Don't Say You Love Me

“Diana, move faster! We need to get up here before midnight!” Rosie Davis giggles as she hears a small huff behind her. “Don’t whine. This kind of thing only happens once. It has to be special.” Rosie opens the bedroom door, allowing her friend to enter first and dump her armload of snacks onto the bed. The brunette turns to face her with a glare etched into her facial features. “What?” Rosie feigns innocence. Rosie, it’s only my 16th birthday. Nothing Special. Diana signs with a huff. “Diana, that’s exactly why it’s special. You only get your words on your 16th. We can’t miss it.” Rosie replies, walking up to her friend. “Now come on. I’ll put the movie in. You get comfy.” Diana moves to sign a reply, but Rosie turns on her heel, strutting to the DVD player. With a roll of her eyes, Diana climbs into the bed and takes a hold of a bag of jellybeans. “The Notebook. A classic.” Rosie chuckles, jumping onto the bed and seizing a bag of licorice from the pile of diabetes-inducing sweets at the end of the bed. It’s not a classic. You just insist on watching it every single time I come over. Diana rolls her eyes as she signs, mouth full of jelly beans. “Exactly. A classic sleepover movie.” Rosie grins, biting into a strip of candy Just shut up and play the damn movie. Diana’s facial expression shows annoyance, but a small smile is plastered on her face. “You love it.” Rosie scoffs, throwing her long red hair over a shoulder. Bite me.  “Diana, I didn’t know you were into that.” Rosie smirks, only to be hit in the face by a bag of jellybeans. Shut up, Rosie. Diana signs with a silent chuckle. I’m trying to watch the movie. “I’m starting the timer now. 3 hours until midnight.” With those final words, the girls fall into a peaceful silence, eyes glued to the T.V. in front of them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` “I can’t wait, Mama.” Gerrod sighs, standing in the living room with his parents and younger sister. “I’m so excited to see what it is! I’m going to find her at any cost.” “Well, don’t let that be the only thing you do, Son.” Gerrod’s father chuckles. “Love is patient. It will wait until the right time.” “You say that, yet you found Mom a week after your birthday.” Gerrod’s younger sister exclaims, falling back onto the davenport. “That’s different, Michaela.” Their father argues. “Your mother had just moved into the house next door and your grandmother wanted me to say ‘hi’.” “It’s almost midnight!” Gerrod exclaims, effortlessly ending his family’s bickering. “60 seconds!” Michaela cheers, pulling her brother to sit next to her. “My baby boy is growing up so fast!” Gerrod’s mother cries and Michaela laughs. “I hope it’s something really stupid.” The 9 year-old snickers. “Michaela, don’t be rude.” Their father scolds his daughter. “10 seconds left.” Gerrod covers his left wrist, knowing the words appear on the dominant hand. The family of 4 anxiously count down the last 10 seconds. “Happy 16th birthday, Son.” Gerrod’s father breaks the silence. Gerrod shoots his family an anxious look before moving his right hand. “What?” The boy’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What? What’s it say?” Michaela eagerly questions. “I-I don’t know. I don’t even think it’s German.” Gerrod replies. “Not German? Impossible.” Gerrod’s father leans over to examine the teen’s wrist. His eyes go wide at the sight. “Definitely not German.” “If it’s not German, what is it?” Michaela asks as she, too, analyzes Gerrod’s wrist. “I think it might be English.” Gerrod realizes. “Well, we have Google Translate for a reason.” His mother shrugs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Diana!” Rosie suddenly exclaims, scaring the brunette. What? Diana replies, annoyed that her friend interrupted the movie. “1 minute until midnight!” The redhead exclaims and Diana rolls her eyes. Why are you even making me do this? It’s just a dumb tattoo. “You take that back, right now!” Rosie moves so she’s sitting on her knees. “It’s not just a tattoo! It’s the words that change your life forever!” And I pity whoever is stuck as my soulmate, because I don’t talk so their wrist is blank. “But what if you start talking again?” Rosie fires back. I wish it was that easy. Diana releases a small sigh, looking down at her right wrist. I guess I’m finally 16. “What?!” Rosie shouts, scrambling to check the time. “s**t! We argued through it!” You started it. Diana smirks. “Shut up. What’s it say?” Both girls look down at the smooth tan skin of Diana’s wrist, harsh black words staining the surface. “‘Let me help you, Diana.’.” Because that’s not at all creepy. Diana signs, obviously displeased with her words. “Maybe not. What if he’s told your name or he goes to school with us but is just shy? There’s more possibilities than him just being a creep.” I’m gonna stick with the whole creep thing. “I’m telling you, he isn’t gonna be a creep.” Okay, well, when I get attacked by my so-called soulmate, I get to say ‘I told you so’. “Be quiet, Diana.” Rosie sighs, falling back onto the bed. I’m mute, Dumbass. Can’t get much quieter than that. Diana replies, obviously annoyed by her best friend. “Your hands are too loud.” Rosie shrugs. “Now go to sleep. We have school tomorrow.” With one final eye roll, Diana climbs under the covers beside Rosie and turns off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.