The Things Left Unsaid

The wind made a soft whistle against the tall grass by the meadow behind our house. Insects made assortments of chirps and buzzes that blended in well with the warm wind that smelled of wheat, barley and hay. Butterflies danced happily and birds chirped. The scene was like what I pictured when I was younger, getting the flu shot or going to the dentist and my mother telling me to go to my ‘happy place’. So why was I not content?

I was sitting against a bale of hay, hugging my knees as my eyes squinted against the bright sunlight. It was supposed to be snowing. That was how it worked. February meant snow. I had been raised like that. This hot place was no place for a northern girl like me.

The too-warm-for-winter wind tugged my blonde curls teasingly, as if inviting me to go play with the butterflies. I rolled my grey eyes, looking away and tipping my hat to get the darn sun out of my soft eyes. I pulled my legs closer to my chest and tightened my grip on them.

My family had moved here to southern Texas only a year ago but I still didn’t belong here. I was just about beginning to pick up the accent (against all my resistance of course.) and my memories of the white snows of home were fading rapidly. I had been born in raised in eastern Canada, in a small town outside of Ottawa, ‘bout an hour from Cornwall.

At least the scenery hadn’t changed too much. We lived just outside a town. This town was small, and I mean small. There couldn’t have been more than 200 people here, which meant that everyone knew everyone. It was hard to walk it’s streets without getting honked or waved at. Personally I’d rather just avoid eye contact with the people I walked by but I give in to social pressure and simply wave or nod. I’m not the friendliest, but I’m not rude either.

In Canada, the town was large, about 3000 to 4000 people, I couldn’t quite remember. It was homey, but you could meet a new person if you wanted to and people actually asked your name. I actually found that I disliked everyone knowing my name. It could be quite trying at times.

I lifted my hat and ran my fingers through my long and wavy blonde hair with the other hand. The sun was getting ready to set which lit up the sky a beautiful, but bright, orange hue. I replaced my hat and stood, lifting myself onto the bale of hay, my feet dangling just inches from the dusty ground.

I heard the back door to our country home creak open, my mother’s voice coming from the kitchen. “Sally, it’s time for dinner, get in here and don’t forget to wash up either. That hay is as dirty as a horse’s stall and we don’t need you gettin’ sick.” My mother was a sweet little thing, but ever since we moved here you could barely tell she was born in Nova Scotia. Her short, mousy brown hair was straight, cut just above her shoulders and she was barely five foot. She fit right in with everything and made me feel like the odd one out.

I sighed and hopped off the haystack, pulling off my hat and jogging up the porch and through the screen door into the small, cozy kitchen. I moved into the dining room where my Mother was setting down cutlery and plates. I sat down in my usual spot.
The old floorboards creaked, showing someone was approaching. It was Dad, my tall, southern Daddy. This house had been his parents’ house and before had died a year and a half ago, leaving Dad with the house. He decided to take it for himself and now, well we’re living here.

My mother gave Dad a quick smile and turned to the ceiling, “Henry, Sidney, get down here! Dinner! Don’t make me come up there!” she called.

Then the fast-paced clumping of my younger brother rushed down the stairs. He was thirteen and that he was high-and-mighty age, when he thought that he was all great and everything but he still played with model cars and his Nintendo DS. Then the dignified patter of my older sister, Sidney, followed him. She was only two years older than me but she treated me like I was ten years old just because I didn’t smother myself in makeup every morning.

Henry rushed down, his dark brown hair messy (as always) and his freckles gleaming. He sat down in his regular spot beside Dad and Sidney. Sidney came behind him, her hair almost identical to mine but with clear use of colour, product and a flat iron. She sat down leaving only mom to sit down. She was rushing around, placing things on the table. We were having meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad; not too bad perhaps.

I stacked my plate after a quick grace featuring Sidney (suck-up) and ate as quickly as possible without drawing attention to myself. When my plate was cleared I stood up quickly, “Alright, I’m done, can I go now?” I asked, perhaps a little too quickly.
Dad eyed me suspiciously, glancing from my plate to Mom and back to me. He had no choice though and flicked his head towards the stairs, “Fine. Go on.” He said. I took off and scooted up the stairs, darting down the hallway that lead to my room and jumping inside, closing the door.

I hopped onto the bed and grabbed my cellphone, going quickly to my contact list and clicking the one labeled ‘Jenna’s cell’. I lay on my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows, looking around my room while it rang.

My room was relatively small, one double bed pushed into the corner with a soft, neutral coloured quilt. A couple certificates were framed around the room, mostly awards from school for being in assorted clubs or duties. There was a cliché poster of the cat hanging from the tree with the subtitle ‘Hang in there’ as well as a small desk with a laptop on it. The closet door was open showing a rather disorganized closet.

“Hello?” Jenna’s voice snapped, sounding annoyed.

“Hey, Jenna-it’s Sal.” I replied my voice quick but quiet.

“Hey Sally, you still on for that party tonight? It’s gonna be awesome.” Jenna said enthusiastically. Jenna was a popular girl in school. Be her friend and you had exclusive access to all the school’s parties. I didn’t actually like her much, but I wasn’t going to tick off someone who could make my life miserable if they felt like it...

“Course, but I don’t have an address yet and I need a ride. I was hoping you could hook me up.” I asked, hoping she’d say yes. See, my parents didn’t exactly approve of teen parties, but I needed to have a little fun somehow. Plus Jenna had been begging me to catch one, and I had a feeling she was calling me a wuss behind my back; I got to keep this one happy.

“I’ll see what I can do...” she paused and I heard the sounds of instant messaging in the background, “Oh, here we are. The perfect ride; I’m sure they’ll say yes. I’ll have him in front of your house at seven o’clock sharp. The party’s an hour away so you got to be here at a good time. I’ll see ya there, hon.” And she hung up the phone. I sighed; she thought she was queen of the world. Ironically, she sort of was the queen her world, the world of West County High.

I glanced at my alarm clock and my eyes grew three times larger. 6:30!!! I tossed my phone on my bed and ran to my closet...

---

It didn’t take long to get dressed, it was the picking the outfit that took time. I tore a plain red tank top from my closet and compared it to my black skinny jeans and jean jacket. “Ugh, no.” I rolled my eyes with snort and grabbed a black tank top instead, this time I hesitated, tipping my head and thinking. “Maybe...” I muttered, and changed my jeans to a dark navy boot cut. I smiled, nodding, “That’ll do.” I said with a smile as I grabbed a leather cowboy hat and a random necklace.

After curling my hair so it was plump and full of locks I added a bit of eye shadow and lip gloss and I was ready to get outta there. I tossed on a pair of sneakers (oh so accurate for my next move) and opened my window nice and wide. I turned on my laptop and put on a movie, turned off the lights and messed up the blankets. Now, if anyone wanted to check up on me, I could be watching a movie in bed.

So, Finally, I crawled out the window and onto the branch of a tree. I carefully jumped down onto the dry, dead grass. The sun had set and crickets chirped loudly in the nearby meadows. I heard the squeak and flutter of a bat and I nearly jumped out of my skin, cold shivers crawling up my spine like spiders.

I gulped and hurried down to the front lawn. There was already a car there, the lights and engine were off but I could see a faint outline of someone in the driver’s seat.­­ I opened the front passenger seat and hopped in, expecting to see a familiar face but looked into the eyes of a complete stranger and jumped once more.

It was a dark-haired guy with a black cowboy hat that shadowed most of his face. He was dressed in a dark leather jacket and torn jeans. He glanced at me, gave a slight grunt and turned the key, speeding down the highway in only a few moments time.

It was just the two of us in the car and I didn’t even know his name. The silence slowly and slowly made me feel more and more paranoid. I opened my mouth but paused, what do you say to a strange man driving you to a party an hour away? “Well, uh, I’m Sally.” I murmured.

“Yeah, I know.” He said gruffly.

“What’s your name?”

“Tyler.” He wasn’t making this easy.

“Are you new ‘round here?” Silence. I turned away and rolled my eyes, focusing out the window instead. After a few moments I was getting restless. I made a little huff and crossed my arms, looking back to Tyler. He was glaring at me. Not just staring, but his eyes were narrowed and dark. I held his gaze for a moment, but looked away, his gaze still pricking at my shoulder. That’s when I turned to the radio and tried to turn it on but his hand quickly slapped mine away, making me wince. For a moment it looked like he was going to apologize but then just looked at the road. I held my throbbing hand and thought about how much I wished I had my own car.