Fragile

Chapter 1

The boxes were heavy in my hands, but I carried them anyways, obeying my parents command. There was sweat beating on my forehead as I stacked them in the car. I kept thinking: 4 hours. In 4 hours I'll leave this place. The place I met all my friends, the place I grew up. The place I discovered a bit of myself. I looked around one last time. At the house, the house that felt so familiar to me. The faded red bricks. The broken shutter outside my bedroom. The tree in front of the yard that I used to climb up. The roof that covered me from storms, that kept me warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This was the place I grew up in, I never thought I'd leave. All my memories were in that house. I learned how to ride a bike on these streets, falling, but always getting back up again. Tears pricked the back of my eyes. My hands shook as I closed the trunk. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. When I was finished, I stepped back into the house.
"Everybody, let's go!" My mom shouted. She pushed my two twin brothers, Zack and Luke, into the garage. I stood there and looked around. I was alone in the empty room. The furniture that made the room feel smaller was gone, leaving a large, empty room. The old wooden floors were dusty. A blank canvas, for a new painter. A new painter will paint our house. Make it theirs. But was I ready for that? I bit my lip from crying and untucked a memory from a long time ago..
The doorbell rang and I shot up from the couch to get it. My aunt said to never open the door, but I had to know if it was my mom. I had to see my brothers. I grabbed the knob and flung the door open.
"Surprise!" My mom shouted, halfheartedly. She looked exhausted. There were black bags under her eyes, but I had never seen her any happier.
I smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Where is dad and..." I didn't know how to put it into words. I had two brothers. "And my brothers," I finally finished, smiling at the thought. I was 10 years old then. Little did I know what they'd grow up to be, but they became something and I had a part in that.
My dad came through the front door with two babies. One in each hand. My mom took one of the boys from him and held him in her arms. I could see the light in her eyes, the smile was irreplaceable. I wondered if she looked at me like that when I was born.
"Can I see?" I asked quietly.
My mother looked down at me, a soft smile dancing across her lips. She squated down in front of me and let me take a look at the baby.
His eyes were closed, but fortunately for me, they fluttered open. His eyes were a light blue, almost gray. I smiled at the little baby as he looked up at me, trying to figure out everything about me.

"Alex!" My mom called, snapping me out of the memory. "Let's go!"
"Coming!" I swallowed down my tears and left. Left the past. It was time to move onto the future.
I walked out through the garage and got in the car. 4 hours. 4 hours before the start of something new. I closed my eyes as the car moved out of the garage. I opened them and looked out the window, silently saying bye for the last time.

We pulled up into the driveway. It wasn't the first time I came here. We came once so we could see the house. The houses here are nicer, bigger, but still the same price. I stepped out of the car, and took in my surroundings.
My heart skipped a beat. A tall boy stood by the mailbox of the neighboring house. It couldn't be. His dirty blond hair fell in his face the same way. When he looked over at me I could see his green eyes.
I hadn't seen him since since second grade. But I was sure of it.
Standing in front of me was Grayson Hunt, my childhood best friend.
We were invited to his going away party at his house. It was a farewell to them, but I didn't expect him to be gone forever. I knew I would see him again. "I'm sorry I'm leaving, Alex."
"It's okay, I know you can't do anything about it. Your parents are making you go," I smiled at Grayson, his green eyes glinted as his lips turned up in a sad smile.
"We'll visit each other all the time!" He exclaimed.
"I hope so!" I put my hands together in front of my nose. I could feel my tears starting to spring from my eyes.
"Can you sing for me?" His voice was soft.
It was easy for me to sing, for my mouth to open and spit out the newest song I heard on the radio, or an old song my mom would play from a CD in her car. My voice would be low and quiet, even when I wanted to shout it loud and clear. Grayson stood up for me when others shot my singing down.
Of course, my voice sprang into action. I sung out the last song I heard. The one my mom played in the car before we got here. I let my voice go high and clear, just like I had always wanted, because it was only me and Grayson. Everyone turned to look my way, but I didn't see them. It was me and Gray, it would always be me and Gray.
When I finished the chorus, not daring to go further, knowing I'd mess up the lyrics somehow, I stopped.
The corners of his lips went up and he wrapped his small arms around my fragile body. I let myself cry into his shoulder. "I'll miss you Grayson!"
"I'll miss you too Alex," I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard a quiver in his voice. In my mind he was crying too.
It's been so long since I had last saw him, but I knew I would never forget him. We tried to keep in touch but it had never lasted. I felt myself fading away from his memory, but I'd never forget him. I would always remember Grayson Hunt.

"Alexandria?" He didn't say it loud, but I still heard it. That was enough to confirm it. I ran over to him, jumping into his arms.
"Grayson!" I smiled into his shoulder when he caught me. "I missed my best friend," I said quietly.
"I'm sorry I left," He whispered into my neck. He was the perfect height for it, and that's when I'd realized how much he'd grown.
I pulled away. "How tall are you now?"
"Six feet, exactly," He smiled, proud of his height.
"You were, like, 3 feet tall last time I saw you," I let out a giggle.
He smiled at me, "Yeah and you were still shorter."
"It's been so long," I was so happy to finally see him again. I took him in, the way his hair was shorter, barely covering his face. The way his nose wrinkled when he smiled. The greens of his eyes. When I came up close, I realized they had a yellow tint to them. My eyes finally landed on the letter in his hand. "Whats with the letter?"
"I was trying to get the mail, but some animal decided to crush me in a hug before I could even touch the other letters," He said, but I knew he was joking by the smirk on his face.
"I am not an animal!" I protested.
"Keep telling yourself that," He laughed. His laugh was easy and carefree. I let the familiar melody flow through my ears.
"Alex!" My dad called. "Help us out!"
"Coming!" I called back. I turned to Grayson. "I'll talk to you later?"
He smiled and nodded.