The Fate Of Broken Hearts

Chapter 27

It took all my strength not to turn around and go back to my apartment every chance I got. I didn't want to find out what bad luck hovered above my head when I got to the end of my GPS's directions. And for the forty minutes worth of driving I did, following the same line not knowing where it would lead, I ended up in a pompous neighborhood, parked across the street from a large, immodest home.

As my hands reached for the key to the ignition, a memorable tremble returned to my skin. It was overwhelming to sit in my small car just a few feet away from my father's house. But I knew I had to step out into the July air and knock on the door eventually. I knew that I couldn't stay in the comfort of the steering wheel and a seatbelt. However, I needed these last five minutes to prepare myself for whatever happened next; good or bad.

The following steps happened in scattered blurs. I didn't exactly remember stepping on the driveway or walking up the fancy stairs up to the thick and wooden entrance doors. Their glossy and furnished facade had no telling on the years behind them. The second I pressed on the doorbell adjacent to the stiff frame and the grating sound played twice, I snapped outside of my head and managed to focus my eyes on every other detail of the house from the exterior.

Not even a minute later, there was a click, and from the gaping space that formed, came a beautiful woman dressed in a sweater and jeans. The first thing I saw was her blonde hair framing her rounded face, hiding away her ears. Then, as she stared at me, I took notice of her brown eyes. It was fairly odd for a blonde to have brown eyes, and something about it made her seem friendlier to me. The lines forming at the crinkle of her eyes and the dimples that showed after her brief smile also added to her geniality. There wasn't any part of her that I found intimidating – which was comfortingly strange.

"Are you Emma?" She asked, brightly.

"I am." I nodded and immediately after she let go of the door handle, she embraced me with tight arms.

Her pungent flower scent hit me like a pillow to the face. The over-the-top hoop earrings that peered through that blonde hair also poked at my cheek, yet the softness of her clothes and voice made me feel everything but uncomfortable.

"You are so beautiful." She almost gasped. "Sorry, I should probably introduce myself! I'm Barbara, but please call me Barb! I don't like formalities between families. Gosh, you have no idea how long I've wanted to meet you."

"It's really nice to meet you too," I grinned, lightly. "Thank you for inviting me here today. It's nice to meet this part of my family."

"I'm just glad you came. For a while we thought that maybe you wouldn't show. Sam has been pacing for the last hour worrying that you wouldn't. He's a bit extreme sometimes." A small chuckle rolled over her natural colored lipstick. "Anyway, come on in! Make yourself comfortable. I'm almost done with dinner, so you won't wait too long."

Her neatly manicured hands usher me into the fine-looking interior. The abstract paintings hung in the foyer walls caught my attention first. Then, the plush and expensive couches next to the flight of steps leading to an upstairs part of the house. Even vases sat on top of small pillars where above, a chandelier draped down from the high ceiling.

But what surprised me was the view of boxes still unpacked in the corners of the first room we walked by on our way down the ample hallway. They didn't look like they'd sat there very long.

"I know the house seems quite big, but don't let it intimidate you." She rubbed the side of my arm the same way my mother did. "I could barely keep Gabriel from writing on the walls when he was just a little younger, so you can imagine me running around like a chicken chasing after him." I don't say anything in return as she continues to speak while leading us into an ambient space with counters and kitchen supplies. "I heard you're majoring in English! How are you liking it so far?" She asks while putting water into a pot and then sits it above the stove medium low heat.