Written by Emily Suter
One. Breathe in. Two. Breathe out. One. In. Two. Out. “Logan! Have you seen Tal’s blue shirt? The one with the v-neck and the half-sleeves? She needs it for a meeting tomorrow.”
I didn’t answer. One, in. Two, out. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway to my room. I ignored them but when my door opened, I relented and opened my eyes. “What are you doing?” He said in amusement.
“Meditating,” I said shortly, closing my eyes again, “what do you want?”
“Talia’s missing her blue shirt.”
“I don’t know where your girlfriend’s shirt is, dad.”
Silence. I opened my eyes a crack and saw he was gone. He doesn’t like me calling them his ‘girlfriends’. He says they’re not that far yet. They’re never that far.
One. In. Two. Out. There has never been a healthy relationship in my family. My mom and dad were always fighting, up until the day she left. My dad waited only about a year before he started dating again. I would hear him and his ‘friend’ screaming at each other all day until the bedroom door shut at night and there was silence. They would move in for a few months and leave. A few months and leave. Few Months. Leave. Stop. One in, two out.
This is why I started meditating. It keeps my mind off of everything and I’m starting to master blocking out all sounds. I can block out the arguing and screaming, but I still can’t block out… Beep, Beep, Beep I still can’t block out… Beep, Beep, Beep. I stood up and looked out my window to find the source of that noise.
It’s a moving truck backing into a driveway. I see a couple outside in a cliche stance, looking at their new house, arms around each other, and two little kids running around. Rolling my eyes, I put away the mat I was using to meditate and opened my door. With a deep breath, I left the solitude of my room to go to the kitchen.
“We have new neighbors,” I said as I passed my dad on the way to the fridge.