With the end of one day, another always arises. It's how we spend that day that defines us. I didn't know it at the time, but today was the foreshadow of that day to come.
Exactly ten minutes later, Damon and Brandon come through the door almost knocking into me. The blankets that were just previously in my arms lay in a big heap on the floor at my feet.
"Are you okay?" Brandon asks, helping me pick up the three blankets.
"I'm fine. That definitely brought back memories," I joke.
The ding of the microwave snaps all of our attention to the kitchen. The popcorn is done and the smell of butter permeates through the air and into our noses, my mouth waters. Handing the rest of the blankets to Brandon, I get the bag out of the microwave and gently pry the side apart, taking care to miss the burning hot steam that rushes out. Dumping it into the bowl next to me, I steal a piece and savor the melted butter flavor.
"Did you pick out a movie?" I hear Brandon ask from the room next door.
Before I could answer, Damon replies, "let's watch 'Taken.'"
After seeing the movie a million and one times, I know exactly what is going to happen. The daughter of a highly-sought after man, a man who everyone wants to kill, is kidnapped by sex trafficers and her father has to use all the skills he has learned during his time in the black ops.
The movie is definitely a favorite of mine, and I have no objections when Damon turns the tv on and sets up that movie.
Sitting in the middle of the couch, it has the best view of the tv because I'm directly in front of it, I plop down and move around to get comfortable. Grabbing a blanket from my left, where Brandon must have placed them, I take the biggest one and drape it over my body, attempting to tuck it in around me.
"Let me do it," Damon says, he hands pushing the blanket between my body and the couch. After he's done, I feel like a burrito. I can't move.
Sitting on the left side of me, Brandon takes a seat and puts one of the popcorn bowls in his lap. Remembering about the blankets, only a moen later, he puts the popcorn back on the table, covers himself with a blanket, then brings the popcorn back in its original position on his lap. Damon, sitting on my right side, grabs the remote to control the tv, covers himself with a blanket then brings the popcorn towards himself. Looking at me, he shakes his head.
"How do you plan on eating the popcorn? You do eat popcorn, right?"
"Yes, I do eat it. I didn't really think that far, I was more worried about being cozy than anything else."
Instead of replying, he picks up a piece of popcorn and leaves it in front of my lips. Opening my mouth, he gently places the popcorn on my tongue where I proceed to close my mouth and eat it.
"Thanks."
Getting up, he turns down the lights then gets back in the position he was in before he stood up. Taking the remote, he hits the play button and the movie starts to play, the loud noise making me jump.
Half-way through the movie, Damon pushes the stop button on the remote, thetv screen freezes and Brandon and I groan at the interruption.
"Intermission break."
"Why?!" we both whine out in protest.
Ignoring us, he takes the blanket off of himself and walks into the kitchen, the empty popcorn bowl in his hand.
Brandon and I stay sitting, too lazy to get up.
"What do you think of the movie so far?" he asks.
My answer is immediate. "I love this movie, I mean, I don't love that she was kidnapped and almost sold into sex slavery, but I like how strong she is. Even when she was a prisoner and only wanted for her body, she survived. I wish that I had a father who would go to the end of the world to protect his daughter and rescue her from a version of hell many women suffer through for most of their lives. When I went abroad in my sophomore year of college, I was so nervous something like this would happen to me. I wouldn't be kidnapped inside my own home, but when I was walking around, I was worried someone would just pick me up and I would never be seen again. You know, between the movie, horror tales and the stories your parents tell you when you are young, a million thoughts run through your head when you go away for a year in a foreign country with people you don't know. Despite all that, I had a wonderful time abroad. Honestly, I wanted to stay there and never come back. It's not like I had anything to come back to anyways."
"I'm glad you're here, but why did you come back?"
"To be honest, I don't know. We had to come back mid-December for our winter break so I did, but when I walked into the american airport it felt so wrong. Every other student had someone from their family waiting for them all excited to take them home and spend Christmas with them. I didn't have anyone. I turned back around and took the next flight out. I didn't even care where I was going, I just went. Turns out it took me to Durango, Colorado. It was beautiful. I rented a small cabin that overlooked the mountains and spent Christmas there. I chopped down my own Christmas tree, which was so funny. The tree was so big and there I was trying to cut it down with a small saw all covered up in a large coat, that made me look like a marshmallow, a cozy hat and gloves. It was definitely a sight.
"Anyways, by the end of the two weeks, I started to appreciate life more. When I went back abroad after that, I loved the place. It was one of the best experiences in my life, but I realized that there was more to life. I didn't have to be abroad to experience greater things in life, it was in my own backyard, I just had to open my eyes and look past my grief to see it. By mid-July, I was ready to come back and see what I was missing for the past two years."
With impeccable timing, Damon comes back in the room, a new bowl of popcorn in his hands.
"What did I miss?"
"We were just talking about what we liked in the movie. What do you think about it so far?" I ask.
"I couldn't imagine anyone I loved, girl or not, ever getting kidnapped. I would use every resource I had to find them and bring them back home safe and sound. I know they won't ever be the same, but being home is better than being wherever they would be. I could never be like Bryan, but I would be damned if I didn't try to be."
Silence ensues after that and Damon hits play for the second time that night. I cuddle further into my blanket and lean my head on Damon's shoulder since he moved closer the second time he sat down.
Soon enough, soft snores are heard from my left and I know Brandon fell asleep. I don't know how. The sound is so loud with explosions, car chases, gunshots. I could never sleep through this.
Leaning more on to Damon's shoulder, he wraps his hand around me, and brings me closer to him, making sure to keep my back covered with the blanket.
"I love this scene. He finally finds Marco, the man who kidnapped his daughter. He acts so confident and cool when he knows he's so outnumbered."
"How could he not? If anyone took my daughter and I had the chance, I would kill the man who took her too."
"Wouldn't it be pointless though? He was so outnumbered. If you died then who would find her?"
"It's not pointless. He knew the risks and he counted how many men he knew he would have to take down in one shot. If you're observant, you can figure out anything. With Bryan, he has training in this. He knows how to handle these situations. For me, I know how to be observant so I would weigh the risks and then take action."
If there is anything I understand from our conversation, it is the fact that he is protective and his job requires him to always be on his game and stay observant.
For the rest of the 45 minutes of the movie we stay silent and watch the end. By time the ending credits play, Damon is snoring and my eyelids are heavy.
My last thought is that despite the man following Damon and I, I know I will be okay. He may not love me, but I would like to think that he would protect me if it ever came down to that.