That Little Twist

Chapter Three: Minutes Without Air

Chapter Three: Minutes Without Air.

"What are you-"

"No," I interrupt, closing the bedroom door behind me. "You don't speak. You listen and obey before I change my mind."

Big, brown eyes eye me, wearily.

"Okay. I've always been more popular than you. More fun than you. More sexually experienced than you. More beautiful than you. More…everything than you." Anna Lynn bites her lip and looks down but doesn't say a word. "But for some reason, that's not enough." Anna Lynn glances up at me. "Brett's still in love with you." Her eyes widen. "I've spent the past four years trying to ignore the fact that I'll never have with him what you have with him…it wasn't easy and it hurt.

"The pain that you've felt the past few weeks? I felt that times ten every time I saw you guys together with your inside jokes and trips down memory lane and seemingly innocent flirty moments." Anna Lynn looks down again. "But I dealt with it because, despite what you may think, I love him. I'm so in love with him that sometimes…" I blink quickly to keep back the tears. "Sometimes I actually seriously plan out our future together. Our marriage. Our family. Our house." I let out a watery laugh. "He doesn't know that, though. I never told him because I guess…I guess I maybe figured it was just wishful thinking. Because no matter how much I love him…the person he's supposed to end up with is you. You know it. I know it. He probably knows it now."

"He chose you," Anna Lynn cuts in, quietly.

"Didn't I say you couldn't talk?" I snap, a few tears escaping my eyes. "But yes, he did choose me. However, he's been miserable ever since he made that decision. I can't even remember the last time I saw heard him laugh," I muse, sniffing as a few more tears steadily fall from my eyes. "He promised me he wouldn't see you anymore, but just to make things easier on himself, he decided to go take my words literally and talk to you over the phone. He knew that I meant to cut off all contact but he didn't do it. It probably would have killed him." Anna Lynn stares at me, a small smile on her face as my heart slowly crumbles.

Come on, Giselle. You're almost done.

"So, here." I reach into my jean pockets and pull out a thick piece of paper. I hold it out to the blonde and she slowly reaches for it. "It's my plane ticket," I inform her. "Brett and I were planning on leaving tonight to go home for Thanksgiving break. The plane leaves in three hours so you need to be at the airport in an hour and a half if you want to make it." Anna Lynn stares at the ticket and I sigh. "In other words, you need to leave now." Anna Lynn looks up and me and stutters:

"B-but I'm not packed…I-"

"You have your cell phone and you're already dressed. Just grab your computer, your purse, a jacket, your car keys and start driving." Anna Lynn instantly starts doing what I told her. She's like a hurricane as she sprints around her room, sliding on her rain boots and raincoat at the same time. The quiet room makes me feel awkward and so I ramble on in order to fill the silence. "It's raining pretty heavily out so try not to crash…you have clothes back home so it's not like you need to pack. Now, please get the hell out of here. My tolerance for you is running low." Anna Lynn finishes getting all her stuff together and opens her door. I scurry out of it and we both walk through the sorority house in silence. We walk into the pouring rain, and I curse when I remember that I left my umbrella in Anna Lynn's room. My clothes immediately become soaked through as I prepare to sprint to the car-

"Giselle!" I turn to look at Anna Lynn. She's holding her computer and purse in one hand and the car keys in the other as she squints at me from underneath her raincoat hood. "Thank you."

I stare at her and nod in recognition of her thanks and she smiles before she scurries off to her car.

Suddenly feeling immobile, I watch as Anna Lynn jumps into her vehicle and starts the engine. She drives off quickly, leaving me standing alone in the rain. I swallow and feel the harsh pounding of the heavy rain against my skin as I look up at the sky.