December 21st. The perfect day to start Christmas leave. I won’t be gone for too long and I’ll have enough time to rejuvenate from being underway for so long.
It’s been awhile since I’ve met up with my family. ‘It’s hard to believe that I have two Nephews now.-‘ I stretch in the light of the morning sun.
‘;This may be one of the only times I’m excited to meet up with people.’ I laugh softly at my thoughts.
My grandfather greets me at the gate. He’s wearing that hat again. Crossed Blue stripes with white stars on them with a red background.
He knows I hate that hat but he insists that it’s his favorite.
I don’t comment on his hat this time but I still glare at it like it killed my first born. He doesn’t take the hint.
The 6 hour drive was relatively quiet, both of us not being the talkative type, but nostalgic. Reminds me of elementary school a bit.
I was glad to finally get out of the vehicle though. I’ve always disliked vehicles but it was a necessary evil.
The house was just as I remembered it. Stone walls, metal roof, near baren pasture out front and woodlands to the back. The song of the winds rustling through the trees and whistling against the stones.
It smelled like my childhood, if you could call it that.
There were many rough patches in me and my family's relationship but wounds have healed and memories have faded. The familiarity is more comforting than anything else.
‘Maybe they’ve changed.’ I tried to be optimistic as I walked inside.
Me and my sisters have always stuck together but my grandparents…
My grandma can be quite aggressive, maybe a bit possessive and my grandpa, who we call dad, is a pushover to say the least.
But now she’s medicated and dad has vouched for her.
My attention snaps to the living room. There’s definitely more people than I thought there would be. Uncles, aunts, cousins, I spotted my sisters in the crowd, and were those the neighbors?
‘Why are they here? It’s not even Christmas yet!’ Biting down my anxiety I make my way through the crowd of people.
Dear fuck, there must be at least 30 people here.
I finally made my way to the kitchen. The swinging door almost hit someone on the back swing.
I grabbed a glass of water to chase away the nerves. My grandpa comes in behind me.
“A warning would have been nice.” I say bluntly. He looks at me with a deadpan look.
“And how long would you have been standing outside if I did?” He asks rhetorically. Fixing two cups of coffee.
I could smell the butterscotch schnapps he added to his own.
“ ..Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to say it.” I sighed. I was never the one for social occasions. People are complicated.
“Anyways, why are there so many people here? Not gonna lie, I was gonna pass out as soon as I got here.” Cutting straight to the point. My social battery was already at half capacity and I had barely touched a single conversation.
“ Figured,Pam had an announcement or something,-“ he handed me a cup and took a swig of his own. “; even I didn’t expect a swarm.” An equally tired sigh accompanied his statement. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a box.
I tilt my head in question as I take a sip from my mug. ‘Black with cinnamon sugar.’my mind noted.
“For you, was gonna wait for Christmas but I know how you love collecting these.” He said with a small grin.
Taking the box from him, I said thanks and opened the box.
Two medium sized skinning knives in a leather sheath, similar in shape to a karambit but without the metal ring at the end.
I unsheathed the knife and inspected it with interest. Full tang,Damascus, was that a charred white oak handle?
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It was beautiful.
My expression must have given that away because dad forgot to turn the flash off on his phone.
Sheathing the blade and shoving them in my bag, I took a playful swing at him. I laughed as he caught my hand.
A commotion from the other room stopped us from starting our banter.
A large amount of glass shattering could be heard.
I could make out an argument, but couldn’t tell who was arguing. With a sigh I went to investigate. Opening the door felt like a mistake.
“-ON’’tF—k kn- bitc- ” the familiar voice of my little sister, sounded through the crowded room.
“Val?” I said opening the door. Great, now all eyes are on me. Where are those tears?
What The hell happened to the chandelier? Already sick of this situation before it's even begun, I decided to use my no nonsense voice.
Analyzing the room I found the instigator.
A boy about a head taller than me but as thin as a toothpick, dark brown hair, brown eyes, pale as a blood sucker and a sickeningly smug look on his face.
“And who might you be?” I asked as I placed myself in between him and my sister, all the while Staring him down .
“John Russett, and you better watch you to-” he started, I already disliked him.
“Or what?” ‘he’s the one who needs to watch his tone.’
The man-child stammered at being challenged. Obviously not expecting one.
Good.
“You're the one who started this, I walk in to see my sister crying and the chandelier on the floor, yet I'm the one who needs to watch MY TONE.” stalking closer, absolutely pissed, ’he needs to leave.’
“Your gran-” “Get out”
“What” Channeling my inner pettiness, I repeat myself. “No Get Out, i don't know who invited you here but with the commotion you've caused your no longer welcome.'' I grab his wrist, he tries to fight back but a twig like him stands no chance against a trained sailor.
I’ve fought the red man and WON.
Making my way to the front, I opened the door and threw him out.
I turned around to see if there were any objections, none were made.
But I could hear an argument taking place, rolling my eyes as I made my way over.
This time my grandmother and an elderly couple were in a minor disagreement, but as soon as I heard the topic I immediately regretted entering the room in the first place.
I hung back in the crowd as I tried to get context.
“-understand paying for the chandelier but throwing him out was uncalled for.” the older man said.
“I had no part in that, that was of her own volition.”That was my grandmother.
“This is a mess, That was no way to introduce a suitor.”
Record scratch
‘A fucking what?’ backing further into the crowd.
‘No way, this is the twenty-first century. she can’t just arrange a marriage without my consent right?’ I bump into someone before I start to spiral. Looking back,”dad?” He had a confused look on his face and he didn’t seem to notice me bumping into him.
‘Fuck this’ i speed walk to the kitchen, the door making its god awful noise as i did. I propped my elbows to the counter and placed my hands in my short hair. Running them through to focus my thoughts. But the more I thought, the less focused I became.
Breath in
1
2
3
4
Breath out.
‘This is fine, I'm fine. Everything will be fine.’
‘Dad said Nana had an announcement meaning it was already decided.’
‘I wasn’t going to be a part of the decision of who I married.’
“Alex” dad’s voice was like a gunshot through my thoughts. I flinched and he froze. He took a deep breath and..
“Pam Announced that she’d like you to marry the Russett’s first son, not quite the introduction they would have hoped but they’re adamant…
For what it’s worth I didn’t have a clue about any of this.”-a glare from me let him know how I felt. He leans against the counter and states.-
“Look, you're the only successful child out of your sisters, our reputation has taken a hit from Kim and ell’s ‘relationships’ . Pam and the Russett’s seem to believe that this arrangement will benefit both families. I don’t really care what people think of me but keep in mind the bigger picture.” When I don’t reply he turns back to the living room.
“I’ll leave you to your thoughts, Pam wants to ‘retry’ later on.” I wrinkled my nose at that, but he didn't see.
Breath in
1
2
3
4
Breath out
T͔̍h̹̍i̹̕s̳͊ ͉͒i͓͆s͔̾ ̧̓f̠͝í̭n̢̈́e̙̅
̨̊ ̳̍I͍͆'̣̂m̻̚ ͝ͅf̖̓i̘͗n͇͂e͍̾
̢̿w̻͠e̹͐ ̟̔w̙̉í̡l̬̈́ļ͛ ̗̋ạ͘l̰̉l̥̎ ͇́b̻̊e̞̽ ͚̓f̻͂i͈͋ń̟ẻ͜.̬͑
‘Nana invited all these people, without telling me, to try to corral me into a marriage with someone I hated the moment I saw him.’
I̢̭͖͇̺̎̉m̻͚͇͐̄̂͝ ̳́͗n͖̅͗̒̍ơ̢͕̗̺͇̼̑̔͜ṫ̡̙̼̤̲̕ ̥̫̭̖̥̞̍͠f̻̈́̀̐͝i̘̟̔̓̐͋͒n͇̫̙̟͖̜͇͐̈́͒́͋͋ẽ̢͍͚͆͋
Moving from my position, I ran to my bag still on the couch, grabbing my bug out and slinging it over my shoulder.
I had the piece of mind to top off my camelbak before exiting out the patio door, but before I did I turned back and grabbed the knifes dad gave me.
‘I just gonna get some air.’ I told myself, knowing that I no longer wanted to stay tonight.
‘I’ll just spend the night somewhere else’ pulling out my phone for an uber.
No drivers
I continued into the pasture,’of course there wouldn’t be any ubers out in the middle of nowhere.’
I resigned to either spend the night outside or try to get dad to take me to a motel in town. Mind too busy to notice the darkening storm clouds.
The one way conversation with dad earlier still soured my thoughts.
‘There’s no way he’d take me, Nana wouldn’t let him.’
The growing frustration hung like a knot in my throat.
‘I’d spend the night’
“ANYWHERE ELSE” Thunder started roaring furiously, the wind picked up and a flash of bright light, then it faded to black