Hometown hang up

I've never known what people meant when their blood turned to ice, but right now I finally understood what that meant. I was at my favorite bar, the Mortuary, with some friends for their weekly karaoke night. There wasn't much to do in our little town but work, drink and play pool. However, every Thursday night, the Mortuary had a Karaoke singing night to let all of us workers blow off some steam. I loved coming because it reminded me of my days in high school relaxing with my guitar in my hand as my friends made up songs to the rythem. Tonight, though, I would much rather be at home kicking back with my favorite lady watching the latest episode of Demon Slayer. The night was going well. I was currently five drinks in and my friends were just drunk enough that I was starting to beat them at pool when her voice filled the room. I hadn't heard that voice in twelve years but I recognized it as if I had heard it yesterday. The voice of my first love, my high school romance, and the reason I don't trust women. Slowly, I turned around expecting to see a slightly older version of my ex, but what I saw was a California dream boat. My eyes scanned her body as if I was trying to recognize someone that was no longer there. The woman I had loved was five-four and around two hundred and fifty pounds. She was shy and quiet, but when you gained her trust she would light up the dark world around you. Her voice always sent shivers down my spine and every time she sung next to me I fell more and more in love with her. However, the woman on stage was five foot four and looked like she would fall over in a stiff wind. She looked like a toothpick with a dress on. I have no problem with small women when they look healthy, but this girl looked like she had been starving herself just to fit into a size zero. She may look completely different but her voice was exactly the same as the soft tones of Imagine Dragons "Bleeding Out" filled the bar. Everyone fell silent as we all turned to face her as she sung. I could see her tense up, although no one else probably noticed and when her eyes met mine I could see her body relax. Her eyes were filled with sadness that didn't make sense and she held the microphone like an old pro. My mind flashed to the night she left and I closed my eyes tight trying to push the images of her driving away in the rain out of my head. "Hey, bro are you okay?" My best friend Avery asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder to pull me out of my thoughts. "No," I growled, looking at him. "I'm going to head home." "We just got here?" Luke whined as he took his third shot of tequila. "Luke, we have been here for two hours," I laughed, throwing forty on the table for my share of the drinks. "What's going on?" Avery looked confused at my sudden change in attitude. Sighing, I stood up and walked behind my friend, covering his eyes with my hands. "Dude what the hell?" "Just listen," I snapped at him, making both him and Luke fall silent. It took a few seconds but Avery gasped in realization. "It isn't," He pulled my hands off of his eyes and stood in anger looking at the woman on stage. "It is," I sighed, grabbing his arm. "Don't do anything reckless." "She deserves to get beat for what she did," Avery snapped, making those around us start whispering. Stupid small towns and their rumor mills. "Avery enough," I snapped, yanking him into his seat. "Watch over Luke and get home safely, I need to get going." Grabbing my jacket, I headed for the front door without listening to any arguments coming from my friends. I needed to get away from where she was and fast. "Charlie..." A soft voice called my name as I secured my helmet. "Don't," I hissed, looking in the direction of the voice as I turned on my bike. "Don't come near me." I watched as she opened her mouth to say something but I didn't wait to hear what it was. As far as I was concerned, she was dead the moment she left me standing in the rain all those years ago. I didn't need or want to hear any of her excuses. It was too late for that. Some may think that I am being harsh, but I have no room in my life for her any longer and I will not allow her to destroy the little amount of happiness I have managed to find. Reving my engine, I raced through our small town towards my small home hidden in the forest. Our town was so small that there was a main street going through it for shopping and nothing else. If you didn't live here, you would never know that most residents' homes were hidden in the forest. It was like having a village of tree houses in the hill country of Texas. Carefully, I wound my bike along the dirt path until my little home came into view. It was a very rustic little cottage that seemed to blend into the forest. All of the lights in the cottage were off except for the porch light. Sighing, I looked on the porch and saw a very annoyed and pissed off lady. "Don't start with me," I grumbled, taking off my helmet after parking my bike. "What the hell happened? All I got was a phone call from a very annoyingly drunk Luke rambling about a siren ruining your night! What the hell is he talking about?" "You know Luke... he's an idiot." "Don't try to dodge this!" Hillary snapped at me as she wobbled out of the rocker on my porch. Her waist-length blonde hair blowing in the night breeze. "You aren't usually home for another three hours and that's when I get to watch Netflix without a field of children running around me." "It is not my fault you and Carl multiply like rabbits," I hissed, trying to get her to sit back down. "Yell at me all you want but sit down before your water breaks on my porch like last time! It took me weeks to get all of the grossness off." "Then stop irritating your big sister," She grumbled but relented. "Now, what happened?" "I just wasn't having fun," I sighed, leaning against the porch railing so I could see the night sky. Hillary just stared at me silently, knowing that it bothered me more than noise. "Fine," I grumbled annoyingly as I ran my hands through my shaggy hair, "She's back." "She who?" Hillary looked confused. "Erica? I mean she was psycho but she only made you drink more, not come home early." "Not Erica. That chick was just upset that I wouldn't sleep with her." Frowning, I looked down at my sister, "Celeste." All I had to say was her name and Hillary's face filled with rage. "I'm going to the bar!" Standing quicker than I'd seen her move in months, she grabbed her keys and headed for her car. "Hillary, you cannot go into the bar 8 months pregnant! Jared will block you the second you try!" "Let him try!" She snapped at me. "I changed his diapers and baby sat him. I can make sure he never gets laid off again." Smirking, I watched as my little pregnant sister rambled on and on about all of the bar owners' secrets. The benefits of living in a small town: everyone knows everything. "Sis... calm down please." Hillary grumbled a few cuss words at me but eventually relented, "I'm only giving in because I know that the baby needs to be fed and Carl is probably losing his mind with all six kids. We will talk about this, do you understand?" "Yeah I got it, go home." I laughed, waving her off. Once she was out of sight, the smile fell from my face and I slowly entered the cottage. Frowning, I saw that my sister had cleaned my house up again without my permission. I like my mess! Shaking my head, I walked toward the one bedroom and opened the door. Smiling softly, I saw the little figure curled up under the sheets sound asleep. Closing the door, I made my way to the couch and curled up to sleep. Why now... it has been twelve years... why did she have to show up now?