The Proposed Prophecies

The white sanded private beach in Amy’s back yard was quiet in the early morning. Liv enjoyed every second spent on the wooded terrace that overlooked the calm blue ocean, as an occasional light breeze wafted past her. Every morning since moving to Miami she had written in her diary and sipped on her morning coffee. The light grey couch that Amy had set up on the terrace was more comfortable than Liv’s bed back home. She inhaled the fresh salty air, took off her reading glasses and reached out to the gray coffee cup to take a sip.

Her phone started ringing. It was a Skype call and it made her jump and spill a little coffee on her notebook despite the fact she had been waiting for that call. “Great,” she said out loud at the spilt coffee. Amy’s maid Carlotta was already wiping it. She was always there lurking in the background, quick to respond if something was spilled or broken. She seemed to have a sixth sense built into her for sensing small accidents like this one. Liv had tried asking Carlotta some questions about herself but Carlotta had never truly replied. Amy said it was probably because she did not speak English. But Liv thought it was just simply because she liked her privacy and didn’t want to talk about her personal life. She always just politely smiled.

“Hallo….Liv… Can you hear me?” asked her mother Helena. It was the same question every single week, as if “Can you hear me” was a common Skype greeting used instead of “Hi, how are you?” Helena usually asked the same questions, such as how is the weather in Miami and how is Amy, despite the fact she talked to Amy on weekly basis also. Since the divorce, Amy and her mother had barely spoken, until Liv moved to Miami and they seemed to rekindle the bond between them.

“Amy introduced me to Tiffany. She is my age and she lives in the neighborhood,” said Liv, about the young rich woman she had met a week ago. “I am glad you have a friend,” Helena replied and she looked as if she really meant it. Liv saw her mother as a healthy, youthful and beautiful woman that did not fear anyone. She was no longer the woman she had been when she’d been with Liv’s father and he had drained all her energy, leaving her looking tired and depressed. Helena’s bouncy full curly brown hair took the full screen of her smart phone. Her smile was always wide and sincere.

“I saw on your Facebook that you have been going to lots of parties. You hate parties.” Becky interrupted and took over the whole screen. Her brown eyes dazzled even through the computer screen. Her hair was in a messy bun as always and her full pink lips never stopped talking. She wanted Liv to talk about the parties. They were sisters by blood but so different at the same time. Liv was an introvert whilst Becky was the exact opposite. She loved parties, socializing and being the center of attention and she was right,

Liv truly hated partying but her new friend Tiffany had made her attend anyway. Liv thought that the pictures on Facebook always gave the impression that parties were fun but in reality most of the people there either got fully drunk after the first half an hour, to a point when nothing mattered to them, or they played with their phone, taking millions of selfies..

“I think your friend’s boobs are fake.” Becky laughed and Helena rushed her away from the computer. “That’s enough Becky.”

“I am so jealous, I always wanted to have big boobs like she has.”

“I said that’s enough.” Helena repeated.

“What? Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed on the pictures from Facebook.” added Becky angrily, as her mother took charge of the computer. Liv laughed as Helena rolled her eyes. Liv suddenly realized she hadn’t even noticed Tiffany’s breast implants, despite the fact that she always wore low cut dresses. Not that she cared anyhow. Tiffany was fun and despite their completely different social standings, they somehow had bonded together.

“How about you call your sister another time when I am not here and then you can discuss this breast implant nonsense,” said Helena to Becky, whose voice was louder than hers. It really did not matter if Helena was the one sitting in front of the computer. Their argument reminded Liv of how much she missed them already. She had only been in Miami for a month but it felt like much longer. Even when she travelled she used to go home at least once a month but this time it would be a whole year that she would be without them.

When Becky left the room, and it was only Helena there, Liv remembered something.

“Mom, what happened to Christopher’s father?”

Every time Liv had asked Amy about her grandfather Amy just sighed and did not want to talk about him. She thought perhaps her mother would know something more, such as why Christopher had hated him or why she had been told so little about him. Helena paused before she answered.

“Oh honey, I don’t really know. You should ask Amy. I know only whatever you know. He died shortly after you were born and he was in the army for most of his life. I only met him a couple of times. Your dad hated him but I am not sure why. You know your father never talked about him.” Liv shook her head. It was true, Christopher never talked about him. And neither would Amy.

“I have to go. Be safe, honey. I love you.” Her mother ended the conversation with her usual words. Liv had often thought about her grandfather since she had moved to Miami. The photo in her room made her curious each time she glanced at it.

Amy promised to have some more photos shipped from her old apartment in New York, which she still kept as a place for storage, even after she moved to Miami five years ago. But she hadn’t kept her promise. Amy often said there was not much about Jason that was interesting, anyhow, other than his made-up stories about the Alters.

Liv thought it was strange that Amy addressed her own father by his first name, rather than dad or father, but Liv was the same, she never addressed her own father by anything other than Christopher. She wondered if perhaps her grandfather was an abuser, just like Christopher was. Her curiosity continued to grow about the man that even super friendly Amy seemed to be so distant from. Amy talked about her mom sometimes despite the fact that she had barely known her, as she had died when Amy was young, but it seemed as if Amy’s memories of Jason had not been preserved. Amy did not seem to want any of Jason’s belongings in her new house either. Liv wasn’t even sure why Amy had kept some of his possessions for so many years if she did not want to think of him. Perhaps it meant she did not hate him, maybe she had felt very distant from him instead, because he had always been working and she was mostly raised by a nanny. Either way, there was certain silent agreement in Amy’s head about keeping the doors to her memories of Liv’s grandfather firmly shut.

****

“Are they real?” Liv asked Tiffany as she looked at the low-cut pink dress Tiffany was trying on at the mall later on that day. They both starred at each other on the tall wide mirror in the middle round hallway that separated six fitting rooms. Liv could not resist asking, after Becky’s earlier comment.

“They are perfect aren’t they? I begged my parent for months to allow me to get plastic surgery and I finally got it for my sweet sixteen.” Tiffany smiled in satisfaction. She really was perfect, thought Liv. She was like a human Barbie. Her hair was bleached blonde, her eyes were big and blue, her lips were full, and she had a nearly perfect body. On top of all this, she was rich and could afford anything she wanted.

“Sixteen?” Liv said surprisingly. She hadn’t thought it was legal to have breast enhancements at such a young age.

“Yeah. And you need some too, L.” Tiffany often called Liv “L”, as if Liv needed to shorten her name any more. Liv glanced at her own breasts, which were covered by the spaghetti strap white summer dress she was trying on. She never thought she would need a plastic surgery, it had never even crossed her mind until Tiffany said it out loud.

But then she shook her head. It was a silly suggestion. She entered her assigned small fitting room and changed back to her simple white t-shirt, black denim shorts and flip flops. She had never thought of herself as someone who looked special. Even now, looking in the mirror, all she saw was her simple, flat brown hair and not a whole lot of style sense compared to Tiffany, who seemed to only wear designer brand clothes.

“Didn’t you say your brother’s plane will land at around 4pm? Shouldn’t we go?” Liv yelled through the shut doors of the fitting room as she glanced at her phone. It was already 3:30 and she knew it took at least 30 minutes to get into the airport. The Miami traffic was congested most of the times, even on Sundays. It was a big city after all. Tiffany paid for her dress and both of them jogged through the crowded mall back to the parking lot where Tiffany’s car was parked.

As Liv opened the trunk and placed the shopping bags inside, she heard a familiar voice and looked back. It was him, Jake. She had only seen him three times in that first week in Miami and even then he had passed her by, without even looking at her or saying anything. Amy didn’t even bother asking him where was he headed. But he had been gone for almost a whole month. Now, here he was on the mall parking lot standing next to his fancy black car, dressed in his designer clothes with dark glasses covering his eyes. His hair was looking on point, not that he had that much hair anyway, thought Liv.

“Why do you need to start so early? We are supposed to start in two years,” said Jake. His voice sounded deep and irritated. He was arguing with a woman. Liv’s eyes opened wide. It was Amy’s friend, Eve. They were standing ten cars away and argued as they didn’t care if anyone heard. Or at least Jake didn’t. The only other people nearby, a couple, seemed to pay zero attention to the argument.

“I don’t care. Your father is not here and is no longer in charge. I am. And I say we start now.” Eve’s voice was calm, as if nothing could irritate her.

“What about the chosen ones? The bunkers are not ready and you know it!”

Liv felt confused. “The chosen ones?” She thought out loud and lost sight of Jake and Eve for a second as Tiffany honked her horn. “Hurry up, L,” Tiffany yelled. After Jake’s words, there was a silence and Liv looked back at them. She was expecting to hear Eve saying something back but she was quiet. Suddenly she realized Jake was getting into his car and Liv was making eye contact with Eve. She was still standing about ten cars away but Liv was sure she was looking right at her, as if she knew that Liv had heard their argument. Eve didn’t appear angry once she saw Liv. On the contrary, she smiled and got into her own car parked right next to Jake’s and they both drove away, following each other to the exit of the parking lot.

“Earth to Liv,” Tiffany yelled through the rolled down window. Liv had been so focused on spying on Jake and Eve, that she hadn’t heard Tiffany urging her to get in the car.

“The chosen ones, the bunkers and Eve wants to start now… what does it even mean… start now? Start what exactly?” thought Liv, the whole way to the airport. “L. Are you ok?” Tiffany raised her voice as Liv had been completely ignoring her the whole way.

“Sorry. Yes I am fine” Liv smiled at her and Tiffany raised her eyebrow in disbelieve but the sound of her phone seemed to distract her for a moment. She looked at her phone and rolled her eyes. She let it ring and placed it in her lap and stared at the road, unusually quiet. “Earth to Tiffany,” Liv joked. It made Tiffany smile a little.

“It’s just this old family friend, McAlister. He has been calling me all the time and coming to our house now that he works with my father.” The sound of her voice was less than joyful. “Why?” Liv asked. She was sure Tiffany’s parents were in New York. “Ugh, just to discuss some things. It’s not a big deal, I just don’t feel like talking to him.” Tiffany smiled. Despite the short period of time that Liv had known her, she could still tell that Tiffany was faking her smile.

As Tiffany moved into the pickup/drop off lane at the airport, Liv spotted the tall guy, who was dressed in black pants and a plain white shirt, approaching the car. His hair was short and light brown and shiny. His teeth were perfectly white as he smiled. Tiffany jumped out of the car and hugged him. Suddenly it felt as all the people that walked around Liv were moving in slow motion. Liv got out of the car and had a hard time keeping herself from blushing. “Hey, L. This is my brother Evan.” There was an awkward silence for about ten seconds as Liv struggled to say anything. “Say something. Anything,” she said to herself. He had the deepest set of brown eyes she had ever seen. Her heart was racing and her hands were sweaty. At least the handshake was quick. Hopefully he hadn’t felt the wetness of her hand..

“Nice to meet you… L?” He slightly raised his voice when he said the “L”, as if he needed some sort of a confirmation that this was truly her name.

“It’s Liv, but I call her L,” Tiffany interrupted.

“Well, I will just call you Liv, if you don’t mind.” Liv smiled. “God… Just say something… anything. How hard that can be?” She yelled at herself inside, her silence was nearly idiotic, even to her.

“Ok… shall we? I have a party to host,” said Tiffany, and they all got into the car to drive downtown.

“I have never forgotten the day I first set eyes on Evan. I could feel my face turning wine red and my heart beat accelerated to a dangerous level. I could hardly hear him talk at first because all I could think about was his kissable lips the delicious scent of him.

People often said that there is often one moment of déjà vu in every person’s life. Well this was mine. His smile swept me off my feet, his handshake was quick but when I shook his hand, I felt feelings I had never experienced before – or since.

He sat next to the window in back of the car, which was the perfect spot because I could stare at him the whole time in the side mirror. My dark sunglasses covered my eyes, so he couldn’t see me staring. He was mostly quiet, Tiffany seemed to be the outspoken one in their family. Evan was serious yet seductive in his own quiet way. I was drawn to him in a way that I had never been drawn to anyone before.”

“You better show up to my party on time,” said Tiffany, raising her voice at Evan while he was taking his luggage out of the car. He paused, before heading towards the entry door of his apartment, which was located in a high, all-glass building in downtown. A porter ran towards Evan and helped him with his luggage. No one had ever helped her with her luggage in Liv’s old apartment in Stockholm. As a matter of fact, the hallways always smelled like cats from the lady living next to her, who had at least six of them. Liv bet Evan’s apartment complex smelled as new and clean as it looked from the outside.

“I will definitely try.” Evan glanced over at Liv, who remained sitting in the front seat. She could still see him in the mirror. His smile made her wonder if his interest in her was as strong as her interest in him. Yet it felt hard to think straight when he looked at her.

“See you later.” He waved at her and Liv waved back. Still, she couldn’t speak. He obviously liked her back, she thought but she was still unable to calm her racing heart.

It was quiet for a minute as Tiffany pulled away from his apartment complex.

“You and your brother are nothing alike.” Liv could not hold it any longer. She needed to talk about him and to find out as much information on him as possible. She had about thirty minutes until they reached Amy’s house. Liv believed that any discussion after the ride home would indicate her interest in him, and she intended to take full advantage of the half an hour ride.

“He used to be so talkative and social when we were little but then he got sent to a boarding school when he was fifteen and I didn’t see him for years. When he came back it felt as he was a completely different person.” She paused. “What do you mean?” Liv looked at her and Tiffany shook her head. “He just wasn’t himself. He became so distant from me. He is a good guy and he knows what he wants but he became extremely quiet. I feel like I don’t know him at all.”

Tiffany told her that her parents had always had high expectations of Evan since they were kids. He had always been the golden boy. Liv sensed a certain jealousy in Tiffany’s voice, perhaps even a disappointment that her parents had never thought of her as highly, or never thought she would be able to do anything other than party.

She said she felt as if she was a constant source of disappointment to them, and suddenly it made sense to Liv. All those parties, all those different guys that Tiffany slept with, and all those days spent shopping, were actually attempts to find something she could use to heal the loneliness she felt deep down. For the first time, Tiffany appeared far more than just a perfect rich girl. She was a real human being with feelings and hopes that one day she would be good enough for her parents. Liv thought about how even the most perfect looking life could hide big imperfections.

“You know, it seemed to me as if Evan seemed to like you. Tiffany’s words made Liv instantly blush.

“You are blushing.” Tiffany raised her voice and laughed. Liv laughed along all the way home. She didn’t mind even if her burning cheeks felt awkward. Liv liked the way Tiffany’s laugh sounded. It was not one of those annoying laughs but a gentle wave of her voice; it wasn’t too loud or forced.

“Be at my house exactly at ten,” Tiffany ordered, as she dropped Liv at Amy’s house. Liv knew no one would show up that early, they never did. But Tiffany always wanted her to be there before anyone else. Liv felt that perhaps Tiffany needed emotional support before the door opened and her faked friends enter her fake, perfect life.