The Proposed Prophecies

“Liv? Is that you?” Ashley called out to Liv from the kitchen, as Liv entered Amy’s house. She walked through the open living and dining area and headed straight into the kitchen. Ashley sat in her wheelchair. There was a plate in her lap that seemed to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it. She looked better than yesterday, Liv thought. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about and Ashley’s battle with cancer would be defeated soon.

“You received a letter.” Ashley pointed at the granite counter top island. It had a letter on it from the university addressed to Liv. She opened it curiously; she was not expecting any post as she already had her schedule and had signed and returned all the necessary paperwork for admission. She unfolded the thick envelope. Inside was a letter congratulating her on getting the last seat in Prof. Harper’s class. It was nearly impossible to get into his class, and she screamed with happiness for a good few minutes. Ashley laughed as Liv rolled her wheelchair around the room in excitement.

“I never dreamed I would ever get into his class.” Her face shined brighter than the sun.

“So, is he cute?” asked Ashley. Liv laughed and showed a picture of him found on google.

“I am really starting to question your taste.” Ashley raised her eyebrows at the picture of the older-looking man.

“No silly, I like his writing, not his looks,” Liv showed Ashley pictures of his books. She had admired him since she was thirteen. His novels were the perfect escape from the nightmares she used to have, even after her father left.

“I need to call my mom.” Liv ran back to the main hallway and headed towards her room, but she ran into Jake, accidentally ending up in his arm. It had felt as if he’d come out of the nowhere but she hadn’t really been paying attention either as she had been trying to log into her Skype through her phone while she ran.

Suddenly she was reminded of the scene from the parking lot from that afternoon, before she had met Evan and her mind was wiped out just by his existence. But Jake’s appearance reminded her all over again.

She froze for few seconds as they exchanged the warmth of their bodies. He stared at her strangely, and he suddenly didn’t look as arrogant as he had before. His eyes softened and his hand on her waist felt warm and strangely good. His look was hard to read. But there was nothing, only a paralyzing moment. Her breath quickened and her heart beat fastened.

“Whatever this is my dear, I hope you know your wife is only few feet away, unpacking her shopping bags from her car while you are inappropriately hugging her niece.” Eve suddenly appeared in the door. Her voice did not sound calm as before. It sounded angry and irritated.

“I am sorry,” Liv slowly pulled out of his arms and walked away like a guilty child that was being punished by being sent to their room.

“Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen so you can finally get rid of your annoying stare,” Jake said to Eve. Liv quickened her steps. She didn’t want to hear their conversation. She was afraid of what she might hear and most importantly if Eve would say something to Amy about what she had seen. Of course, they weren’t having an affair, but Liv felt responsible for that moment of hesitation before she pulled of his arms right away and for the strange feeling inside her, whenever he was around. She entered her room and shut the door, pressing her back against the door and breathing quickly.

“She is just a silly young girl.” Liv could still hear Jake’s voice as he argued with Eve. They were arguing like they had done on the parking lot of the mall, where they had cared less if someone had heard.

“Let me just remind you of the reason for you being here.” Eve’s sentence sounded strange. Jake had a reason for being in that house? Perhaps it had to do something with the ‘Chosen ones’ he had mentioned in the parking lot? Liv kept thinking, trying to place the pieces of the puzzle together. It appeared that Jake and Eve were very familiar with each other. They spoke as if they had known each other for a long time, perhaps even before Eve met with Amy. The way they were talking, it seemed as if the two of them shared some sort of a secret. Liv felt a sudden concern for Amy’s safety. Maybe there was a reason why Eve had become Amy’s friend.

“How about you? What the hell do you need from Amy?” Jake’s question got Liv’s attention and she turned around and pressed her ear to the door.. What Eve needed and wanted from Amy was a question she had started to wonder about

“I just want what every human wants… to fit in,” Eve said, laughing. Her words didn’t make a lot of sense but Liv kept her ear against the wooden door.

“To fit in? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Jake’s words were followed by Amy, who entered the house with Tommy and yelled for Ashley. “I have a surprise for you,” she kept yelling and Liv heard Ashley’s voice. “This is all for me? Thank you, mom.”

Suddenly Eve and Jake appeared to be quiet. Perhaps they had left the hallway, Liv thought. She threw herself onto her bed and placed her hands onto her eyes as she thought about Eve and Jake and their strange behavior.

She thought about telling Amy, but decided not to; Eve might then tell Amy seeing Liv in Jake’s arms, a situation that could easily be misinterpreted. She didn’t want Amy to think there was more between her and Jake. But she wasn’t even sure what exactly it was between them or if it had even been anything at all.

Once the house become quiet again, Liv walked out of her room and went straight to Tiffany’s house where she could temporarily forget the insanity of that day.

“Here, you look like you need it, L,” Tiffany said as Liv shared the whole Jake, Eve and Amy situation. Tiffany gave her some pure vodka in a red plastic cup and Liv sipped out of it. The bitter taste was definitely not enjoyable but somehow she felt more relaxed after drinking it. She skipped the part about what had happened on the parking lot that day. She wasn’t even really sure herself what she had heard exactly, or the meaning of the words.

Meanwhile, everything was set for the party in the spacious back yard of Tiffany’s house. Her parents were not expected back from their trip to New York until the end of November, which gave Tiffany enough time to do whatever she pleased with the house. Her backyard was decorated with small lights and all kinds of alcohol and a bunch of red plastic cups were stacked up on top of each other on the tables. Her giant pool that had salt water instead of the chemicals in it had a net ran across for volleyball. Tiffany turned up the music and put her arm around Liv’s shoulder. “You are overreacting. And I am sure my brother will help you to forget Jake and that other woman, whatever her name is.” Tiffany winked and Liv smiled a little. Maybe Tiffany was right, she thought. Maybe she was over-reacting, but the feelings of concern and curiosity were hard to be put aside, even for Evan.

The party was getting started. People kept arriving and the alcohol was flowing with the speed of a river. Liv was standing next to the alcohol table observing the dancing crowed of people. Her mind was still preoccupied; nothing could take away the feeling that she had somehow betrayed Amy by not telling her about Jake and Eve and their secretive conversations and most importantly about her own feelings each time Amy’s husband was around.

“You are so different and special,” Tiffany’s drunk friend Aaron whispered into Liv’s ear. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, which made Liv uncomfortably annoyed. “Get out of here,” another guy ordered and pushed him away as he stepped beside Liv. His eyebrows had the most perfect soft round shape Liv ever seen and the color of his eyes were deeper than the ocean. He looked like he took care of himself better than most of the girls on the party. “I am John” he added. John was a guy that seemed to Liv as if he was the center of attention. He was always raising his glass and forced everyone around him to do the same but somehow he didn’t appear drunk.

“Life is too short to be worrying about things we can’t change,” he whispered and grabbed her by her hand. “I think it is time to shake those problems away.” He smiled and pulled her into the dancing crowd of people, dancing in such a way that she could see people looking at him; his moves were something to be jealous about. He appeared relaxed, as if he had never had a single problem in his life. Liv thought that maybe she should try to be problem free as him, or at least pretend to be. She loved dancing but it was mostly the people around her that made her uncomfortable. “Stop thinking,” John ordered, which made Liv laugh. She felt as if he knew what she was thinking, he surely must have been in some type of a psychology class in school.

The waves of the music caused her body to fall under the spell of the sound and she closed her eyes and slowly left her troubled mind behind. She was listening to her favorite song when suddenly someone touched her on her waist. She turned around. It was Evan. Suddenly, everyone else disappeared. It was only the two of them facing each other, making seconds seem like infinity.

“Would you like to go for a walk down the beach?” He leaned closer and raised his voice as the music played louder. Liv turned to Tiffany, who was looking from the pool with a half-smile and winked at her, before she joined another volleyball game. It felt strange to start a relationship with her best friend’s brother since there was always a possibility it would not work out and Tiffany’s friendship meant a whole lot more even if they hadn’t been friends for very long yet. But Tiffany’s silent approval was a little push to go for it.

“Smile!” John said and took a picture of her and Evan. A quick flash and her eyes blinked. Liv imagined how awkwardly she looked on that picture. John smiled and leaned closer to Liv.

“Go, because if you won’t, then I will.” Liv nodded and walked away with Evan, away from the crowd of party-goers.

The light wind from the ocean played with Liv’s hair and caused the water to hug the shore. As they walked, their footprints were wiped out by the ocean, as if it wanted to destroy all evidence of them ever having been there. The moon was bright, nearly white as Liv’s summer dress, and appeared to be whole and full. As they moved further away from the party, the music became quieter.

As they walked along the beach, Liv was talking about her dream of becoming a writer. She was surprised by her own chattiness; she was usually the quiet one but somehow she had a lot to say in front of Evan. Unlike earlier. She partially blamed it on the vodka that Tiffany had forced her to drink.

Evan appeared as if he was trying not to stare at her, but he frequently glanced in her direction, which felt flattering. She told him about the blog that she used to write daily until she had landed in Miami and become a part of Tiffany’s fancy life. Evan laughed. Liv assumed it was because he knew how hard his sister worked to live her easy, wealthy life to the fullest. Liv wondered if Evan knew how Tiffany really felt, if he knew that Tiffany had always thought of him as the golden boy, while she was the outcast of the family, and that she felt unloved and a constant disappointment to her parents. Evan was mostly quiet and each time Liv asked him about his family or future plans, his answers were always short. He spoke in such a way that his answers sounded as if they had been memorized. There were no feelings involved when he mentioned his family or future. All he said was that he always knew he wanted to be a doctor and that he spent the whole of high school in a boarding school. And Liv already knew that from Tiffany. Liv thought that maybe he was trying to please his parents with his plans of becoming a doctor more than trying to please himself. There were no passionate words about his future. Liv always felt passionate each time she talked about writing and travelling as it was something she was always meant to do, it was the purpose of her life. And yet Evan seemed sad about his future, rather than excited.

“Why did you chose to finish school this year instead of any other year?” His sudden question appeared accusing, as if he was slightly angry that Liv had come to Miami right at that time.

“Well… I have been taking online classes so far but it was becoming hard to travel, write and study at the same time. I have a job offer from a private publisher to write about Asia next year so I thought I would take the opportunity to finish school now so I can focus only on travelling and writing next year.”

He was quiet.. Liv stopped and looked at him. She wondered if perhaps she had said something wrong or if she done something to upset him. His silence was disturbing. “Is there something wrong?” Liv asked and he stopped too. He hesitated at first but then he smiled. “No, not at all. I am sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. I am glad you are here, my comment came out wrong.” He leaned closer to her. His smile was good enough to reassure her. Perhaps there was something bothering him but he was not ready to tell her and that was alright with her. They hadn’t known each other for long enough to share every feeling with each other. She would never tell him about Jake or Eve either, or the stories of her abusive father.

The light wind kept blowing her hair in her face she moved it out of the way; she didn’t want anything to ruin the moment, especially not her hair. It was the second she waited for. The second of silence before she imagined his lips on hers. Her body felt warm and inpatient. The air felt heavy and wet. She leaned a little forward, just enough for him to make the final move. But instead of kissing her, he grabbed her hand and examined her wrist.

“Oh these are just small birth marks,” she said as she noticed his eyes open over the birth marks she had on her wrist. They made the perfect shape of a circle crossed in half. His expression of amazement turned to one of seriousness. Her birthmark was the last thing she thought would come between her and the long awaited kiss.

Liv had had her birthmark ever since she could remember and couldn’t understand why people were so interested in it. It was just a birth mark in a size of a quarter and for her it did not have a secret meaning.

He released her hand and the second she thought the night was just getting too strange and uncomfortable, he kissed her. That was the last thing she expected at that point but it made her relax and forget the constant feelings of uncomfortableness that had begun to creep up on her.

The sun started to peak on the horizon, and the darkness was leaving the beach as they both sat on the white sand in front of the house. It was quiet, there was no more loud music or partying people. Liv felt as she was under a spell of some kind - Evan’s simple presence made her feel butterflies inside her body. She wondered if this was the way people felt when they were falling in love. She had had a boyfriend before but being with him somehow never felt this magical. Each time she looked at Evan it felt as if the world stopped spinning and even his quietness felt like some sort of a challenge to get to know him better. Her chattiness faded once the vodka’s powerful confidence booster ran out of her system, but the time spent on the beach didn’t need to involve speaking; Evan was the best kisser she had ever experienced.

Even though she didn’t want her time with him to end, she checked the time on her phone. It said it was 6am. “I think I should go,” Liv said quietly, and Evan kissed her on her forehead.

“Am I going to see you again?” he asked but he was smiling. Liv smiled. “You definitely will. But I need the permission of the commander first.” Evan’s complete surprise was comical to Liv. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and he suddenly started breathing really fast. It was funny and disturbing at the same time.

“I meant Tiffany… and that was a joke, of course. Well, maybe not. I still need her approval. You know. Girl code and stuff.” Evan didn’t respond for a few seconds but then shook his head. “Right. Sorry. I was just…” he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. He brushed his fingers through his hair and smiled, leaving a strange look on his face.

As he walked her back to Amy’s house along the shore he continued to be quiet, appearing deep in thought. His feet were sinking into the wet sand each time he made a step. The ocean was still peaceful, and the sun made it look more orange and red than blue. Amy’s house was nearly five minutes away but the walk in silence made the walk feel much longer than that.

“I am sorry if I said something that made you uncomfortable,” Liv said before walking into the house through the terrace glass door.

“It’s not you Liv. I just have some things going on. That’s all.” Even though he was saying the same things as before, this time it somehow felt more personal, as if his trouble was somehow her fault. He smiled and kissed her on her lips. “I meant what I said. I really want to see you again,” he whispered and slowly walked away. Liv watched him for a while in curiosity. He seemed troubled, as if he was hiding some kind of secret. Tiffany was right, he was a good guy but always so quiet. Liv never thought that she would find someone quieter than herself. People often thought that she was strange because she didn’t say a lot. They couldn’t figure her out. Now she had met someone who was even more difficult to understand.

Evan walked slowly along the shore. The self-censored lights around Amy’s property turned off as the lightness of the day slowly started to spread. Liv walked into the house. It was still quiet and dark. As she slowly passed by the living area she noticed Amy sitting at the window and sipping from what appeared to be a glass of red wine.

“Amy?” Liv walked to her and sat down on the other white sofa across Amy. There was only a small round glass table between them.

Amy looked at her with a worried expression. “Is there something wrong?”

Liv exhaled. “I have to tell you something.” Liv thought that she did not want to keep secrets any longer about Jake and Eve. It was hard to shoulder all day and she could not imagine carrying that weight any longer. She exhaled and told Amy about that day at the parking lot in front of the mall, and the things she had heard.

Amy sipped from her glass. “I have seen them having secretive conversations before. Maybe there is more between them. Maybe they are together,” Amy said, but she did not appear sad. Instead she looked tired.

“You don’t care? Why are you hanging out with her?” Liv couldn’t help but ask.

“I need someone like Eve to help me with my business. I need that extra time with Ashley and Eve is good at managing my business. Plus she doesn’t even want money for her service. So if she wants only Jake then I will gladly let her have him. Not that he was ever mine really.”

Liv looked at Amy’s glass. It was slowly emptying with each sip Amy took.

“How about their conversation? Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Oh honey, don’t be paranoid. You start to sound just like…” She paused.

“Like who?” Liv thought it was very strange that Amy did not finish the sentence. She could not figure out who she meant.

“It doesn’t matter. You might have just misunderstood their conversation. And frankly, I really don’t care Liv. I am only worried about Ashley at this point. Whatever Jake does or doesn’t do is his problem.”

Amy was right, and Liv could see her point, Ashley was the priority. And maybe the whole conversation about some chosen ones was just some weird play they had between each other and there was nothing dangerous going on.

“There is another thing” Liv told Amy about bumping into Jake on the hallway that day.

Amy didn’t seem to get it at first. She looked at Liv as though accidents like that happen all the time.

“Well, even if it was an accident, we stood like that for a while. I just could not get out of his arms.” It appeared like she had finally got Amy’s attention.

“Did he made you feel uncomfortable?” Amy asked carefully. She still didn’t get it, Liv thought.

“Yes… I mean no. It is not that I tried to get out of his arms either. It was weird.” Liv said and looked down at her feet and played with her hands. She felt ashamed and idiotic. Somehow she was terrified of Amy’s response and at the same time it felt good to let it out.

“I see.” Amy said and finished her wine.

“I am so sorry Amy. I should have pulled away. I don’t know what happened to me. But I just want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you.” Liv looked at her and kept apologizing but Amy appeared calm, which was strange but good in some selfish way.

“Oh Liv I know exactly what happened. I had the same feeling when I first met Jake. He is charming and mysterious in his own ways. So if anyone could understand this feeling you felt, that would be me. Trust me. He made me blind and foolish that’s why I married him in such a short time. But I am not blind anymore. It’s all good, don’t worry,” she added, before smiling and standing up as she was ready to get back to bed. Liv finally exhaled. She realized she had been holding her breath ever since waiting for Amy’s answer. This didn’t feel “all good.” Amy smiled at her but it seemed more of a disappointed smile really. Liv promised herself to try to avoid Jake as much as possible. And even if she was not proud of herself at that moment, at least it was finally out. She had no more secrets in front of Amy, which was a feeling a money could never buy.