#eviewrites

Biting her lip, she trudged towards the second-to-the-last box and carefully nudged it with her foot as she began emptying out her side of the closet. Her necessary toiletries had been placed in a medium-sized duffel bag along with her other clutter that had amounted to a certain mass over the two years she had spent living in this house.

Her clothes were folded neatly as she placed them in the box one by one. It was a good thing she didn’t have that many.

Ten minutes later, and the empty space had grown into a full blown blank. Taking a nearby foot stool, Kisara gingerly perched on it so she could reach the top shelf of the closet—just to check if she forgot something.

And amid the clutter of unnecessary belongings, her gaze rested on a particular object. A familiar Blue-Eyes plushy was lying on its side up there, looking neglected, but still as white and blue as the day she had received it.

It brought an empty pang to her chest now, whenever she was reminded of that day. It was so hard to believe that they had been so carefree then, so disgustingly in love—as some people might say. They rarely showed it outwardly, but Kisara knew all too well how deep she was into these jumbled feelings. The plushy had been a token of affection he had won for her in one of those amusement park fanfare games where he had to shoot silly moving Duel Monsters cardboard cut-outs with a water gun.

But looking at the token now only reminded her how everything had gone to shit lately. How four years of steady companionship had slurred down the drain through the exchange of careless words and reckless sentiments. If you had told her three years ago that she would see her near-perfect relationship end because of one fated mishap, she would have shrugged that comment off and reassure whoever spoke it that everything was close to perfect.

This was her reality now, though...

This was her present, and like any other unwanted circumstance, Kisara was determined to face it head-on and not run in the opposite direction like some lowly coward who couldn’t face the facts. It had come to this, and she was only doing the necessary. They needed space between them. They needed time.

Kisara placed the long-forgotten souvenir back on the shelf. It was no use trying to bring something with her that would inevitably do nothing but remind her of what she had lost. Sure, she could stand on her own and she was tough enough to take this entire obstacle in stride, but a part of her knew her heart would linger on the memories of the old days. It would remember and it would break all over again.

But as she slid the plushy to a darkened corner of the expansive shelf, something else caught her eye.

It was a small...jewelry box?

It looked like it.

It was small enough to span the entire width of her palm. Kisara carefully stepped off of the stool, the tiny trinket in hand. She didn’t own it, so why would he have something like this? There were tiny royal blue rhinestones outlining its edge, and the finest glossy coat of silver paint she had ever seen. If this didn’t scream fancy jewelry box, then she didn’t know what did.

Curiosity won in the end as she popped the clasp—which was oddly shaped like a very familiar dragon. What greeted her sight at that moment was nothing short of bewildering. Nestled in a fluffy sky blue pillow within the box were a set of rings, intertwined to form the symbol of eternity. Both were made of gleaming silver. One ring had a considerably sized diamond adorning it, flanked on either side by transparent looking crystals, that would probably throw bursts of color if hit with the right amount of light, while the other one sported a much simpler design—just plain silver but obviously etched with an intricate pattern in its metalwork.

What did that mean?

She didn’t think as she snapped it shut one more time. She didn’t like the ideas floating to the front of her mind, didn’t want to think of any kind of possibility, or what it could mean.

In any case, they had had that fight a week ago, and things hadn’t abated, and one thing led to another. This was the end result. But... What was up with this? Was he—?

“You’re moving out.”

That was the quiet voice she was dreading to hear all day. He was back early, and she had no idea why, but Kisara was relieved that she didn’t have to stay long anymore. Just one more drawer of her things to go through and pack and she would be on her way to a friend’s house in the mean time while she searched for a decent house to live in.

“I don’t have a reason to stay, and I know you agree.” She spoke quietly as her hand unconsciously tightened on the tiny oval box in her grasp.

“Make it fast. I have work that needs to be done in here.” He retorted; his tone as icy and cold and unapproachable as the day she had first met him, when they had been nothing more than strangers.

“What’s this?” She asked abruptly before she had any chance of stopping herself. She turned to him, brandishing the jewelry box in one hand as the gems around it glimmered beautifully in the light of the chandelier hanging above the room.

His scowled as he regarded the object in her hand. She could see the gears turning in his mind, and see that he had reached a conclusion. He was going to presume, but she wasn’t going to stop him. She wasn’t sorry about finding it at all. She didn’t even expect to stumble on it when she was just innocently searching for stray belongings of hers on the topmost shelf of their previously shared closet.

“A jewelry box.” He said nonchalantly. Trust him to give her the most neutral answer available. It was to avoid a lengthy inquiry, she knew. Which meant he didn’t want her asking about it. That or he was really just not in the mood to explain trivial things.

“I can see that.” She replied calmly. “But why do you have it? Men don’t keep these sorts of things.”

His scowl deepened before he scoffed. “It’s none of your business.”

Brash, abrasive, dismissive. That hurt...

She bit her lip. “You’re right. It isn’t.”

buckle up because this chapter is from SAMUEL’S P.OV.

It was moment’s like this that I was thankful I had my own room.

I could write in peace and pace without judgment. Since that afternoon something had been ignited in me again and now I couldn’t turn my mind off no matter how hard I tried.

It was her, but somehow I couldn’t let myself believe it. I can’t get my hopes up like that. She’ll disappear just as quickly as she reappeared and leave me ripped apart in the wake of her whirlwind life.

I don’t blame her for leaving, it was out of her hands and probably less painful to stay away from the place that harbored so many memories of what was once here. What she lost nearly ten years ago. Nearly ten Christmases have come and gone and there hasn’t been a time I forgot, where I ever stopped anticipating her reappearance in this sleepy town like she had never even left.

Not just Christmases, but summers and every other holiday she would spend here with her grandparents. With her parents.

But things change and life goes on. Eventually the pitiful looks, sympathy casseroles, and “I’ll be praying for y’all.”s toward her grandparents slowed to a stop, because after a month passes suddenly so does someone’s grief. Even now I see the weight of Miss Holly’s grief etched into her still-youthful face when she thinks no one is looking.

At thirteen years old I didn’t fully comprehend what had happened, I was bitter that I had lost my best friend, the girl I played “house” with as a child, the girl I had begun to see in a different light. At fifteen years old I understood, at eighteen I tried to forget, and now at nearly twenty-three…

She didn’t recognize me at all. Granted, it had been almost ten years now and we had both grown up, but it still stung to see her eyes widen with the shock of being caught and not with the recognition of who I was, who any of us were.

. . . . . . . . . .

“Danny you don’t understand… she has no clue!”

“Sam, give her a chance, it’s been a long time since-”

“I know what happened, okay?” I crumpled down into the worn recliner, it’s upholstery threadbare in places, “You don’t have to rehash it like everyone else feels the need to. Like there is nothing more exciting that’s ever happened here… you don’t have to remind me.”

Danny’s hands came up on either side of him, palms facing me defensively, “Hey man, I’m just saying to maybe cut her some slack? It sucks but you’ve got no clue what her life has been like for the past ten years.”

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair, nails digging into my scalp, before leaning back against the cushions. “You’re right.” I admitted through gritted teeth.

“I guess we’ll just have to reintroduce ourselves and hope for the best.” He suggested, “I’m sure she’s gonna have plenty of people asking if she remembers them, let’s be one less.”

I just nodded. I guess we’re back to square one… entirely new people, blank slate, no expectations. I made a mental note to tell Jake and Josh, maybe not the full story, but the decision to treat the situation as strangers.

Not about her muffled giggles as she watched Josh ride one of the horses. Not about her stuttered breathing as I leaned into her. Not about the way she traced every part of me but couldn’t seem to meet my eyes. Not about how ethereal she looked in her old, hand-me-down outfit. No. Just that we would play the situation by ear, reintroduce ourselves without acknowledgement of any past any of us had with her.

For her sake.

country bois i love youuu: @tlexx @joshkiszkas @stardustdanny @ageofflowerpower @hearts-hunger @jakekiszkaschiropractor @busybeingtrash @katie-gvf @watermelonhemm

…

“You sent me to Texas, TEXAS!” Your shrieking over the phone caused your father to pull the receiver away from his ear before responding.

“Honey, you used to love spending Christmas with your grandparents.”

“Yeah, WHEN I WAS FIVE! I can’t believe -”

“Well since I have to work through Christmas and I don’t want you to be alone, I thought it might be good for you to spend time with your grandparents.” He sighed over the line, already tired of your attitude even from over 1,500 miles away in the Big Apple. As you tried to interject again, he cut you off, “Listen y/n, you’re staying on that ranch. I’ve already put a hold on your credit cards so don’t even think about trying to leave. Relax, get back in touch with them, and I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

The overwhelming silence marked the end of the phone call and soon after, the end of any cell service as the car pulled under the wooden arch reading “Silver Bell's Ranch”.

And that’s how you ended up here - sitting on the porch of your grandparent’s farmhouse, drowning in your Papaw's old Carhart coat. Unfortunately, you had packed for a much warmer trip and with no money to even shop in town, you were reduced to wearing your Mamaw's hand me downs that were most definitely the height of winter fashion circa 1995. The bright purple geometric patterned sweater was hard to hide, even from underneath the bulk of the classic tan coat over top of it. With your chin resting in your hands, you continued to survey the acres of cow-covered land before you, wondering how many brain cells you could possibly lose from mind-numbing boredom.

“Y/n, come and try this pie-filling! I think the church ladies will love this one!” Your Mamaw called, making this the fourth pie filling she wanted you to try over the course of the morning and your second official day in Texas.

So you decided, since there was no way to tell any grandma no, to quietly sneak off and wander the expansive property. After following a worn, dirt path for what felt like eternity, you reached the top one of the larger hills on your trek, catching sight of a barn with horses in the field surrounding it, and three yelping boys. From where you stood you could see two sat on the fence, watching as the third rode a horse around the small, attached corral doing what you could only describe as circus tricks. Wanting to see more of the action up close, you crept down the hill and through the barn doors to hide behind a conveniently placed stack of hay bales.

The two boys sitting on the fence laughed loudly, the one closest to you very nearly falling off of the railing a couple of times. His dark hair reaching just below his shoulders, the top half pulled into a small ponytail, probably to keep the hair out of his eyes while he worked. He looked broad and strong from hard labor, but small compared to the other boy whose long, dark mess of curls accented his wide shoulders. Both of their smiles were bright, but nowhere near as shining as the boy who was currently laying across the horse’s back in a lounging pose. He looked like he was born to smile, and to be quite the showman as he popped the collar on his Sherpa-lined denim jacket, saluting the others.

You had to place your hand over your mouth to muffle your laughter, these boys seemed like fun but what were they doing on your grandparents ranch? You knew the ranch hands who had been here since childhood, why would they need any more help?

“Well, well, well… hello darlin’.” A deep voice drawled from behind you, causing you to turn and fly backwards into your hay bale fortress. Staring back at you was a tall, very handsome stranger, with a smirk playing on his lips.

“I- I was-” you sputtered, words escaping you as the stranger lifted his head, revealing piercing chocolate eyes that had been previously hidden by the brim of his black cowboy hat. His facial hair, scruff actually, coupled with his layered, shoulder length waves took your breath away - he was gorgeous. You weren’t sure how long you stared before the scratchiness of the hay against your body and the clearing of his throat brought you back to reality.

“You were..?” he prompted, the humor in his tone causing you to blush a deeper scarlet than you already were. With this, you realized that the other boys had gone quiet, the near silence of the barn becoming suffocating.

“I was leaving.” You tried, pushing off the hay in an attempt to pass the man but he simply blocked your path, grinning back at you as if that had been the funniest joke in the world. You looked to the sides for another exit, trying to flee this embarrassing encounter but you only found closed stable doors and the riding equipment strewn across them.

“It really didn’t look like you were... it looked like you were enjoying the show.” His gloved hands moved to his hips, drawing your eyes down to the large belt buckle adorning the front of his Wranglers.

“Sammy! Are you gonna come join us?” One of the boys hollered from outside, causing you to turn your head as if you could see him, giving the male in front of you the opportunity to lean down to you.

“I’ll see you around darlin’.” Sammy’s warm breath fanned over your ear, a smirk evident in his voice, causing a shiver to run down your spine. He stepped back once more, grabbing horse blankets from the stall next to you, and disappeared out the door.

country bois i love youuu: @tlexx @secretgvfstan @miidnightcarlights @ageofflowerpower

When your father told you that you would be spending Christmas in the south, this was not what you had in mind. Your fantasies of tanning on white sand beaches while sipping piña coladas were quickly squashed as you stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac in…? Dry, cold wind whipped around your now hot-with-anger face as you looked around at the brown, rolling landscape before you.

“You have got to be kidding me.” you seethed, rushing over to the only waiting car and ripping open the door, “Do you mind telling me where the hell I’m at?!”