Midnight Moons

POV: Hope "Tomorrow is my birthday and I feel like it's going to be like last seventeen birthdays. Dad will wake me up singing the birthday song. Mom and I will have a spa day and shopping. My sister and brother will give me cute cards and stuffed animals, and my best friends will treat me to dinner at the burger joint." Sighing, I stretch my legs and prepare for my day. Mentally I calculate how much time I have to shower, get dressed, and eat before I walk to school. I want to snuggle between my favorite purple sheets a little longer, but I know I've got to get moving. I set the shower to steaming hot and hop in. I gently scrub my body with vanilla sugar body wash. I giggle when I think how my boyfriend Tim sniffs me when he thinks I'm not paying attention. "Sugar cookie indeed, Tim". I smile when I think about taking the next step with Tim. We agreed to wait for intimacy until I turned eighteen. "Well, I'm 18 tomorrow and I will finally succumb to Tim's desire." I say to my reflection in the mirror. Standing naked in front of the mirror, I examine everything. My cinnamon colored curls are my best feature. I get that from my Scottish father. My smooth pecan hued complexion is from my African American mom. But my fit and toned body is all me. Dropping my towel, I glimpse my full breasts, slim waist and curvy hips. "Yes honey, Tim is going to enjoy making love to all of that!" As I said that aloud, all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It almost felt like my heart thumped. Nervously, I grab my towel and scurry back into my bedroom. "Must be growing pains." I briskly dry my mane and secure it with a hair tie. My inner voice reminds me that whenever I'm contemplating going all the way with Tim, my chest gets a little tighter. I shake my head as if to silence the voice. I wonder if other people feel like somebody else lives in their head. I call it my VOR or voice of reason. The VOR popped up on my thirteenth birthday. Since that day, it's always been there helping me, guiding me. "Hope! Breakfast is ready" "Coming Mom!" I slide my long legs into a pair of skinny jeans. Paired with a purple crop top, my old army boots and purple bangles, I bounce down the steps. "What's up kiddos?" I give my eleven year old sister Helen and twelve year old brother Nathan a quick hug, and grab a plate at the table. "Mom, everything smells amazing!" My smile falters when I noticed the worried look on her face. "Mom, what's wrong?" She shakes her head, and smiles. "Nothing, baby. Just remembering when I could eat like that and never gain a pound." I look at the food on my plate, and then at my mom's svelte figure. "Mom, your figure is perfect. You look amazing! "Yes baby, you look like the girl I married twenty years ago." My father strode into the room. Stopping to kiss each of us, he made a beeline to my mom. "Gross...they're about to be all kissy face," groaned Nathan. "I love to see Mom and Dad kiss!" shouts Helen. "You're such a dweeb." "Nathan, don't talk to your sister like that." Dad grabs his coffee and stares down my brother. "Sorry Helen" "Ok kiddos, grab your gear, let's go! I stuff the last piece of bacon in my mouth as I get my siblings out the door. "Bye Mom, bye Daddy." "See you later, alligator" "After while, crocodile!" sing song my sister and brother. I roll my eyes at my Dad's corny farewell. "Corny, but comforting" says the voice in my head. As I shake my head as if to shush the voice, I catch a glimpse of my mom and dad. She's holding her face in her hands and Daddy's rubbing her back. Dad catches me watching and breaks away from Mom. "Daddy, is everything ok?" I look worriedly from him to Mom who's busy clearing the table. "Hope, everything is fine. Your mom is just feeling a bit emotional now that her baby is about to be eighteen." Daddy swoops down and gives me a kiss. My golden eyes search his blue ones. "Mom is fine". Dad hugs me tightly. "Better get a move on. You don't want to be late." "He's not telling you the truth." I frown and quickly shake my head. It's Dad's turn to look worried. "Hope, what's wrong?" "Nothing, the voice in my head...." CRASH Dad moves faster than I've ever seen him move as he rushes back into the kitchen. "Dana! What's wrong?" I skidded to a stop right behind Dad in time to see my mother's stricken face. She looked helplessly at my dad as he bent down to pick up the broken breakfast plates. "Mom!" yells Helen and Nathan. I swear those two are more like twins. Always finishing each other's sentences. "Twin pups are rare, but it happens." "Shut up" I silently scream to my inner voice. "I'm fine everyone." Mom explains. "My old tennis elbow injury flared up. I didn't mean to scare you." She glances at Dad who I notice is ignoring her gaze. The kids and I gawk at her. "Come on guys, let me give you a lift to school." Dad grabs his keys after dropping the broken mess into the trash can. "Her bones weren't healed properly." "Shut up!" I hiss. As I hurry after Dad and my siblings, I don't notice the anguished look on my mom's face. Later I will wonder if I had seen it, would things have been different.