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"Thank god you’re here," I grinned to Mitchell, my brother, as I wrapped my arms around him for a hug. I could feel his whole body relax as he hugged me tightly.
He smelled of aftershave and body wash which brought a cheeky grin to my face as it took me back to the time where we got him ready for his first date and we swiped our Dads aftershave.
I was sure I smelt like my morning coffee and sweat since I didn't have time to shower before he showed up. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was already 7:00am. “I hate this phone,” I grumbled to myself, letting out a sigh.
"That bad?" He smiled, giving me another tight squeeze as if he hasn't seen me in years, which was sort of true.
"You have no idea,” I murmured. “I have been receiving endless calls from the furniture people and Mom's been calling every 10 minutes to check on our progress."
I plopped myself down on a container next to me, all the while praying I didn't break it with the sudden force I had placed upon it.
Mitchell sat down on another container and put his arms around my shoulders to make a rocking movement, "Well I'm here now, so let's get this party started."
He gave me a big toothy grin and stood up, brushing the imaginary dirt from his gray shirt and blue denim jeans.
I rolled my eyes as I stood up next to him and brushed my fingers through my long blonde hair, trying to get rid of its knots before throwing it into a ponytail.
"Can you please call mom and let her know you made it here safely?” I begged, folding my hands together in a praying gesture and giving him the puppy dog eyes. The battery on my phone was depleting quickly and I needed every remaining percentage until I found my charger.
As usual, Mitchell just turned up his nose, shook his head and walked into the kitchen, completely ignoring what I had just said.
Mitchell’s appearance was strikingly similar to mine with blonde hair and blue eyes, but he was 6'5 and I was 5'3. Since I was the shortest out of my siblings, I had resorted to high heels, which had became my best friend over time.
"So, what do you think of this place?" I asked Mitchell as he began unloading the dishes that were inside one of the boxes.
"It's really something else, V. I gotta say, I never thought that you would come back home, but I'm really happy you did." As a gentle smile sprawled across his face.
I was very close to Mitchell and it killed him when I moved to Arizona. I was only there for two years but to him, it felt like forever. I cried when it took him a few months to talk to me again, it literally broke my heart, because I was closer to him than Tessa.
"I'm really happy to be home Mitch." I sniffled, trying to hide the fact that those simple words tugged at my heart.
Reaching into the large brown box I pulled out a mass of newspaper. Unwrapping carefully, the already torn newspaper gave way easily uncovering a porcelain white mug. Rubbing my thumb in a circular motion I gently removed the ink that transferred onto the already clean cup.
Placing the mugs on the counter, my eyes wandered around trying to figure out where I wanted to put everything. The cherry wood cabinets were surrounded by stainless steel appliances with black and white marble granite countertops. The floor was laid beautifully with the softest gray tiles I had ever seen. The kitchen was truly extravagant.
The island was one of my favorite parts of the whole kitchen. A U shaped solid top made of black granite sat in the middle of the kitchen, the words "family in love" written in white cursive writing. Hanging above were long black lights that illuminated across the entire kitchen.
Talk about fancy.
**
Four hours later, we finally finished unpacking everything we could for the time being. The remaining boxes and containers had to wait until the furniture arrived in order to be put away, which I could handle on my own and wait until Tessa arrived
Unfortunately, some of the rooms would remain empty until I would be able to figure out what I was going to do with them or when Tessa made designs based on the interior.
Together, Mitchell and I blew up the air mattress and covered it with a rose colored fitted sheet. "I really hope this stays inflated. The last time I slept on one I woke up on the floor with the mattress folding in on top of me," I teased, as Mitchell started laughing hysterically before grabbing his stomach as the pain intensified.
"I remember the time Dad was sleeping on one and he broke it. Now that was some funny shit."
It was nice seeing Mitchell smile when he talked about our Dad and reminiscing about the good times. Due to an argument they had while hunting, the two of them haven't talked in years. It was partly because they were both stubborn and wanted the other to apologize first.
I could see Mitchell's demeanor changing as he stood at the window, overlooking the forest that laid behind the house. When we were kids, he used to be in the woods all the time. For him, the wilderness was therapeutic and calming.
Rubbing his eyes and then his head he looked up at me and smiled before saying, "I'm gonna head home. I'll be back at some point tomorrow if you need me, just call me and let me know."
With my arms stretched out, I pulled Mitchell to me and hugged him tightly for a long second. Dropping his arms to his sides, he placed a soft kiss on my cheek and smiled at me.
“I love you, Mitch.”
“I love you too.”
