Premonitions | ✓

nineteen

"Be My Baby" -The Ronettes

Lars got home later than he wanted. Rolling up onto the gravel on his Harley, the house fully lit. He could hear loud laughter, his woman's louder than the others. 

    He had messaged Anna earlier that he was going to be late due to a late shipment that came in but promised to pick up dinner. Anna never replied back but that didn't worry him. He was just happy she was finally laughing again and her little sister was the source of it. 

     The twenty-four-year-old was well into her career in the Navy. With what was only supposed to be a four-year bullet train of taking advantage of the United States government, Nicole was still sucked into the black hole that was the military.

      Anna knew first of the corrupt system, being that she grew up a "military brat", warning her little sister. Alas, Nicole was stable, making friends, and saving money. That's all Anna could hope for.

     Once he managed to get to the front door, Lars found it already unlocked, which was uncharacteristic of Anna, but thought nothing of it, for Darcy met him at the door with a proud jump and hard smacks of his stone tail. 

     The laughing came from the back porch, the sliding glass door wide open, letting in the spring air, and the howls of Anna and small chuckles from Nicole. Lars noticed the significant differences between the women.

      Nicole was quiet and reserved, whereas Anna was a rollercoaster. The two shared the same dad but different moms, so they grew up apart for most of their lives. Anna only saw her sister once every few years, but now that they were adults, Anna made it a habit to visit her little sister a couple of times a year. 

     "There he is!" Anna sang from the back porch.

     Lars placed the helmet on the couch along with his leather jacket before he made his way to the women. It was when the overwhelming scent of skunk that Lars found the reason for her excessive laughing. His woman was high. 

      "Hey, you," Lars gave her a quick kiss on the lips, bending way down to meet her outstretched neck. He felt her try to deepen the kiss, but with Nicole sitting only a couple of feet away, he felt it inappropriate to make out with Anna at that time, "Hi, Nicole. How was shopping, ladies?"

     He stood at his full height, placing a tough hand on the back of Anna's neck, "Okay, so I bought you a bunch of stuff, and if you don't like any of it, I can always donate it, but I want you to try on everything. You got me?"

     Lars tried to hide his smile, "Yes, ma'am."

     Anna groaned, placing a hand up his shirt, "I love it when you say that."

     His laughter escaped, including one from Nicole, "Alright...you. I'll go get dinner set up before you try to feel me up in front of your sister."

     The short woman laughed as he walked away to the kitchen, listening to the bursting laugh that left Anna and the small quiet one from Nicole. Outside, Anna took another sip of her Jack and Coke while Nicole nursed her beer.

     "I'm really happy for you, Anna." Nicole started, "I was worried about you there for a minute."

     Anna hadn't thought about her mental breakdown all day, but once Nicole said something, her mood dampened and her buzz left. She gulped the last few chugs of the hard liquor before answering, "Well, we aren't out of the clear yet."

     "Didn't you have fun today?" Anna could hear the confusion in her sister's voice.

     Anna placed the glass cup onto the small glass table in front of her, leaning back into the lawn chair, "Of course I did. I'm so happy you're here, and you know that. But, you also know better than anyone that it's never going to go away. At least, not for me."