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"Blaire! We missed you!" George yelled, and I sat up, rubbing my weary eyes. George came forward and bear hugged me, causing me to wheeze from the pressure.
   "Blaire, been a while," my mom said flatly, and George pulled away, stepping behind them. They stared at me without the smallest trace of a smile on either of their lips.
   "Mom, dad, it's nice to see you," I said, returning their monotone.
   "We kept your room the same for you," they announced, and I nodded awkwardly, looking around at the room. Finally, they left me to myself for the night, but George came back in.
"Hey Blaire," he said weakly, and I looked at him, waiting for him to continue, "I hope you aren't bitter about what happened between us." He finished, and I bit my cheek.
   "George..." I started, and he sat on the edge of my bed, fiddling with his fingers and avoiding my gaze.
"I shouldn't have done that, and we never got to talk about it. You left before we- before we could," he said, and I felt guilt pool at the bottom of my stomach. I had felt bad about that for the entire year.
"Okay," I said, and George looked at me, smiling weakly.
"I shouldn't have done that. I didn't mean to hurt you," {reference hehe} he said quietly, and I sighed, thinking of our fight.
   "It's okay, I overreacted," I said, and he shook his head.
"I was just so angry when I found you two together, and then Jeremy broke up with me that night, and I was just overwhelmed," I lied, and George nodded.
   "Why did he break up with you?" George asked, and I sighed, the topic bringing up rough memories.
"I don't want to talk about it," I said, gulping. I felt bad about lying to my older brother because we'd always been so close, but if I told him, he would make a big deal about it. Only three people knew the truth: me, Jeremy, and John.
   "Okay well it's getting late, I'll leave you to it," he said, and shut the door behind him quietly. I sat there looking at the ceiling, until about 11. Then I heard small pebbles tapping my window.
I got out of bed to see John looking up at my window. I smiled to myself, and threw on an overcoat, quietly slipping down the stairs and out of the door, into the chilly night.
"John?" I hissed, and he walked up onto the porch, stepping into the light and revealing his devilish smirk.
"Well hello," he said, and I rolled my eyes. Sometimes he could be such an ass. I shivered a bit, and licked my dry lips.
   "What do you need?" I asked impatiently, and he faked surprise.
   "You don't remember doing this?" He asked, and I shook my head, trying my best to keep a straight face.
   "Oh, I just thought..." he said, and I smiled, shoving him playfully.
"John, we've been doing this for years. Of course I remember!" I said, and he smiled with relief. We both sat on the porch step and looked out into the dark, black night.
   "So, we never got to talk about..." he trailed off, and I bit my lip, looking to the other side so that he couldn't see the gloss forming over my eyes.
   "John, I'd rather not," I said, interjecting his thought.
   "Blaire, we need to discuss this. You don't need to deal with this alone," he said, and I looked up, stopping my tears that were pooling at the corners of my eyes.
   "Look, this is sweet, but I've had to deal with this for the past year alone, okay? Just drop it, please," I urged, and he sucked in a breath, letting everything sink in.
"I'm sorry, I just care about you," he said, and I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. He sounded so sincere and genuine, and I must have sounded like a complete bitch. If I had seen what he had, I would be worried too.
   "John, I'm okay. I promise," I said, and I leaned my head against his shoulder.
"Okay, good," he said finally, exhaling deeply and smiling wearily. It seemed forced, but at least he was smiling.
"Do you remember the first time we did this?" I asked, and he nodded, laughing lightheartedly, his chuckles shaking his shoulders.
   "Yes, oh god, I think I was fourteen and you were eleven? And I was here trying to get your brother to smoke with me, and you came downstairs and tried instead. You basically coughed up a lung, and I couldn't stop laughing," he said, and I laughed slightly.
"Yes, those were the good ol' days," I remarked, and we both smiled, reminiscing on the past. We just sat there silently until the sun began to rise over the treetops and I decided I had to go in before my family woke up and freaked out on me.
"Bye, love you," he said, and he kissed me on the forehead. We had always said that we loved each other because he was like another older brother to me, and he was very protective of me. That's why he was so livid the night that I left when he found me and Jeremy.
"I love you too, Johnny boy!" I shouted, and he rolled his eyes and then glared at me, but I could see a smile peeking through, even though he was trying to suppress it.
"Don't call me that!" He said, and I cackled, knowing how much it agitated him. I just smiled cheekily and innocently, and he just shook his head and strolled away, shutting the gate to the garden quietly behind him. I watched him walk down the street and out of sight, before turning and walking into the house quietly. As I tiptoed through the kitchen, a voice made me jump.
   "What do you think you're doing?" My dad's booming voice asked, and I jumped.
"Dad! You scared me!" I shouted, bringing my hand up to my pounding heart, holding it over my chest for a while to calm down.
"Why were you outside?" He asked suspiciously, and I tucked my pesky bangs behind my ear, hoping they would stay.
"I was taking a stroll, if you must know," I said, and his face said that he obviously didn't believe me.
"Blaire, don't lie to me," he said, and I shook my head in anger.
"Why do you always think I'm lying? This is what tore our family apart! Families are built on trust!" I yelled, and I went bounding up the stairs before he could respond, slamming my door in the process. The entire wall shook from the force, and a few pictures from my wall shook and threatened to fall.
   I slumped down onto my bed, and thought about how bad I felt. I felt terrible because in reality, I was lying. I also felt bad because of all of the lies I had told, but it went too deep now. I was trapped, and I couldn't seem to find a way out.
•••
Long chapter! And also, John Lennon's laugh on the anthology albums is so bittersweet because it's so adorable, but it reminds me that he won't ever get the chance to laugh again💔😭

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