Chapter One: Pressures of Love
Chapter 1: Pressure of Love
Mm ba ba de, Um bum ba de, Um bu bu bum da de,Pressure pushing down on me, Pressing down on you no man ask for, Under pressure - that burns a building down, Splits a family in two, Puts people on streets, Um ba ba be, Um ba ba be, De day da, Ee day da - that's o.k., It's the terror of knowing, What this world is about, Watching some good friends, Screaming 'Let me out', Pray tomorrow - gets me higher, Pressure on people - people on streets, Day day de mm hm, Da da da ba ba, O.k....
Oh how that song rang through the cluttered room. A soft tap of a pencil went along with the beat of the song and a bobbing head moved to and throw with the blaring music. It wasn't a strange sight to see. It was very normal, really. This was the daily activity of the young lady who sat racking her brain out on her next great art piece. Her brown hair loosely pulled back into bun and pencils sticking out from it. Her square black glasses hung on her nose as she sat tapping her pencil along with the song. Her mind not really focusing on the task at hand. There in front of her was a blank sheet of paper. Empty like her mind at the moment. She seemed more interested in the song than what she came to do in the first place.
"Can't we give ourselves one more chance. Why can't we give love that one more chance? Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love
give love, give love, give love, give love, give love? 'Cause love's such an old fashioned word, And love dares you to care for, The people on the edge of the night, And loves dares you to change our way of, Caring about ourselves," she belted out loud with the song. Her heart could be felt through her voice as she finished singing along with David Bowie. Her head still bobbing with the last bit of music that was heard.
"Impressive. Very, very impressive." A low booming voice came out of no where. It made the girl jump. Almost falling off the stool she sat on. Her heart raced as she turned to meet the eyes that frightened her so.
She could not believe her eyes. What she saw standing in front of her was a striking young man. Very much older than herself. His hair the color of hers but his eyes were a deep blue. She stared into those endless eyes a smile came on her face as she raced towards him. Arms wide open, full of love.
"Brother!" She shouted as she threw her body and arms around him. Her head buried deep into his chest and her nails dug into his back.She was not willing to let him go. She could fill his chest move from the deep laughter he let out.
"It's good to see you too, Abigail. What have you been up too in here? It's a massive wreck?" Her brother questioned, still chuckling as he peeled his younger sister off of himself.
"Actually I really don't know?" Abigail said with a puzzled look on her face. She had completely forgotten that she was searching for art supplies through out her studio and made a mess of the place. She let out a giggle from her voice remembering why it was such a mess. "I remember now! I was looking around for some art supplies...I don't remember what kind because once I started I forgot..."
"That is so you..."Her brother stated as he stepped further into her studio. "It's a shame that mom let you take over the garage and turned into your studio."
"And what's wrong with that, Rodney?" Abigail stressed her brothers name, knowing how much he hated it.
"Why do you do that?" Rodney asked his little sister.
"Oh, I don't know, because its fun." She said with a smile on her face. It was just then when she smiled, he picked up his little sister and swung her onto his shoulders. It had been years since they last seen each other. Rodney had left for college years ago and when he finished he had a job already laid out for him. His sister, Abigail, on the other hand was in her second year of college. She was going into the family business, art. Her uncle was an artist, her father was a photographer, and both of her grandmothers made a good living painting, knitting, and what else they could get their craft hands on. Rodney had gone off to school to do advertisement like their mother. Their mother was a very successful woman on her. She was the president over a leading advertisement company, and always made sure to be on family vacations. Rodney and his mother are so similar that he had to movie away. Two people in the advertisement business, in the same family, could never really get along.
It's even hard for Abigail to stay in the same house with her father. Before her mother decided to give her their second detached garage for an art studio, Abigail had to stay inside the house to paint. Her father would always come and look over her shoulders, only to criticize her when she would look back at him. Abigail hated that more than anything when her father did that. When her mother told her she could have the other garage, Abigail was ecstatic and began moving everything right away.
"So, Rod, what brings you back too this good old place?" Abigail questioned her brother.
"Well, Abi, I'm getting married." He said with his back turned. He didn't want to see his sister's expression. Rodney knew she would be disappointed in him. Abigail despised the thought of marriage. Abigail made her brother promise that he would never marry. To her, Marriage was a terrible curse to place on oneself.
"What?" Abigail shouted out loudly. Rodney and Abigail were close to each other. They had other brothers, one was two years younger than Abigail and the other was a year older than Rodney. One would think that Abi and her younger brother, Tom, would get along so much better but they never did. Abi looked up to Rodney in views and in style. They were the artistic kids. Rodney was the brains of the four. Abigail was the artist. Tom, the youngest, was the baby and athletic. Then there is Lee. He is the first born, very athletic like Tom, and is very charming. They all varied in age. Lee was around twenty-eight years old and Rodney was one year younger than him. Abigail had just recently turned twenty and Tom was eighteen years old.
"Yes, Abi, I'm getting married, and I would like for you to be my Best-man. Well woman in this case, but I just want you to be happy for me." Rod said as he turned into his sister nerving glare. She had perfected that glare for years. It tore her brother up inside every time she threw that look his way. "That's not going to change my mind Abi. I love this girl. We've been together for four years. It's time for me to get married. I'm almost thirty." He protested. Abigail said nothing. She just walked back to her stool and stared at the blank sheet of paper.
"Mom and Dad are happy for me, you should be too." He walked over towards her and placed his right hand on her shoulder.
"Why? You promised. It's a curse." Abi said shrugging him off.
"No its not a curse. Look at mom and dad!" He stated.
"Yes, Look at them Rod. They don't even sleep in the same room. That's right you didn't know cause you don't live here. It's just me. Tom moved out with his girlfriend, and Lee is married. Now your falling for it." Abi yelled at him.
"Would you please just listen to me?" Rod said pleading for her to listen. She didn't say anything. "I love her. She is my world, Abi. You are my world too. Your my sister and I thought that you would be happy for me. I thought maybe your views had changed on marriage, and on love."
Abi didn't say anything else. She just sat there. Rod just sighed and left his sister be. He wasn't mad at her. He wasn't even disappointed in her. He knew she would be there for the wedding. Their mom would make her be there, like she made Abigail go to Lee's wedding. Abigail on the other hand was furious with her brother. Her heart was breaking. She had made him promise and now that promise was broken and she couldn't take it. Abigail never had many boyfriends. Her status is always single. She finds guy's she likes but none of them can compete with her stubbornness and her independency. Once those boys brought up the thought of marriage, Abi threw them out the door. Her parents liked each boy she brought home, but it was Abi that got rid of them quicker than they could. So, now Abi made a promise to herself as she sat there, she would never fall under the pressures of love. She never wanted to be in love. She had seen what it could do to two people. It can tear them apart.