Com one home!

woot reached 5000 words and finished a chapter!

Bell got out of the taxi and took a deep breath finally feeling safe at home. The smell of flowers filled her senses and the sun beating down on her warmed her skin as the joy filled her body. She was home! She walked up the path savoring each step and letting her body start to relax. She put her key in the lock and opened the door to the familiar squeak as the pin grinded against the hinge. There are few things that Bell loved more than this house. As she pressed the door open she saw her sister bounding out of the kitchen. “BELLY!” She screeched as she rushed towards Bell. Bell hated the name Belly. It was a nickname she had gotten when she was in college and had spent more time studying than working out. Her sister had adopted it because she couldn’t stand the shortened Bell. Mea was short like Bell, a blond unlike Bell’s long brown hair and she had green eyes that their mother use to joke where brown before mea spent so much time playing in the grass. She was wearing her usual shorts and tank top. Mea gave her a huge hug almost crushing her ribs with her enthusiasm. “I missed you! I know it has only been two days but it seems like forever. Did you have a good trip? Did you kill anyone?” Bell set her luggage down inside the door and placed her keys in the bowl on the side table in the entryway. She pumped lotion from the glass bottle labeled ‘Freedom’ also on the table, and rubbed it into her hands and especially over the ring on her left hand. She slid it off and placed it on the ring holder next to her sisters. Here at home she could be herself. No lies, no pitch and no heels. Bell made a face as she stepped out of her heels. “No I didn’t kill anyone this time. Only one guy tried to molest me: the ring works again! The trip was nice I met a nice man who drove me to the airport. He was delicious to look at tall, dark, and handsome, the whole package.” Mea frowned and eyed her sister, “He make the pass at you?” Bell looked down at the mail stacked on the table and flipped through it. Several bills, some junk mail and a letter with no return address. Bell couldn’t decide what was more odd; the fact that someone still used the mail system instead of beaming it to her phone or that there wasn’t a return address. She set it down and looked at it and answered her sister almost absentmindedly. “No he didn’t. He very kindly gave me a ride after the guy who was suppose to got locked in a closet with handcuffs.” Mea’s eyes widened. Her sister was susceptible to passes because she was just so good looking and she practically exhaled pheromones with every breath that passed her perfect full lips. Mea had always felt bad for her sister, it must be difficult to always have men see your body and sex appeal without seeing the sweet sister inside. She had given a few guys heart attacks but never locked one in a closet before. Four years ago she had a horrible encounter with a man and had started wearing the ring once she got out of the hospital. She had gone to a jeweler and gotten one for herself and one for Mea. She had said it was to ward off men but Bell wore hers like a shield. And like a good soldier behind the shield was a sword that Bell would bury deep into the heart of any man who tried to get pass her defenses. Mea had watched Bell slowly soften over the last few years. They had moved away from their old town were everyone knew what happened to Bell and came here. Bell had started a new job and Mea had finished school at the university here, and then started her tour of the world. She worked when she needed to so she could keep exploring different cultures and places. Her sister had kept close tabs on her. Bell had the most developed network of information any non-government person could have legally. Though some of her contacts might occasionally cross the line, Bell didn’t ask questions as long as she could keep an eye on Mea and vet the people who came in contact with her. As Mea traveled and met people she would get messages when one of them was involved in shady dealings. Mea didn’t mind that her sister kept tabs on her, mea understood it was the only way Bell could sleep at night. She knew her sister had paid a man to follow her over the world, in fact she even knew who it was, and he was cute. Mea’s mind drifted as she remembered her last days in Egypt before she came home. The hot days had only gotten hotter at night when she was wrapped around him. They had kissed goodbye at the airport and that had been it.
Bell glanced at Mea again, knowing that her mind was somewhere around the world she lugged her suitcase upstairs and unpacked. As she tucked all her clothes away in her closet and drawers she opened her top drawer and fingered the tattered shirt she kept there to remind her. As the soft cotton brushed against her fingers she closed her eyes and let the memory sweep through her.