Labeled

by Jenni Linn

  “I hope you're right,” I murmur.

  “Sushi, pork fried rice, crab rangoon, General Tso, and an egg roll!” the lady at the front yells, placing the large bag on the counter. Chase steps forward, taking me with him, and grabs the bag.

  Once back in his room, we sit cross-legged on his bed watching one of his favorite movies, ‘Iron Man’. He couldn't believe that I have never seen it before and insisted that it be changed, immediately. He “cannot date someone who hasn't been introduced to Tony Stark”. I have to admit, by the time the movie was over, I fell a bit in love with Robert Downey Jr. He put in the second movie, and we snuggled up together. I struggled to keep my eyes open halfway into the movie, but I lost the fight.

  Hurt

  I'm jolted awake by the ringing of my phone, slightly disoriented and confused. The ringing ceases, and I glance around the room. Veronica's head is resting on my chest and her steady breathing indicates that she's still asleep. The DVD menu for ‘Iron Man 2’ is on constant replay. I must've fallen asleep, too. Our Chinese take-out containers are on my nightstand, next to my phone.

  The ringing starts up again, and I know someone needs to speak to me. I don't want to wake Veronica, so I try to tilt my body and slide her head off my chest and onto my bed. I reach over her to grab my phone from the stand, disconnecting it from the charger. My heart rate instantly speeds up when I read the name on the screen. I slide the green icon over, then place the phone to my ear. “What's up, man?” I ask, nonchalantly. Play it cool, man.

  “I'm out front,” Vance says before the line goes silent.

  Everything comes crashing down around me, and I feel like the air instantly got kicked out of my lungs.

  “What's wrong?” V whispers as she turns onto her back. I glance down at her beautiful face, her eyes slightly squinting from sleep.

  “Vance is here.”

  Her eyes widen at my response. She’s wide awake now. “What? No, No!”

  “It'll be okay.” I kiss her forehead and move off the bed towards my bedroom door. I rush down the stairs and can see Vance's form as I approach the front door. Taking a deep breath, I open the door, and Vance comes in without a word. He walks into the living room, just off the foyer, leaving me standing with the open door. I run through my options, but I know there are none. It's time to come clean.

  A swift push of my hand on the door, and I move towards the opening of the living room. The sound of the door clicks shut from behind me. Vance is facing the fireplace, his back to me, and I allow him to gather his thoughts. After a few seconds--which felt like minutes--he turns to stare me dead in the eyes.

  “Why is V's car out front?” he asks, but he doesn't wait for me to answer before firing off another question. “Is she here?”

  “Yes,” I answer. There’s no point in lying, now.

  “Veronica!” He screams loudly and unexpectedly; it makes me jump.

  I remain quiet but from my position, I can see her moving down the stairs cautiously. When she reaches the middle, a small creak emits from her steps. Vance glares at her. She stops, almost as if he froze her body. A laugh of incredibility escapes him. “Yanno, I ran into Shannon tonight.”

  My eyes move to him, remembering that we did see her at the China House. Vance continues talking, “She mentioned seeing you two together, and I had no idea what she meant. But she kept mentioning how you guys were together. I mean, I thought there was no way. No way that my best friend and my sister would be hooking up behind my back. That's what this is right?” He pauses, and we both remain quiet. I glance at Veronica just as she looks at me. “Right?!” he yells again.

  A weak “no” comes from V, at the same time I begin to speak. “Dude…” but his hand comes up, cutting me off.

  “I don't want to know and don't call me dude.” He points to me. “We are not dudes! Dudes do not lie to their best friend, and dudes do not fuck their best friend’s little sister!” his voice has risen dramatically, his hands have turned into fists, and a small vein is starting to bulge in his neck.

  “Vance,” V starts to speak.

  “No!” He points to her.

  “Let us explain!” she tries again.

  “Explain what exactly? That you guys have repeatedly lied to me? How long has this been going on?”

  “That doesn't matter,” V says, “We care for each other,” her voice is soft.

  Vance paces, and the anger is radiating from him. I look back to Veronica, who shrugs her shoulders and mouths ‘do something’.

  “Vance,” I step forward but pause when his pacing stops, and he looks up at me. His stare is hard, and it's threatening. I've been in tough situations, but never one to have someone who's almost like a brother look at me like I've completely betrayed him. And I have. It hurts.

  “What about Nic? I thought you were seeing her.”

  I sigh, “I am.”

  “What the fuck?” he shouts, not allowing me to finish and before I can blink, I'm abruptly pinned to a wall. It happens so quickly, it knocks all the air out of me. I'm gasping for breath and seeing black spots behind my eyes. I can hear him yelling but can't make out the words. I can hear Veronica's feminine voice and the fear behind her words.

  “How could you?” Are the first words I can make out.

  “Vance, let him go! You're hurting him!”

  The spots start to clear. He has me by the shirt, hands on both sides. He slams my back into the wall again, “Fucking explain to me!”

  “We're trying. You need to calm down!” Veronica's voice is broken by sobbing hiccups, and there are tears streaming down her face. He releases me, and I drop to the ground. V's hands are instantly on my face. “Are you okay?” she whispers. All I can do is nod.

  Behind her, Vance is running his hands through his hair. Veronica helps me up, but I keep my body against the wall for support. She turns to face her brother. I've seen his anger quite a few times, but it's always been towards other people. I'll admit, it's scary being on the receiving end.

  “I am Nic,” V confesses.

  Vance's head snaps up, “What?”

  “I'm sorry, Vance,” She moves forward to stand directly in front of him. She reaches just under his chin, and I want to protect her, but I know she's strong. His nostrils flare slightly. It's like prodding a bull--though he'd never attack a woman, let alone his sister. “We were planning to tell you, but his is what we were afraid of. You're overreacting.”

  “Overreacting?” he scoffs. “I doubt Victor, Vaughn, or Vin will be thrilled to find that you two are hooking up.”

  “Stop!” Veronica shouts, and it surprises Vance. “We are not just hooking up.”

  Vance laughs. “That's all Chase is capable of, V! He's just like me.”

  “He's nothing like you!” She’s seething, “He's treated me with nothing but respect. I have yet to see you treat any girl with anything close to respect,” her voice is strong. “How dare you? You've been scaring guys away left and right! I love Chase, and Chase loves me.” His eyes widen at her admission. He starts to speak, but she cuts him off, “Shut up! I am so tired of this. I can understand why you're mad! I do, I get it. But this--the way you're acting-- is exactly why you’ve been left in the dark. I was afraid to tell you! Chase has wanted to tell you since the beginning, and I told him I didn't want you to ruin the one good thing to come into my life.” She pauses then continues, “We were going to come to you tomorrow, and I'm sorry you had to find out from someone else. But how you feel isn't going to change how we feel.” Vance continues to stare at Veronica. He doesn't make a sound. He grumbles something, and walks around her, coming to me. I stand up, willing to take whatever he's going to dish. I expect a punch or something, but he doesn't even look at me. He walks right to the front, opens the door, and disappears behind it.

  I sag in relief and slight hurt. My eyes seek out Veronica, whose hands are covering her face. She pulls them down to look at me. “That went horribly,” She moves towards me, “Are you alright?” />
  “Yeah, I'm fine.”

  “He'll get over it.”

  “I don't know. He seemed really pissed.”

  “You're not going to break up with me, are you?”

  “No,” I shake my head and pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her small frame, “No. I hate that this happened. I don't want him to be mad at us. Maybe I should go find him.”

  “He needs space. Let him cool off. I think I should probably head home. I'll try to talk to him. He can't stay mad at you. You're leaving in three days. He'd be a pretty shitty friend if he doesn't talk to you before you leave.”

  “I'd understand.”

  “I'll come over after work?”

  “Yeah.” I squeeze her.

  “It'll be okay...he'll get over it. He's going to have to,” she says into my chest. My hands mindlessly rub her back, a million miles away. “I'm sorry,” she says low. It's quiet, just above a whisper, but I hear it loud and clear.

  “What are you sorry for?”

  “I should have listened to you.”

  “It'll be fine,” I reassure her. I don't know if it will be, I can only hope.

  When You’re Gone

  Vaughn is laying on the couch when I get home. He looks up when I walk through the door.

  “Hey,” I greet him, laying my bag near the door.

  “Yo.”

  “Did Vance come home?”

  “Nope.”

  I nod, even though he's not looking at me anymore. “Mom and Dad in bed?”

  “Dad went up. Mom's in the kitchen.”

  I walk straight through and find Mom sitting at the dinner table with her recipe box, and small cards all over the table. She looks up when I approach. “Hey, honey,” she greets me with a warm smile. “How was your weekend?”

  I can feel the heat rise on my neck. “It was good. What are you doing?” I point at all the note cards.

  “Ah, looking for your great grandma's tiramisu recipe.”

  I pull out a seat, plopping down, and place my head on top of my hands. Mom pauses her movements and looks at me. “Everything alright?”

  I sigh. “Not really.”

  “Can't read your mind, baby. You’re gonna have to spit it out.”

  “Vance found out about me and Chase.”

  She hums, “And I take it he wasn't happy.”

  “No. He’s really mad. It was a little scary.”

  “Vance has always been a little hot-headed. His temper’s always getting him in trouble. He is also the most sensitive out of you all. Perhaps this is why he reacts to things much more passionately than you or your brothers.”

  I scoff, “Yeah, right. Vance, sensitive? I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, it's true. Just consider how this may have hurt him.”

  I ponder on that a bit. Mom goes back to looking through her cards. Is Vance mad because of Chase dating me? Or because we went behind his back? Is he scared that I'll take away his best friend? I would never do that. I couldn't imagine if Wes isolated Taylor away from me. I'd be devastated. Vance has always been a pain in my ass; scaring every guy who dares even to look at me. He had to know that I'd meet someone eventually. He knows Chase better than anyone, and his words from earlier come back. “Chase is just like me.”

  While I know Chase has had his flings, I've never seen him treat a girl poorly. Unfortunately, Shannon pops up into my mind. I don't want to think about her, or what she shared with Chase. There's no doubt they hooked up, he admitted that to me. It was before we started talking, but he pushed her to the side like she was yesterday’s dirty laundry. No. I'm not going to go there. He's never treated me badly.

  “Aha!” my mom yells out, making me jump, “I found it!”

  I laugh, “Great Mom, I'm gonna go up and take a shower.”

  “Alright, baby. Love you.” I lean in to kiss her on the cheek and head up to my room.

  After a nice shower, I give Taylor a call and tell her all about the amazing weekend I had.

  “No way! He bought you a car?!”

  “Well, it's our car.”

  “You must give good head.”

  “Taylor!”

  “What?” she laughs.

  “I think your mom has dropped you on your head a few times.” I laugh.

  “Maybe. I have noticed a flat spot on the back of my head.”

  “You're too much.”

  I hear a car pull into the driveway. Thinking it's Vance, I scramble off my bed and rush to the window. Pulling the curtains aside, I see the black beamer pulls up in front of the garage, then the lights shut off. Taylor is going on about something, but I cut her off, “Tay, Vance is home. I need to try and talk to him.”

  “Kay, good luck. I'll see you tomorrow.”

  “See ya.” I end the call while watching Vance get out of his car and move to the front door of the house. I move back to my bed, sitting on the edge, and anxiously wait to hear footsteps come up the stairs. I think I should approach him before he enters his room.

  After what seems like forever, I finally hear footsteps. They're heavy, so I know their Vance's. He never takes his boots off until he's in his room. I pull open my door just as Vance is coming up the hall, and I step out in front of him.

  “Go away,” he grumbles and tries to move past me, but I move in front of him, “Knock it off,” he growls.

  “We need to talk.”

  He stops and looks at me dead in the eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “What could we possibly need to talk about?”

  “Chase is leaving.”

  “So?” He rolls his eyes.

  “Don't act like a dick. Chase is being deployed!”

  “I don't care,” he snaps.

  “You don't mean that! He's your best friend!”

  “Some friend,” he sneers. “Friends don't date your sister behind their back, and then lie about it.”

  “If you want to be mad, be mad at me. He wanted to tell you. I was afraid.”

  “Whatever.” He pushes me out of the way, causing me to stumble back, and stalks to his room. He slams the door right in my face. Stupidly, I try the knob, but it's locked. I knock and call out his name but he never answers. I press my face to the door. “He leaves Wednesday.”

  The next three days go by way too quickly. Chase and I spent every minute we could together. With approval from my mom, I was allowed to stay the night with Chase. His flight was insanely early Wednesday and I didn’t want to sleep our last few hours away. We didn’t. We made love and held each other until a little red car pulled into his driveway. The car that was to take him to the airport.

  We walk out to his front door and I plaster myself to him. He lifts me up and my legs wrap around his waist. I grip his uniform tight in my hands as the tears well up, and I try hard to keep it together. I fail miserably; they stream, reluctantly, down my face.

  “Baby, this isn’t goodbye.” He holds me tight to him.

  “I know,” I whisper, knowing that my voice would come out strangled.

  “I will call you the first chance I get.” He promises.

  “Okay.” I sniffle.

  He pats my butt, and I reluctantly untangle myself from him. He places me back on the ground and his hands move to cradle my face. I close my eyes, not wanting him to see my tears, even though I’m sure it’s quite obvious. “Baby, look at me,” He begs. His pleading voice has me opening my eyes--and in shambles. “I love you so much. I will see you later.” He smashes his mouth to mine, and claims me, stealing my breath from me. When we pull apart, I see the wetness on his cheeks as he wipes away mine. “I love you.” He whispers and turns away from me, leaving me standing on his front steps. I watch him toss his bag into the back seat of the car and climb in. The car disappears down the driveway, and an ugly sob rips from my lips. I cry the whole drive home, and as soon as I see my mother, I collapse in her arms.

  A few hours later my alarm sounds for school. Mom insists that I go and that it will help get my mind off everyt
hing. As much as I don’t want to--I know I look awful--sitting at home alone won’t help. Vance never went to see Chase, and I was extremely pissed off at him. As Chase promised, the Camaro was towed to the garage on Monday, but with our limited time, I didn't do anything with it. I wanted to spend every moment with him. The gesture behind his gift was so much more now, knowing that I needed something more to occupy my mind. I looked into classes at the local community college and they taught an auto body seminar for a reasonable price. I called the college and signed up for the most recent class. They start in two weeks.

  A week after Chase left, I received my first phone call from him. It wasn’t nearly as long as I had hoped but it was all he was allowed at the moment. He gave me his address and told me to write to him as much as I wanted. When he had to get off, I had a really hard time with it. He promised to call me as much as he could. I could hear a man in the background barking orders, I kept it together but cried myself to sleep that night.

  Two months later, I anxiously wait for my video call with Chase. It doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes, it doesn’t happen at all. This has become our new normal but my nerves still tend to get the best of me. I play a game on my phone until the notification that Chase Daniels wants to video chat. After I press accept, his handsome face fills my screen and my heart jumps at the sight of him.

  “Hey, baby!” His full smile is on display and I feel my body melt when I hear his voice come through the speakers. “You look beautiful, I miss you so much.”

  “I miss you, too,” I say, getting a little choked up with emotions, “Did you get my most recent letter?” I write to him as much as possible, my last letter included a few pictures of myself.

  “I did! I hung them in my bunk. It’s nothing like having the real you but I stare at your picture before going to sleep. You’re the first thing I see when I wake up.”

  “McSwoony.” I say low but he hears me.

  “Only for you, forever and always.” There he goes again...he’s proved time and time again that the nickname fits him perfectly. There’s some commotion that pulls his attention away for a moment but then he’s back. “Sorry about that. So, how are the auto body courses going?”