her thumb on his hand. Neither of them noticed that they were holding hands. It just happened so naturally.