A broken Swan Read online

  I stared out the window, the sky full of stars tonight. I knew from above, mom and dad was smiling down on me, encouraging me. I lived on their memories. But I knew that I couldn’t live on their memories forever. I needed to start living and creating new memories for myself. I just couldn’t push myself to move on yet. I sighed lightly and closed my eyes as I drifted into an easy slumber thinking what tomorrow will bring.

  Chapter 6

  English class was rambunctious before the bell rang. I managed to snag a seat that was still in the back, but had people sitting around me already. I sighed in relief. I had my head down, writing stuff down that popped in my head. I do that a lot. If it’s just words, I’d still write it down. It was kind of fun and interesting, because I’d go back and look at it and think “what was I thinking when I wrote this?”

  Class began to start. I looked up and realized that Gabriel sat in the front seat, surrounded by mostly girls. I smiled, smirked really and when I was doing that he turned his head and caught me smiling. He smirked back with humor like he knew what I was thinking. I blushed and quickly dropped my gaze. Class started. Mrs. Sinclair can be a little dry, but she was good about getting the class to participate. She began talking about goals in life, what we wanted to do after this year was over since it was our last year in high school. She started asking around the room what we wanted to do after we graduate. Someone said leave McDonalds to find a real job. Everyone laughed. Another person said leave Ithaca to pursue an acting career, which was probably Tracy, because unfortunately, she was in this class with me. She sat next to Gabriel, staring at him like a hungry dog. Pretty pathetic, but I didn’t blame her. It couldn’t be helped.

  Then I realized Mrs. Sinclair was asking me a question. “Odette, what do you want to do when you graduate?” All eyes went to me. Eyes filled with pity. I wanted to groan out loud. But I put it aside. I slid deeper into my desk. “Photography,” I answered quietly.

  “Oh so you want to pursue to be a photographer?” Mrs. Sinclair stated. I could feel Gabriel’s eyes penetrating on me. I nodded. “Well that’s wonderful Odette, I’m sure you will get there, you’re talented in whatever you do,” She answered encouragingly. I gave her a small smile and she moved on. Corner of my eyes saw Gabriel smiling at me. I quickly ignored it. Then I heard her ask him what he wanted to do.

  “I want to get into law like my dad,” he answered. “Well that’s wonderful, I’ve heard so much good things about him already,” she replied. “Thanks, he is pretty good,” he stated.

  This went on for the next thirty minutes. Her next assignment sounded pretty easy.

  “I want you to write three things you want to do differently next year that will help change your life. And I want you to tell me why. It’s December. You have until the 29th of January, which is a Friday to give me this assignment. Sounded easy right? That’s what I thought. But then again, nothing is ever easy.

  Class was over. I didn’t even bother to put my notebook in my bag. I walked with my head down hoping to pass Gabriel without being noticed. Almost out the door, I felt a hand on my elbow. I looked up and saw ocean blue eyes. And that darn dimple. He smelled so darn good too. He was way taller than I thought. I really had to tilt my head up. I lifted an eyebrow as a question to why he stopped me. His smile broadened even more.

  “Odette, I wanted to talk to you before I came over to your house tonight.” Why? I asked myself. Why couldn’t he just talk to me later instead of now? He must have seen the question in my eyes because he answered the question, “It would just be awkward then and I wanted to pass that stage of awkwardness. I just thought I would say hi and introduce myself now that I have the chance.”

  I opened my mouth to answer him, but was rudely interrupted by Tracy. “Gabriel, where’s your next class, I’ll walk you to it,” she demurely questioned while giving me an evil stare. She practically almost pasted herself onto him. Tracy was the kind of girl who thought she was every man’s dream come true. Wrong, she couldn’t hold a candle to Chelsea. She was so fake in many ways. I smirked with disgust at her, but glad for her distraction because I manage to pull out of his grasp and took the escape route.

  Tonight would be for Chelsea, I thought to myself as I rushed to my next class. I was going to stay out of the way and keep quiet. I was great at keeping quiet anyway. Why change now right? I glanced down at my notebook and realized subconsciously I had written down “Blue eyes.” I quickly closed my notebook and walked into my next class. Tonight was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 7

  “Oh my gosh, they’re here! Odette, do I look all right?” Chelsea asked in a rush. How could she not look good? She wore a pink tight tube dress that seemed too inappropriate for tonight. It made the coloring of her hair nice. I look down at myself and saw a pair of black skinny jeans and a loose dark blue and with yellow lettering T-shirt that said “Don’t look at me. I’m so beautiful it’ll hurt UR eyes.” It was Charlie’s gift to me one Christmas. I laughed at the time and thought it was sweet. I loved it because it was comfortable.

  Chelsea was wearing heels and I was barefoot. I looked like a dwarf next to her. But I looked like a dwarf standing to almost everyone. At least I had cute feet. That was something cute about me. I hated wearing shoes inside the house. I hated wearing shoes period. Uncle Robert always yelled at me “Put some shoes on before you step outside, there are snakes out there!” Sometimes I’d get Charlie or Kevin to piggy back me on their backs when I would forget. Good thing they got the Callaghan height gene on the men side. Kevin was getting close to six feet while Charlie was already six feet. But not as tall as Gabriel, thought to myself. Why am I thinking about him? I need to stop.

  Chelsea’s make up was perfection. Sometimes she tried to do experiments on me, but I would wash it off right away. “You’re a Callaghan, you got the beauty gene, let me fix you up,” she’d say. Beauty gene, I thought. I don’t think so.

  I slid my glasses up my nose and responded, “Gorgeous,” and she smiled happily. “Great, I’d ask Kevin, but he would just make a joke.” I laughed and agreed. Kevin, who was never out of opinions. I think he was going to be in Law Enforcement like Uncle Robert. He was always there for the underdogs, always there for me.

  “Sweater?” I questioned her. She knew I knew that her dad would have a fit if she wore the dress bare like she did.

  She sighed, “Yea, because dad will embarrass me. I should be allowed to show my body the way I like it. But I don’t want to be embarrassed tonight by his comments.” She slid on her white cardigan.

  Just as she did that, Uncle Robert walked into the living room with six people behind him. One of them was a cute little boy, miniature version of Gabriel. He looked to be six years old. He had to be the little brother. Next to Gabriel was a beautiful girl with the same dark wavy hair to the shoulders and the same ocean blue eyes. This must be Gemma, the twin. She gave me a smile. The same smile but without the dimple. Next to her stood a shorter girl around Kevin’s age. She had the same eyes like her siblings, except she had brown hair like their mom. The parents were a gorgeous couple. Their dad was a very good looking older man with the same blue eyes. Their mother was a gorgeous brown hair woman.

  I stood there staring like an idiot not sure of what to say. Chelsea did it for me. “Welcome to the Callaghan Ranch!” She was a natural hostess. Aunt Helen was in the kitchen finishing up dinner. The living room had appetizers.

  “This is Jack and Jill Ryan. Their kids, which you met some already, Gabriel, Gemma, Jayla and little Jamie,” Uncle Robert introduced. “Jack, Jill, you remember my daughter from years ago, this is Chelsea. And next to her is my niece, Simon and Alissa’s daughter Odette.” I smiled because I thought it was cute that their names were Jack and Jill.

  I saw Mrs. Ryan step forward and give me a bear tight hug. I was surprise.

  “Oh Odette, I am sorry about your parents. I know it’s been a few years. I should’ve been there for you. After all, Alissa was one of my closes
t friends. We sent you birthday cards every year. Jack and I were there at the funeral but you were so distraught, we didn’t think you paid any attention,” she said to me. I was even more surprise. She was right; I didn’t realize they were there at the funeral. I was so lost in my world that day. I didn’t even realize that they were the Jack and Jillian Ryan that sent me cards. I thought they were a Law Firm that dad use to work for so I never paid attention.

  “You are just as beautiful as your mother,” she continued on. Is she serious? But I got more distracted as Mr. Ryan gave me a hug as well. I hoped this was the last one because I was getting uncomfortable.

  “Dad said you brought him food when Mrs. Wilburn couldn’t. I wanted to tell you I really appreciate it. He wasn’t so mobile during his last years. He said it really helped him. He also mentioned that you were such a sweet girl, always there to listen to him even though you could’ve gone off and did as he said “teenager stuff”, Mr. Ryan quoted with a smile. A smile I knew Gabriel got from. I began to blush. No one really knew about that. Not even Uncle Robert.

  “I didn’t know you knew Old Mr. Ryan Odette, you never said,” Chelsea exclaimed with surprise. I just shrugged my shoulders. I hated being center of attention. I’ve managed to not get into that situation until now.

  “Odette is a shy girl. She’s always doing something good without anyone noticing. But I notice,” Uncle Robert declared. My eyes shot to him. Did he really notice? His eyes twinkled. He was a detective. Attention to detail was his job. I smiled and looked at the Ryan family. My eyes met Gabriel. He was looking at me attentively. I noticed that Chelsea managed to slip closer to him. I looked away. I didn’t want my eyes to show the envy.

  “Oh yes, so regal and poised like a swan floating quietly on a lake, the quiet swan. Isn’t that what grandpa use to say when he called us,” Gabriel said so softly. “Yes, I believe that’s what he said,” Mr. Ryan confirmed and chuckled.

  My face turned even redder. “That’s what Aunt Alissa and Uncle Simon use to call you, Swan Princess!” Chelsea pointed out. Oh great, I groaned inwardly. This conversation is getting worse. I turned around and excused myself to the kitchen. I heard a murmur “Odette, Swan Princess”.

  Aunt Helen was almost done with dinner. It was Italian night. She was making spaghetti with meat balls and garlic bread. She even managed to bake a velvet cake that I loved so much. I asked if she needed help, she said she needed help setting up the table. It was usually just the five of us, but I had to add six more seats and dinner ware to the table. It was a good thing the table was big. Aunt Helen used to say “never hurts to be prepared for more company.” This was true tonight. I opened the cabinets and realized I was going to need a chair to grab the extra plates on the top shelf. A hand reached from behind me and reached to grab for them. I looked behind me and saw Gabriel, smiling an amusing smile at me.

  “This must be one of the disadvantages being short sometimes,” he said and chuckled. He looked me up and down from my bare feet to the top of my head. I blushed and turned away. He looked gorgeous in his black polo T-shirt hugging his broad shoulders and loose pair of jeans. I could feel his body heat radiating against my back. I hope he didn’t feel my heart because it was beating like crazy. Where was Chelsea? I moved away quickly and thanked him quietly. I started setting up the table. I realized Gabriel’s intention was to help set up the table too. I grabbed for silverware the same time Gabriel grabbed for it. Our hands touched and I felt a jolt go up my arms. My eyes shot to his and knew that he felt it too. His eyes darkened and his face looked serious, like he was in a deep thought. I don’t know why, Chelsea was the beautiful one tonight.

  Thank god for distractions, I felt a tug on my T-shirt. I looked down and realized it was Jamie, the little brother.

  “Hi, I’m Jamie and I’m almost six years old,” he declared and smiled a toothless smile at me. I bent down and brushed his hair out of his eyes. I smiled at this adorable little boy before answering.

  “Hi Jamie, I’m Odette,” I softly reply. I realized that Gabriel came next to me, bending down close to me to talk to Jamie. “Hey buddy, you getting hungry, where do you want to sit? There’s a big table and enough seats for you to choose from.” I stood up abruptly, making sure before he realizes that his closeness was affecting me.

  “I want to sit next to Odette, she’s pretty and she has pretty hair!” Jamie said. I blushed again. I don’t know how many times I was going to blush today, but it was getting annoying. I walked over to a chair and Jamie quickly rushed next to the chair next to me. Everyone started to filter in to the kitchen.

  “Lucky Jamie,” was what I thought I heard Gabriel said. But I was probably wrong. I shrugged it off. Jamie’s mother sat next to him to assist him with the napkin. Chelsea sat next to Gabriel and of course, Gabriel sat directly in front of me. His sister Gemma sat next to me. I saw at the end of the table that Jayla and Kevin were in a quiet conversation of their own. I smiled. Jayla seemed like a nice girl, a girl who didn’t play games. Maybe Kevin met his match. Lucky him, I thought. Then my smile began to falter. I realized that Gabriel was watching me; he raised his eyebrows to question what was wrong. I shook my head quickly and looked down. Why was I answering him anyways? He should be talking to Chelsea. It looked like Chelsea was talking but Gabriel was half paying attention.

  Aunt Helen said grace and we all quickly dug in to eat. Eating was something I enjoyed. It was the cause of my curves. I ate my food with my eyes down and listened to conversations around me. Uncle Robert and Mr. Ryan were talking about their jobs. Aunt Helen and Mrs. Ryan talking about recipes. Chelsea and Gabriel began conversing, which seemed like an improvement. He wasn’t staring at me anymore.

  I realized that Gemma was talking to me. I turned my focus to her.

  “So what is there to do in this town anyways? It seems like you can drive through this town in an hour,” she pointed out. It was true; you could probably drive through the town in an hour. I wasn’t sure how to answer her because I didn’t do much with people. “Movies,” was all I said.

  “I guess that’s something, do you go much?” she asked. I smiled holding in my laugh and shook my head No. She laughed. “At least you’re honest. I just need something to do. I’m used to being active. New York you walked everywhere. Here you have to drive everywhere.”

  I thought for a moment. “Horseback riding?” “Can we horseback ride into town?” she asked. I shrugged my shoulders. “Try it,” I responded. I really wasn’t sure. I guess I never paid attention. If someone did, then they must have. I must be self-absorbed myself. I wasn’t sure I liked that declaration on me.

  I heard laughter. It came from Gabriel. He must have been listening to our conversation. “Yea, try it Gemma and tell Odette. And tell me too because if you don’t get pulled over, maybe I’ll try it.” He chuckled and winked at me.

  Gemma stuck her tongue out to her twin and responded, “Maybe I will.”

  “Don’t worry, its legal,” responded Uncle Robert. “Awesome,” replied Gemma, “I’ll definitely try it now.”

  “You have to be 18 and older with a license,” Uncle Robert pointed out. Gemma pouted.

  “I’ll be 18 in two months with Gabriel. I guess since I waited 18 years to turn 18, I’ll wait two more months to do something fun,” Gemma grumbled.

  “Oh when is your birthday Gabriel?” asked Chelsea. She was trying to get as much information she could out of him.

  “February 14th, Valentine’s day, we are true love children. Gabriel is older by 4 minutes,” Gemma stated.

  “No way! Odette’s birthday is the 15th of February. We use to tease her saying that cupid left town and her mom had to suffer another day of labor and had her after Valentine’s Day,” Chelsea exclaimed.

  “That’s cool. We should have a birthday party together, the three of us,” said Gemma. Oh no, I don’t do parties, I said to myself. Dreading the crowd of people, the dressing up, the presents. Gabriel saw my face pale and gave me a teasing
smile.

  “Oh my gosh! It would be great. I can do the invites. Odette never celebrates her birthday. She always hopes we forget it, but it’s not hard to forget that date. Last year I bought her this great dress, but all she did was shove it in the closet. I’ve never seen her wear it. All she wears is T-shirts and jeans like what she’s wearing now, look at the shirt she’s wearing now, our brother Charlie bought her that,” Chelsea telling everyone.

  Jamie had been trying to read it earlier, so he perked up and asked, “What does her shirt say?”

  “Don’t look at me. I’m so beautiful it’ll hurt UR eyes” Gabriel told him mischievously.

  Then Jamie giggled and said, “Odette is beautiful! But my eyes are not hurting.”

  Everyone laughed. I even laughed out loud. I reached and patted his head affectionately.