Secret Hung the Gold

Ariel sat in her room, again in the empty house, with a blank mind. There was so much to think about, so much to do, yet she felt no motivation, only a black hole that seemed to suck all of her feelings away. Although she hated to admit it, she wished her father would walk through the door with a pizza in one hand and a carton of ice cream in another. Ariel would still smile even if it meant crashing her diet, and hearing her coaches mouth.
She just wanted her father.
But she knew it was a dream. Even if her father walked through the door in that very second, he would lock himself away in his study, or find some other reason to leave. He’d walk up to Ariel and place a dry kiss on her forehead, say the methodical “I love you”, then vanish again for two weeks. He’d give her money, too much for groceries, as if that would make up for the lack of a father figure and give her the thumbs up to buy a new outfit.
But it wasn’t enough.
In E.J.’s house, it wasn’t the most expensive or elaborate house, but it was filled with love. It glowed like there was the presence of love and happiness there. The house wasn’t the cleanest even, but Ariel loved it. Living in such an immaculate house, made Ariel yearn for what they had. The warmth that her house lacked ever since her mother died.
Ariel stood and walked to her vanity, staring into her own eyes as she sat in the chair. She grabbed a brush and ran it through her long hair, feeling her eyes close.
Her mother was there.
Ariel sat, a giddy smile on her face. Her mother pulled out an vintage cream and pink brush and showed it to the eight year old Ariel. Ariel remembered smiling so wide that her cheeks hurt. Her mother laughed her beautiful laugh, taking the brush from Ariel’s shaky hands and beginning to run it through her long hair.
Her sweet voice replayed in Ariel’s hair. “Ariel, you know my mother gave this to me. Her mother gave it to her, and her mother gave it to her and her mother, a queen, gave it to her. I’m going to give it to you, because you are my princess, and one day soon, you will be a queen.” Ariel felt her eyes getting heavy as her mother’s voice slowed and the strokes of the brush followed suit. “And you’ll find a king-”
“Ew!” Ariel said then. “Boys have cooties!”
Ariel remembered her mother’s laugh. “That is what you say now. But in ten years, when you are a beautiful young woman, the right guy will come, handsome in his armor and take all of your problems away. You’ll get married, then you can give this beautiful brush to your beautiful daughter.”
She turned off the lights to the vanity and lifted Ariel off the chair. Half asleep, she was tucked into the bed, her pink and white sheets pulled all the way to her chin.
Her mother sat at the side of the bed placed a warm kiss on Ariel’s forehead. Her voice raised softly as she began to sing.

“On the day you were born I felt my heart grow a little bigger
On the day you were born I felt it swell
On the day you were born I heard the angels give a little giggle
And I knew And I knew
And I knew And I knew
And I knew that this world was a better place”

Ariel’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and slamming. She didn’t rush out of her room, like the eight year old Ariel would have. Instead, she remained still, except for the tear that fell slowly down her face.

There was no shock in Ariel’s heart when she woke again to the large empty house. As she walked past the mirror in the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of her puffy eyes and drooping bags. She paused and gazed at her reflection, at what people called perfection.
That was all she was to anyone:a trophy.
Ariel returned to her room, showered and refreshed, and grabbed her phone. She saw that Bethany had called three times.
The phone rang twice.
“Hey, Ariel.”
“Hey, Beth.” Ariel tried to seem as happy as possible, but it fell flat.
“Are you okay?” Bethany paused for a second, as if she expected Ariel, with a mind sealed as tight as a safe, to share the thoughts even she didn’t want to think of. “Kyle and I and… another friend are going to the movies in like an hour. We want to swing by for you, is that okay?”
Ariel wanted to say no. She wanted to stay right in her room and sulk about her life as she has already become so accustomed to, but she decided against herself in the very same second. “Absolutely, I’ll be ready.” She could hear Bethany smile.
They said their goodbyes and Ariel dropped her arms, smiling at herself. Finally, something fun.
She slid into a yellow sun dress and strappy sandals. She covered the bags under her eyes with make up and ran out the front door just as Bethany pulled up.
“You look pretty.” Bethany smiled. A little too hard.
Ariel opened the back door and spotted Hayden Cummings, the football player who has crushed on her since they were back in grade school. After entering into high school, she barely saw him anymore. Whenever she did, he had a different girl on his arm and a bright smile on his face.
“Hey, Ariel,” he said, with a smile and a wave. “Remember me?”
Ariel nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah.” She paused. “Hayden, right?”
He smiled. “Yep, you remember.” He smacked the chair beside him. “Sit, I won’t bite.”
Ariel slid into the chair beside him, both of her arms tucked in her lap. They drove in silence for a while. Ariel began to chip at her lavender nail polish.
“So, what movie are we going to see?” Kyle asked, lifting his body to remove his phone from his back pocket.
“I don’t know.” Bethany turned to meet Ariel’s eyes. “You in the mood for a scary flick?”
Ariel frowned. “I absolutely hate scary movies.”
She thought about the cold house waiting for her at the end of the day. The very last thing she needed was the thought of a ghost while she sat in her room. Alone.
Hayden looked at Ariel. His voice was a low whisper. “I’ll protect you.” A wide, straight smile took up the bottom half of his face.
Ariel partially smiled and looked out of the window, wondering why she said yes to this idea in the first place. She wasn’t in the mood for the flirty Hayden or the pushy Bethany or the mysterious and super-observant Kyle. All she wanted was her bed and a memory.