Flowers ✿Brock Lesnar

Chapter 13- Mind Setting Sail

The house at the corner of the street was one well-taken care of. The grass was glowing green, freshly mowed, the scent of it flowing through the air. The white Mazda 3 was shining, as clean as they get, and the white wooden fence was standing two centimeters lower than the fences of the other houses, showing the neighbors that their house was better groomed.

That was typical of the Harlow family.

The grass was greener at my family's house. It always was. My mother excelled at taking care of her house, her car, her fence, her garden. The only thing she lacked in was taking care of her two daughters. Fortunately for my brother, my father favored him, so he took him often out, basketball, bowling, wrestling, baseball, football, soccer- you name it, they were there together.

My sister and I were so used to take care of ourselves, that one day, when we slept over at a friend's house and I fell down, hurting my knee, the two of us didn't know how to react when her mother fussed around me insanely, almost.

Despite me and her being together since before we were born, and despite rarely separating until Graduation, Arianna and I never got along too well and often engaged in arguments. Last time I've spoken to her was four months earlier, just before she started the last year as a resident. Soon enough, she'd be a full-pledged Doctor. That was quite amazing in my opinion.

My thought still racing, jumping from the color of the grass to the hospital Arianna would work in as of next year, stopping for a moment at my little brother's college experience (last year at something Physics), hopping to dad, to mom, to dad, to the fence.

I haven't been to my parents' house for years.

Leaning on a tree, I took out my phone, calling Seth absent mindedly.

"Yo Oak," he replied casually. "You got to your home?"

"Yeah, just opened the fence to my parents' house. I'll talk to you later in the weekend, I'll probably be kind of busy here."

"Sure, by the way, Honey loves Roman. You might not get your kitty back."

I tapped my fingers against the handle of my relatively small suitcase. "Yeah, we'll see," I challenged half-heartedly. "See you soon."

"Sure, bye."

He hung off, and I kept my glare fixated on the dark wooden door. I told Seth that I called them and told them I'm coming over, but truth was, I hadn't talked to either of them in over a month, and the last time we've spoken, it ended in a bitter tone.

I really didn't know how to break them the news of me and Robin breaking up, since they were pushing on me to marry him for three years already.

I rubbed my hand over my face, recalling too late that I was wearing eyeliner for some reason. It was slightly smudged, I found out by looking at my phone's front camera, but not noticeable. I looked back to the house, sucking a breath, before starting to roll my suitcase after me, walking towards my childhood house.

I soon, much too soon, found myself against the wooden door that seemed so far away only moments ago.

I was about to hesitatingly knock, when I decided against giving any explanation, or making a scene. I used the key that I so often wondered why I still owned, opening the door almost silently.

The inside's changed.

The once carpeted floor was replaced with wooden parquet, creamy white walls replacing the once light-blue colored ones. I watched around, heaving my suit case up so it wouldn't make any noise, starting to climb up the stairs.

The house now looked much more elegant, even with seeing practically nothing. I briefly wondered if the change in the design could hint of a change in my parents' behavior.

Well, that was wishful thinking.

I reached the second floor, still carrying my suitcase in my hands. That second floor was the same as the first, creamy white walls, wooden floor, a few pictures the walls, and a small vase with some fake roses standing on top of a long legged wooden table that stood next to the staircase leading upwards, to the attic.

What gave me comfort was the ugly brown sofa that was next to the windows that gave view of the garden, on top of two wide stairs, to a wooden covered floor. That was where we'd spend hours every day, our friends and Arianna, all sitting here, laughing, eating everything on the mini-bar that we would fill each morning with savings we'd all put together. It was the same sofa that was always there, and even the mini-bar was still there.

I opened it, curious, sad to see only two cans of Coca Cola and one water bottle. It was never this empty before.

I continued my walk to my room, curious and upset with the thought that they've changed it, like the rest of the house.

But as I opened the white door, I found out my room was still as ever. One bright red wall, with three white ones, and the same white carpet covering the floor. It still had all of my paintings on the wall, the most prominent one that black haired woman with bloody red lips, surrounded by drawings ranging from my childhood to the day I left the house for the first time. As I moved the small black seat, walking between two red ones, I even found the painting of the Jersey Bridge that I've never finished.

It was as though time was frozen in that room.

It was impossible that no one's ever cleaned around here, because there wasn't even a speck of dust, I decided as I plopped down on my Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles bed covers. So they must've put everything back exactly as it was before whenever they cleaned around here.

I turned to look at my white closet, wondering what was still in it, but waved the thought off, a smile tugging at my lips despite my initial fear of the house.

Maybe everything was better than I remembered.

I made my way to the pillows, covering myself with the blanket. Arianna would tell me off almost constantly for ruining my serious looking room with ridiculous bed covers, such as Ninja Turtles and Looney Tunes.

I smiled to myself again, taking off the black Guns and Roses t-shirt I was wearing, and quickly opening my suitcase to reveal a random pajamas to place on my body, taking off my tight jeans that were pressing on my stomach.

Was it weird that at a place I used to hate, all alone, I felt the most serene I felt in years?

▓▓▓

"Sweet Jesus!" a yelp woke me up.

"Wha...?"

"Oakley! You complete moron, couldn't you at least leave a note that you're home?!"

"Mmm, never considered it," I waved off sleepily, turning to the other side, burying my face under the pillow.

"Well, you damn neared killed me!" my mother didn't allow me to go back to sleep so soon. "What are you even doing here?"

"I got a bad concussion the other day, and was put out of action for a week at least, I need someone along with me, so Hunter told me I gotta go home, because the few people I stand are main-eventers and stuff."

"Main-eventers?"

"Yeah, I'm sleeping, whatever," I waved off.

"Oakley, I haven't seen you in properly in years, get up and have lunch with me!"

"I promise that later," I mumbled with a smile. "It's just that right now, I'm miles away from where I used to be."