Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

The windows to Gianna’s house were open halfway, allowing the warm, summer air to come in and fill up the room. Gianna sat on the hardwood floor of her living room and was stretched out painting her toe nails. Her long hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she wore a black tank top with blue denim shorts. The nail polish glided over her nails, the bright orange color contrasting nicely with the deep tan of her skin. Her days had been quiet lately, spent mostly in her room. She had not spoken to any of her friends in quite a while and she had to admit that she really did miss being on the tour.

She applied another coat of neon orange polish and closed the bottle tightly, leaning back against the ivory leather couch behind her. She moved her hand to her mouth and covered it as she yawned, staring straight at the ceiling. Just as she was about to close her eyes and doze off, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She reached in and pulled it out, staring at the screen. An unknown number flashed as the phone buzzed and Gianna shrugged, answering.

“Hello?” She heard mumbling in the background and then heard a feminine laugh. “Gianna! Finally! It’s Taylor.” Gianna smiled to herself, the smile quickly fading. She liked Taylor and wished that she could be there hanging out with her as well. “Hi, Taylor. How’s the tour?” She could hear more noise in the background and heard Taylor yell at someone. Gianna couldn’t help but laugh to herself. “Tour is really fun. But it would be more fun if you were here, Gi. You know that, right?” Gianna sighed and scratched her head, sick and tired of talking about what had happened.

“It’s complicated,” Gianna dragged on, not wanting to press the subject. There was silence on the line and Taylor sighed as well, feeling somewhat guilty for even bringing it up in the first place. “You know he’s miserable, right?” Another silence erupted and Gianna swallowed the lump in her throat, allowing herself to picture Joel in her head. “Is he?” Her tone was one of disbelief and she didn’t really feel like hearing Taylor’s response. “He regrets it Gianna. He’s been moping everyday that you’ve been gone. He barely ever comes out with us and he stays locked up in the bus. His performances have no heart in them.”

Gianna sighed and bit her lip, burying her hand in her hair.”What, do you want me to feel bad for him?” The question came out sharper than she intended and she immediately felt guilty for snapping at Taylor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry.” Taylor chuckled. “I know. You’re mad. It makes sense. I’m just saying that you should consider…coming back.” Gianna furrowed her eyebrows. She had not really given much thought to going back to the tour. She missed the guys. She missed Taylor. She would even admit that she missed Joel. But could she really go back?

“I don’t know…” Gianna’s voice was full of uncertainty and she didn’t know how she felt at the moment. Taylor let it go and decided to let her think it over. “I’ll let you go. Promise me you’ll think about it? I miss you. We all do.” Gianna agreed and hung up the phone. She fully collapsed on the couch and closed her eyes, a million thoughts taking over her mind. She could hear her mother moving around the kitchen and opened her eyes slowly, looking up at the ceiling. She heard her younger brother’s voice from outside and sat up fully, looking at her hands.

After a few minutes her phone started to vibrate once more. Gianna groaned and looked at the screen once more. This time a familiar name filled the screen and she chuckled before answering the call, placing the phone next to her ear. “What is it, O’Callaghan?” John laughed loudly into the phone, causing Gianna to roll her eyes. Oh, how she missed that boy. “Gianna, come back.” She sighed. What, was it “convince Gianna to come back day,” or something? “John…” Her voice was almost a whisper and John hesitated for a moment.

John bit his lip and thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to get his best friend back. “Please, Gi? I promise that he’s extremely miserable.” Gianna couldn’t help but laugh. Of course they would think Gianna would feel better if she knew that Joel was in pain. She bit her lip and picked at her bright purple fingernails, trying to focus on anything else but the conversation on the phone. She figured she had left John waiting long enough. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping that she wouldn’t regret her decision.

“Fine.” She could hear shuffling around from the other side of the phone and wondered what exactly John was doing. “What?” Gianna rolled her eyes and sighed once more. “I said I’ll come back.” She could hear John in the background yelling and telling everyone that she was coming back and she giggled at their childish ways. The yelling stopped and an overexcited John once again came on the line. “Yes! I can’t wait to see you! Get on the next flight and I swear I’ll be there to pick you up!” Gianna prayed that she had made the right decision and chuckled, agreeing to John’s plan.

They soon hung up the phone after John ordered her to go pack up her things as fast as she could. She ascended the stairs and walked to her room, taking the space in as she walked inside. She picked up her duffel bag, some of her clothes still in it. She slowly began to pack it up once more, just like that very first day. Her hand landed on something buried deep in the corner of the bag and she pulled it out. She ran her finger over the glossy photo of herself and Joel, laughing hysterically.

She took one last look at the picture and once again buried it deep in her bag, zipping it shut. She threw the bag over her shoulder and walked out of her room, unsure of what exactly would lie ahead of her.