No Place like Home

Prologue:

The house shutters as cold pellets rain down on its weathered siding. The frosted windows are painted with droplets as cracks of thunder echoes throughout the dim light garage. Flashes of lightning sneak through the murderous clouds.

"No, I'm not going. I'll call the guys and let them no that they can go ahead without out me." a voice says breaking through the silence inside of the garage.

"You will not!" booms over the thunder, "You've earned this and there is no way you're going to give it up because of this."

"Baby I am not going, I'm staying right here with you!" The voice is softer this time as a man wraps his arms around a withering woman.

The house rattles as rolls of thunder come crashing from above. The small frail woman hugs herself against him as he whispers sweet assurances in her ear.

"Go," she whispers softly into his chest, voice shaking as violently as the house.

He simply ignores her, stroking her hair and continuing his sweet assurances, until he feels himself stumbling backward.

"Go!" She screams, "Go! Go! Go!", she shoves him over and over again tears streaming down her cherry-stained cheeks.

"Stop it." He whispers as she shoves him closer to the door.

The rain beats down harder on the drops echoing as loud as the thunder and the dim light illuminating the small space begins to flicker.

Ignoring him she pushes and shoves relentlessly only interrupted by his pleas as he wraps his arms around her once again.

"Please stop," he cries taking her face in his hands and resting his forehead on hers, "Please stop baby, listen to me."

Their tears mingled together as she quieted taking hiccuping breaths. She counted down in her head as he pleaded with her, his tears rivaling the flow of her own.

She blocked him out because she couldn't listen to him. She squeezed her as shut because she couldn't see him cry. If she did she wouldn't have the strength to do what needed to be done.

"...I promise everything will be okay Baby, I promise..." were the last words he whispered as he felt a harsh breeze against his back and the booming of the storm outside intensified.

He didn't have time to react as he was shoved one last time into the pouring rain.

"This Is your dream and I won't let you throw it away, not for anything." her voice was barely audible completely washed away with the debris of the storm.

Opening his mouth to make her understand he was cut off by the shaking of her head as she spoke her final worlds.

"The world deserves to see how amazing you are, go show them." And with that, she closed the door.

The rain continued to pour as she slid to the ground as she listened to the gut-wrenching cries on the other side of the door.

With the last shattered pieces of her heart, she closed her eyes and imagined the most beautiful green eyes she knew she would ever see, and with the never-ending river of agony, the remains of her heart were washed away.

Present:

Hip checking the fridge door I place the half guzzled grape soda on the grey peeling countertop with a grunt.

"Uh-huh, Ma. I know I know, be ready by four." Leaning against the same door I had just abused I listen to my mother drone on about some huge gala her company, Lots of Laughs is hosting.

Zoning in on the chipped paper I nod along as if she can see me through the metal propped between my shoulder and ear. This will probably take a while knowing my mother. She has a gift for making even the most mundane of things and transforming them into something way bigger.

Sensing that this conversation is only getting started, I meander over to the bare pantry to grab a bag of popcorn. Who knows how long this will take, wouldn't want to starve or anything.

"I'm serious you know you're not the quickest when it comes to getting glammed up. Remember what happened when you wer-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, don't wait til' the last second to get ready I got it Ma. If you want me to be ready before next week, you're going to have to hang up."

I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth and chew absentmindedly hoping she'll take the hint.

"Four." Is all I hear in response followed by a click on the other line.

Finally, though, if I'm being honest that could have been a much more painful thirty minutes.

Pulling my phone from away from my ear the clock reads 12:15 which means I have more than enough time before I need to start torturing myself.

Grabbing another bag of popcorn for good measure I make the small trek to the green microwave perched next to the clogged sink. Tonight I'm definitely gonna ask my dad to come "help" me fix up this place. Given that it was once my great nanas it has seen better days for sure.

Anyways, after popping both bags of pop-it and grabbing the abandoned fizzy stuff I make my way to the couch, which was keeping my TV some much-needed company, without breaking my neck. Picking up the remote I start surfing through channels. Nothing decent comes on TV anymore, so here's to hoping Lifetime has a stalker teacher or psycho grandma running around somewhere.

Luckily for me, Lifetime does not disappoint. It turns out the psycho grandma and stalker teacher are actually one person, Mrs. Rube, although she's technically a tutor but tom-A-to, tom-a-to. Either way, poor innocent Kaylie chose the wrong person to help her with history, she would have been much better off with professor YouTube but whatever.

As sweet Kaylie's mom starts to question cuckoo Rube about her true intentions with her daughter things are getting really intense now and I'm obviously super invested, when it all of a sudden cuts to commercial.

"Oh come on! you couldn't have waited two more seconds?" I grumble, standing to walk the now-empty bowl to the sink.

Only as I right myself I'm stopped by a pair of green eyes, and a smile stretches across myself as I fight back tears, which is easier now than it was just a few months earlier. Dancing across the screen is my best friend rocking out in a stadium full of adoring fans. His eyes are bright and I can feel the joy in them as if I were experiencing it myself, as the dates of the band's world tour are pasted underneath different clips of them backstage and interacting with fans.

"See I knew he could do it." I chuckle happily before glancing at the clock.

Oh shit! it's already 2:55. The dishes are gonna have to wait.

Stuffing as much of my lion's mane into a "ponytail" on the top of my head, I watch myself in the mirror. I look like a bloated whale dressed in bright sunny vomit, but hey if I have to get dolled up I might as well go all in. And I must admit this whale is looking damn good.

After fifteen minutes of rummaging through my closet, I managed to pull out a satin lemon gown adorned with blue and orange sunflowers along the bust of the sweetheart neckline. Tugging the bad boy on wasn't as horrifying as I initially expected it to be either, and looking back at myself I am actually a little amazed at how perfectly everything fits into place.

Tying my unruly coils up with the butterfly clips allows me to show off my favorite earrings, orange sunflowers that dangle just above my shoulders, and accentuates the tasteful dip in the front of the gown which ends right before it flairs at the waist til' it touches the floor. Which is perfect because heels are absolutely not the move tonight, my feet are already killing me.

The look is topped off with a natural tinted gloss and a light yellow shimmer that intensifies the amber of my eyes, making them appear almost black.

With one final coat of mascara, I smile admiring the stunning beluga staring back at me. Which is unsurprisingly short-lived as some Boyz II Men song blares through the otherwise silent room.

Heaving a reluctant sigh I answer my phone preparing for whatever last-minute announcement my mother is about to make, "hello? I'm almost ready."

Turning to my closet I carefully sink to my knees in search of my blue sandals, thank God for ball gowns.

"Come outside, I told you to be ready by four we're here." she huffs. I catch the slight annoyance in her voice but choose to ignore it.

"I don't know what kind of watch you're wearing but it is only 3:52 which means I have 8 minutes left," I retort as I slide each foot into a sandal before lacing them up, "but whatever I'm coming out now anyway." Hanging up I snatch the floral clutch off the end table before shuffling to the door. Tonight is going to be a long night.

Not so Long After:

"You look so fucking amazing!" my baby sister Zoe squeals as we engulf each other in a massive bear hug

"hey! don't suffocate me with your tatas" her pleas are muffled.

Laughing for the first time all night I push her away playfully sticking my tongue at her,

"It's not like I asked for them. Plus you don't have to buy an entire new wardrobe, so suck it up."

Rather than grant me with a response she plops into one of the chiffon chairs which is adorned with a pastel rainbow bow in the center.

Sitting in the empty chair to her left I take the time to truly take in my surroundings. Considering that this is supposed to be some big fancy gala everything is surprisingly colorful. Pictures of smiling families and children running, jumping, and enjoying life unburdened by the harsh realities that await them in adulthood, shit even before then. Looking around I see a few familiar faces lounging at the other pastel tables. Some from the pictures hanging on the walls and some from people I've seen around my mothers office.

The colorful aura is matched perfectly by all of the families that fill the room. There are little kids everywhere laughing, running around, jumping on the stage which is set up for a live performance, based on all of the equipment there is. Parents and faculty mingle with one other exchanging different horror stories of parenting. The older kids have huddled together and taken over a few tables over in the corner closest to the stage and furthest from the entrance. Some of them seem to be making friends, laughing with each other and joking around, while the quieter ones scroll through their phones.

The fairy lights are dimmer now than they were when we first arrived and they have begun changing color as stars are projected onto the ceiling.

"They really went all out for this huh?" I question Zoe who was too busy scrolling through her own phone.

Fluffing her bang and tossing her phone on the table she barks out a laugh, "they haven't even gotten started, look over there." she nods to the awaiting sugar coma lined up along the back wall.

It's every kids dream with mountains of candy, four vibrant tier cakes decorated in sprinkles and chocolate, five cupcake tiers with various flavors, and four freezers that I assume are filled with different kinds of ice cream. I don't know who in the hell finalized the menu but where were they when I was forced to come to these shin dings.

"That's insane, we could never! Mom barely let us have a slice of cake without flipping her shit, and she ordered Willy Wonka's mansion?" I somehow manage to scrape my jaw off the ground, "They're probably making up for whatever the hell dinner is. Must be ass since they pulled out all the works for desert."

Laughing in agreement we are interrupted as the Devil herself appears at the podium in the center of the stage and our mother announces that dinner is served.

Exchanging knowing looks me and Zo groan as dinner is rolled out, Bon Apatite.

Dinner pleasantly was not ass, rather than some fancy dog vomit rearranged on a plate we were served barbeque, like actual barbeque- ribs, chicken, burgers, there was even mac and potato salad! I don't know who kidnapped my mother, but whoever it was can keep her.

But alas all good things must come to an end which came in the form as my mother, who I thought had been body-snatched took the podium once again.

"I hope everyone is having a great time and having Lots of Laughs!" she laughs at the corny pun and the rest of the guest join in, charmed by her beauty displayed by the sleek pink one shouldered chiffon gown she wore tonight.

After everyone settles down she keeps going, "The night has only just begun, we have so much more planned for tonight including a few special surprises. So please feel help yourselves to the delicious deserts along the back table, and don't go easy there's more in the kitchen!" that triggered another wave of laughter as little ones gazed eagerly at their parents.

As waiters collect the remains of dinner and moms speech starts winding down the lights dim and people start making their way back to candy land. Handing my dirty dishes to one of the passing waiters I stand and wait for Zo to hurry up with her lipstick so we can go make our own towers of doom.

"You look fine, now come on before all of the cookie dough is gone and I have to murder you."

I jab the side of her neck as I lean against my chair, thank God I wore sandals.

"I'm coming! You can't rush this kind of perfection. Besides Cookie Monster even if they do run out there's more in the kitchen, you heard Ma." she teases as she shoves her compact into her orange bag.

"Finally! Let's go!" I hop a little excited as a kid in a candy store.

As we start walking Ma's speech is replaced by music. The drum kicks the song of with a little solo, then comes the bass and guitar.

The older kids start shaking with excitement and moving towards the stage phones in hand and bewilderment plastered on their faces.

The tempo picks up and the bass gets harder, I know this song. My heart starts thumping in rhythm with the beat, pounding harder than the bass and drums combined.

Zo turns first and her gasp is the only confirmation I need. As I turn to the stage I'm frozen as my eyes lock onto emeralds that have been seared into my memory since I was ten. They hold me captive as the blood drains from my body and my heart is broken all over again, so much for progress.