Текст книги "Oblivion"
Автор книги: Jessica Wood
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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
I did believe him. I knew he had been working really hard lately. I knew the company was very important to him. And I knew this client was a big deal for the company. But none of that knowledge was enough to minimize the huge disappointment I felt inside. None of that knowledge was enough to bring back the hope I had felt for our relationship before this call.
“Liv, I know this isn’t an ideal situation.”
I frowned at how he chose to describe his broken promise.
But before I could say something, he continued, “So because I can’t be there to celebrate your birthday with you, I had Bill plan a special spa and shopping day for you. He’ll email you all the details and Jim will drive you around.”
I wasn’t sure why, but this made me even more upset. Not only was this not an ideal situation, but I found it offensive that Connor thought having his assistant plan a spa and shopping day to keep me busy would be an acceptable alternative. I wasn’t sure how I was before, or how our relationship was, but this didn’t feel okay to me. If Anna had been right, then a huge part of our relationship revolved around Brady Global. So if the company was out of the equation, if I didn’t work there or care about the company, would this be how our relationship would become? Would we barely see each other and would he try to solve any problems we might have with money?
“That’s okay, Connor,” I said flatly. “I’ll be fine today. I’m not in the mood for a spa and shopping day.”
“Liv, baby, are you upset?”
That’s a dumb question. “Let’s just talk about this whenever you actually get back.”
Before he could say another word, I hung up on him, making it clear to him that I was upset, that what he did was not okay with me.
Part of me expected him to call me right back to apologize and make sure I was okay. But he didn’t. Instead, a few minutes later I received an email from Bill with an itinerary of my spa and shopping day he had planned out for me. At the top of the email before the itinerary, Bill wrote:
Dear Ms. Stuart,
Mr. Brady sends his deepest apologies for missing your birthday today. He has asked me to tell you that he understands that you may be a little upset, but he promises to make it up to you when he is back in Philadelphia.
I wish you a very happy birthday today. If you do not have anything planned yet for the day, I have taken the liberty to plan a relaxing spa and shopping day for you. All the massages and spa treatments have been scheduled and listed below in the itinerary. Also, Jim will be at your disposal and will happily take you to wherever you’d like to go.
If there is anything else you’d like me to plan, please do not hesitate to ask.
Best regards,
Bill
I deleted the email from my inbox, unable to accept its existence for another second. As I sunk back down into the bed and under the sheets, I felt the heaviness of disappointment weigh down against my heart. I wanted to believe that due to this demanding client and the time-sensitive deal, Connor had been on edge, and his behavior toward me this week was just a fluke. But after each disappointment, I became less and less sure.
Then my phone began to ring, and I immediately thought it was Connor calling me back to explain himself. But when I looked at the caller ID, what little hope I had left crumbled. It was Anna.
“Hey, Anna.” I forced a cheerful tone.
“Happy birthday, Liv!”
“Thanks.”
“Well I know you’re about to go have a fun and amazing day with your loving fiancé, but I wanted to catch you before you guys left and wish you a happy birthday!”
A tear rolled down my face as I listened to Anna’s warm happy, well wishes.
“Thank you,” was all I could manage to say in response. I thought about telling her what had just happened moments ago, but something stopped me. My pride. I felt embarrassed and stupid, and I couldn’t bear to tell her that the day Connor had planned for my birthday wasn’t going to happen.
“Well I don’t want to keep you. Call me tomorrow? You can tell me all about your fabulous day.”
“Sure, I’ll call you tomorrow. Thanks for calling, Anna.”
I hung up the phone before my voice failed me. I bowed my head and felt sorry for myself. I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster Connor had pushed me through in the past few days. I no longer had the energy to pretend that I was okay, that I was happy with how things were going.
I grabbed my journal from my bedside table and opened it. As the pen moved quickly across the pages, I was surprised by how easy it was to pour out my thoughts onto the page.
…Today is my birthday, and I’ve never felt more alone and scared in my life…
Just then, I was pulled into a new flashback.
“I’m home.” His words were slurred as I heard him stumble through the front door.
I looked up from my diary as he walked into the living room. “Hi dad. Are you okay?” I knew the answer to that question. From the way he was swaying in place and the smell coming from his clothes, I knew he had been drinking.
“Hey sweetie. How was school today? What did Mr. Stine teach you guys today?” He fell back against the couch and turned on the TV.
“Dad, Mr. Stine was my fifth grade teacher. I’m in sixth grade now. My teacher’s Ms. Botkins.”
He looked at me with glazed-over eyes. “Right.” He returned his attention to the TV.
“Liv? Did I hear the front door?” My mother came into the living room holding a basket of freshly folded laundry in front of her.
“Hey, baby. I’m starving. Can you cook me something?”
“Tom, where have you been all night?” Her voice was etched with anger.
“I’ve had a long day at work. I needed to unwind.”
“You said you would come straight home. You promised you wouldn’t go to a bar.” Her tone was reflected in her disapproving face.
“I’ve been dealing with bull shit all day, Laura. I don’t need bull shit from you too.”
“Language, Tom!” I watched my mother motion to me with a nod.
“She’s not a child anymore. She probably hears plenty of this at school.”
“Tom, you need to go sober up.” She turned to me. “Liv, go upstairs.”
I got up from the couch to leave. But as I walked past my father, I felt his rough hand grip tightly against my arm as he got up from the couch.
“I just got home. I haven’t even spent any time with her yet.”
“Tom, you’re not spending any time with her when you’re drunk!” My mother walked toward us and tried to step in between me and my father.
“Like hell I won’t.” He pushed my mother aside, knocking the basket of clothes to the ground.
I watched in horror as half of the folded clothes flew through the air and landed on the floor.
“Dad, you’re hurting me,” I begged as I tried to break free from his steel grip.
But instead of letting me go, he tightened his hold on me. “Don’t listen to your mother, Liv. I’m fine. I just want to hear about the rest of your day.”
“Stop it, Tom. Get your hands off her!” my mother screamed as she grabbed my father’s hand and tried to push him away from me.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” he yelled back.
Then in the midst of the struggle, my father’s hand flew across the air and greeted my face, and for a second, I saw a flash of black from the impact.
I cried out in pain, and it was then that he released me from his grip.
As if waking up from a dream, a spark of recognition hit his face as he blinked. “God, I’m so sorry, Liv.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug against my resistance. “That was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Get off her, Tom. You’re hurting her.” My mother finally pulled me out of his arms and stood between us as she inspected my arm. “Are you okay honey?”
I shook my head as tears streamed down my cheeks.
“Liv, baby. You know I didn’t mean to.” My father moved toward me.
“I hate you when you drink!” I pushed past my mother and ran upstairs to my bedroom. I slammed the door behind me and threw myself on my bed and began to sob uncontrollably. I could feel the throbbing pain in my arm where my father’s hand had just been.
This was the first time my father had hurt me. This was the first time my father had scared me. This was the first time I’d ever felt so scared in my life.
The ringing of my phone grew increasingly loud as it pierced through my flashback, bringing me back to the present. My eyes opened and I realized that I was still lying in the bed. In a slight daze, I reached for the phone and answered it without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Well I’ll be damned, she does know how to pick up the phone?”
For a moment, I couldn’t place the rich, husky male voice on the other end of the line.
“Who is this?”
“Okay. Wow that kind of hurts. Don’t tell me you’ve already deleted the number to the man who’d first saved your life and then spent two hours with you in the pouring rain to look for a dog?”
“Ethan. Hi.” A smile instantly spread across my face. “Sorry, I didn’t look at the caller ID.”
He chuckled. “So is that why you picked up? I caught you by surprise?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well it’s been a little over a week since we talked, and you’ve been avoiding my text messages and phone calls.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. Things have been a little hectic around here.” I felt a tinge of guilt in how I’d treated Ethan. I had intentionally ignored his calls and texts because I was afraid he would distract me from my feelings for Connor. But Ethan didn’t deserve my brush-off. He may have been aggressive at times, but he was a good guy that had been there for me when I needed someone. He was there to catch my fall in front of the hospital. He was there to treat me like a strong, normal person when everyone else coddled me like a fragile piece of glass. He was there to help me look for a dog that meant nothing to him when my own fiancé and the dog’s owner wouldn’t make time to do the same.
“So how are you?”
“I’m okay,” I lied. “How are you?”
“I’m good, and a whole lot better now that I’m talking to you.” There was a warmth in his flirtation that was genuine, and it made me feel special.
“I’m glad you called. It’s really nice to hear your voice.” I wasn’t sure why, but I meant it. There was something about talking to this man that made me happy and hopeful. To my surprise, the gloom and loneliness that I’d felt after hanging up on Connor earlier were gone.
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to admit that.” He laughed.
Feeling a little giddy, I grinned and sank deeper into my comforter. “Oh really?”
“I mean, I knew you had this secret crush on me and my voice the moment we met,” he said sarcastically, “but I thought you’d be too proud to admit it.”
“Hey, let’s not get carried away here,” I responded playfully, “I just said it’s nice to hear your voice. I didn’t say anything about a crush.” I giggled. “If there was anyone who had a secret crush, it’d be you.”
“You’re right. I do have a crush on someone special. She’s feisty, caring, and stunning inside and out.”
As I listened to his deep, seductive voice, I felt as if the world had slipped away from us and he was no longer on the other end of the line. Instead, he was lying there next to me, whispering in my ear.
“But,” he continued, “I think I’ve made it clear that there’s nothing secret about my crush.”
I felt my face flush. “So maybe it’s me who has the secret crush then.” My words came out before I knew what I was saying, and as soon as I said them, I felt my body stiffen in surprise. I expected to feel guilty by my admission that I had feelings for Ethan when I had a fiancé, but as I processed my feelings, I realized that guilt was not there. Instead, I felt relieved to finally admit to myself something I’d been denying for awhile.
“Oh really?” I could hear the delight and amusement in his question. “Well I think it’s time to not make it such a secret.”
I thought about his suggestion, and felt a wave of excitement and fear course through me.
“What are you doing today?” I heard myself ask him.
“Well actually, it happens to be my birthday today, but I hadn’t made any set plans yet.”
“Did you say it’s your birthday?” I wondered if I heard him correctly.
“Yeah. September 7th,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but it’s my birthday today too!”
“No shit!” He chuckled. “Wow, talk about a coincidence.”
“Yeah, I know.” I smiled at this revelation and wondered if this was a sign.
“So…” he paused, “let me guess, Connor probably has something special planned for you two to celebrate?” There was a hint of disappointment in his dry voice.
I frowned at the mention of Connor’s name, and everything that had happened earlier today came back to me. “No, Connor’s not in town right now.” I said flatly.
“Seriously?” I could hear the disbelief in Ethan’s voice. “Are you okay with that?”
“No, I’m not,” I said truthfully. “He was supposed to be here. We were supposed to go to Milburn Orchards. But he got held up in New York City for work.”
“Well that’s just ridiculous.” I could hear the outrage in his voice, and I smiled, feeling a sense of vindication that someone else felt the same outage I felt earlier this morning.
“Yeah.”
“Do you still want to go to Milburn?”
I thought about his question for a second. “No, I don’t.” As much as apple picking had sounded like fun, Connor had tainted the idea and left me with only bad memories of Milburn Orchards.
“Okay, Milburn’s out then.”
“What are you doing for your birthday?” I asked tentatively.
“Hanging out with you, of course,” he answered, his voice full of affection.
I smiled at how easy it was for him to make time for me and make me feel special. “What do you want to do today?”
“How about this? I’ll pick you up in half an hour and we’re going to do something exciting together to celebrate our birthdays.”
“What are we going to do?” I felt a surge of excitement as I wondered what he had in mind.
“I think it’ll be more fun if I surprise you.” I can hear the pleasure in his voice.
“I don’t know about that,” I said with hesitation.
He laughed. “Just trust me. I promise you, we’re going to have the best birthday you’ll remember to date.”
I made a face. “But I don’t remember any of my past birthdays to compare it to,” I reminded him.
“Exactly. So it’ll definitely be the best birthday you’ll remember.” He chuckled on the other end of the receiver. “I told you I’m a man of my word. Am I good or am I good?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his playful personality. As much as I had resisted him before, it was clear to me now why I had never really written him off. There was something comforting and genuine about him. He was straightforward and uncomplicated, and I never had to question how he felt about things. Maybe he’s what I need right now.
I took a deep breath and smiled. “Okay. Pick me up in half an hour.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
When I walked out of the house to meet Ethan thirty minutes later, he was leaning up against his Harley, looking devilishly sexy in his worn leather jacket, simple white t-shirt, and dark-washed jeans. The sexual allure that made him seem so self-confident was almost palpable in the air around him.
His dark brown eyes lit up the moment he saw me, and my breath caught when I saw his eyes roam down my body as I approached him.
“Ready for some fun, birthday girl?” His warm, seductive smile was devastating, feeling more intimate than a kiss.
“Hi.” I nodded, finding it hard to speak.
He outstretched his arms and pulled me into his hard chest for a hug, and as I disappeared into his protective embrace, I inhaled his scent and relaxed in the comfort of his nearness.
He drew in a deep, audible breath. “You smell amazing.” My skin tingled as I felt his breath against my neck.
After a few moments, I started to feel self-conscious and pulled away from him. I cleared my throat before meeting his intent gaze.
“So what are we going to do today?”
“Well it’s not a surprise if I tell you, now is it?” He grinned.
I made an exaggerated frown. “So when exactly am I going to find out then?” I bite my lower lip and wondered if he could detect my nervousness.
“Hop on.” He motioned to the bike. “You’ll find out when we get there.”
Once I got on the bike, he grabbed the extra helmet and put it over my head. Then he paused and stared at me intently. There was something tender about the way he looked at me, as if he was trying to remember every detail of my face before it was too late.
“Ready?” I asked as I shifted in the seat, pretending to not notice his fixed gaze on me.
A warm smile spread across his face. “Do you know how cute you look on a bike?” He tucked the loose strands of hair behind my ears.
“Thanks.” My face grew hot and I forced a smile. I wasn’t sure why I felt so nervous, but I felt my eyes studying the way his lips moved when he spoke.
He got on the bike in front of me and leaned back to check on me one last time. “Ready?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
“Hold on tight. I won’t mind.”
I wrapped my arms around his torso, and my hands felt his powerful well-muscled body as the engine of the bike roared to life.
After about twenty minutes, we turned into a small rough gravel road that led into a wide open field.
I frowned, unsure of why we were here. But then I gasped and a wave of panic instantly paralyzed me when my eyes landed on the sign against the building at the end of the parking lot. Freefall Adventures Skydiving School.
“Surprise!” Ethan parked and got off the bike. He removed his helmet as he turned to look at me.
I stared at him blankly with wide eyes and then back at the sign. My face must have been ghostly pale because Ethan’s smile faded a little as he helped me remove my helmet.
“I know this is completely different from a day of apple picking at Melburn Orchards, but I thought it’d be something that’d be memorable and fun for you to do on your birthday.”
“So…we’re skydiving?” I asked him tentatively.
“Yeah, it’s a little crazy, but it’ll be fun!” He encouraged excitedly. “You can check it off from your bucket list.”
“My bucket list?” I was still dazed from the surprise.
He let out a warm laugh. “Yeah, skydiving’s usually on people’s bucket list of things they want to do before they die.”
Hearing him talk about death made me feel queasy. My chest heaved up and down as I tried to breathe. “I’m not sure, Ethan.” I look at him apologetically. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gently. “Don’t worry, Liv,” he reassured me. “I would never pressure you to do anything you didn’t want to do. I just wanted to bring you here as an option. I thought it’d be something you’d really enjoy. I’ve done this a number of times here, and it’s completely safe and I trust the instructors here. You wouldn’t be skydiving on your own. It’d be a tandem jump and you’d be strapped onto an experienced diver, so nothing will go wrong. I’ll even personally prepare and check the parachutes you and your instructor will be using.”
“You will?” I met his tender gaze and tried to think through the paralyzing fear.
“You can trust me. I promise.” He gave a reassuring nod. “I’m a certified diver, and I’ve been coming to this place ever since I moved here five years ago.”
“I…” I felt slightly sick to my stomach at the thought of skydiving. I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t sure this was a good idea. It was too sudden, and I wasn’t as adventurous as he seemed to be. I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t ready for this.
But before I could say anything further, something overhead caught my attention.
Up in the clear blue sky, about a dozen tiny colorful specks seemed to move around in various directions. I gasped in awe as I realized that the specks were people that were slowly floating downward on colorful parachutes.
“It’s beautiful, huh?” Ethan followed my gaze with a smile. “There’s nothing like the exhilarating feeling of being up there. The rush. The adrenaline. It really makes you feel alive.”
I just nodded as I watched as the parachutes increased in size as they one by one descended to the wide open field. There was a sheer look of delight and wonder on the faces of the people as they landed on the ground and took off their goggles. Some laughed, some whooped and cheered, and some gave each other high-fives. There was a gleam in all their eyes, and they looked like they were on top of the world.
“So what do you think, Liv?” Ethan looked at me hopefully. “Live a little,” he added with a small, playful nudge.
What am I afraid of? I asked myself. I didn’t think I was afraid of heights. And there was something about Ethan that made me trust him. I knew he wouldn’t allow me to do anything that’d really put me in harm’s way. Then I thought back to the flashback of the roller coaster ride I was on when I was a kid. I remembered the feeling of exhilaration and joy I had on the ride. I remembered how addicting the rush of adrenaline had been, and how all-consuming it was to be in that moment where all my worries seemed to disappear. I remembered how free it had felt.
“Let’s do it,” I finally said as I met his gaze with a smile.
“Really?” His eyes brightened at my three little words, and I felt a warm glow inside knowing I had that effect on him.
I nodded. “I think this is exactly what I need.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” His smile widened with excitement.
Thirty minutes later, after a brief training session, we were all geared up and waiting for the plane to arrive to pick our group of two dozen people up.
“Ready?” He gave me a reassuring smile as he made his final checks on the straps to my gear.
I took a deep inhale of breath and nodded. I gave him a confident smile but felt myself freak out on the inside.
He leaned down and gently held my face. “It’ll be fun. Trust me.” He smiled. “Since I’m an experienced skydiver, I’ll be jumping solo, and I’ll make sure to be by your side on the jump down.”
“You promise?” I looked at him nervously.
“If I break my promise,” he paused and grinned, “then you can have your way with me once we land.”
I laughed and playfully slapped his chest.
Just then, Carlos, my tandem instructor, came over. “Ready?” He asked as he gave me a thumbs up.
“Not really,” I admitted as I gave him a weak smile.
“Carlos, take care of my girl here.” Ethan gave Carlos a friendly punch on the arm.
I kept my face emotionless, but my heart skipped a beat when I heard Ethan call me his girl.
“You got it bro.” Then Carlos turned to me. “When we get to five thousand feet from the ground, I will signal to you to pull the cord to release the parachute.”
“What if I forget?” I looked at him in a state of panic.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I’ll pull it for you if you don’t. Plus Ethan here will save you if anything happens.”
The two laughed.
I frowned but felt slightly better as I looked at Ethan. “How many times have you done this?”
“I’ve lost count,” he admitted with a grin. “I’m one of the instructors here on some weekends for fun.”
Just then the plane arrived and I felt my heart’s pounding go into overdrive. Carlos secured my harness onto the straps of his gear and gave me another thumbs up. I returned the thumbs up, but didn’t feel as confident. We piled into the small plane with about a dozen other student/instructor tandem pairings. Within minutes we were ascending up in the air, and I felt my nerves take over.
Ethan sat across the row from me and he reached over to grab my shaky hand. Our eyes met, and the calm in his eyes relaxed me a little.
“Happy birthday, Liv! Don’t worry. I’ll be beside you the entire time. Take a leap of faith.” He chuckled, “pun intended.”
I glared at him for making such a joke at a time like this.
He laughed. “Seriously though, have fun. This is for you, Liv.” He squeezed my hand.
“I know you’ve probably been worrying a lot lately about your past and getting back your memories. You need to remind yourself to relax and let go. Don’t waste your time worrying, and enjoy living in the present. Life is waiting.”
I smiled back, grateful for his encouraging words. He was right. I needed to stop wasting my time worrying about the past and the future. Those weren’t things I could control. I needed to live in the present and enjoy everything life had to offer.
Just then, a crew member at the front of the plane informed us that we’ve reached our height of 13,500 feet from the ground as he slid open the door to the plane.
I felt a gush of wind hit my face as I stared in horror at the opened door with wide eyes.
“We’re up first,” Carlos reminded me as we were the pair at the front of the two rows of divers. I felt a sense of dread and excitement wash over me as Carlos got up from our seat, pulling me up with him.
“Oh God.” I exhaled sharply. My legs felt weak as we walked the few steps to the door that let out to the open sky.
“Liv.” I turned back to meet Ethan’s encouraging gaze. “Remember to just let go and live in the moment.” He smiled. “I’ll find you guys in the air on the way down.”
I gave a small nod as I turned back to the doorway and looked out to the 13,500 feet of emptiness between my feet and the distant ground below. What did I get myself into? I thought to myself as I froze at the sight of the world before my eyes.
“Okay, on three, we jump,” I heard Carlos’s voice behind me.
I nodded as I forced my eyes to stay open, remembering how much that had helped on the roller coaster when I was young. I crossed my arms and held it against my chest like I had learned during the training session.
“One…two….three!”
I held my breath as we leaped out of the plane. But the second my feet left the platform, I began to scream my lungs out.
I had expected an intense lurch in my stomach much like the feeling of going down on a roller coaster but with more force.
But to my surprise, that unpleasant feeling wasn’t there. Instead, I felt a powerful surge of adrenaline that I’d never felt before course through me as strong gusts of wind blew against my face and body as we free fell toward the ground.
Just then I saw Ethan several yards away in the sky. Like me and Carlos, he was in a horizontal position as if he was lying on his stomach with his hands and feet above the ground. I moved my hands against the strong wind to wave at him. The moment he spotted me, I watched in amazement as he propelled himself gracefully toward me as if he was flying across the sky.
I tried to speak but the torpedo wind filled my opened mouth, like a high-powered hair dryer was blowing in front of it. Then I remembered that Ethan told me we wouldn’t be able to hear anything during the free fall because we were falling at such a high speed.
Ethan smiled as he gave me two thumbs up.
I returned the two thumbs up and felt giddiness replace the nervousness I had just felt. My heart raced against my chest, and I knew that it had nothing to do with the fact that I was plummeting to the ground at 120 miles an hour, and everything to do with Ethan.
Suddenly, Ethan reached forward and grabbed my arms and I found myself spinning in a circle with him in the sky. Then he pulled me closer to him and before I knew it was happening, our lips met in a passionate kiss that shook me to my core and sent another rush of adrenaline to crash through me. His lips were soft yet hard, gentle yet demanding, as they eagerly devoured mine. My head buzzed with excitement as my body tingled in anticipation for more.
Just then, Carlos reminded us of his presence when he moved his arm in between us and pointed at the pressure gauge strapped around his wrist. I stared at Carlos’s hand and then at Ethan in confusion. He smiled before letting go of my arms. I watched with wide eyes as he pulled his parachute and was shot up to standing position as Carlos and I continued to fall.
It wasn’t until Carlos pulled our parachute that I realized what he was trying to signal me to do. We were pulled up to standing position and began to float the rest of the way down to the ground.
“Did you have fun?” Carlos asked, now that we could finally hear each other.
“That was incredible,” I yelled in a rush.
“You did great! And it looks like Ethan thought the same thing.” I could hear the amusement in his words.
I laughed and thought about our kiss. While it’d been completely unexpected, I realized that it was exactly what I’d wanted—what I’d needed today.
As my thoughts delved deeper into the memory of that kiss, another flashback broke through my consciousness.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he guided me up a grassy hill.
“It’s my special place that I like to go when I want to feel happy.”
My arm still throbbed in pain from earlier tonight and I thought about my father’s outburst. It was happening more and more frequently now. “I can’t be out for too long. They don’t know I snuck out of the house. My mom might check to see if I finished all my homework before bed.”
“Don’t worry. I just wanted to show you something. It’ll make you smile.”
Finally we got up the hill and found ourselves on the edge of a flat, grassy meadow lit up by moonlight.
He ran to the middle of the clearing where the grass was still soft and undisturbed.
“Come here and lie down next to me.”
I looked around the serene meadow and realized why he must have enjoyed this place. There was a line of trees that surrounded the half of the perimeter that faced the neighborhood. The opened half of the perimeter overlooked the small stream that ran through the far end of the neighborhood.
I walked over and lie down next to him.
“Why are we lying down?” I turned to face him.
He reached between us and grabbed my hand. “Look up there.” He pointed to the dark evening sky with his other hand.
A gasp escaped my lips when I saw what he wanted me to see.
Thousands of bright, brilliant stars glittered the sky as far as the eyes could see.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, it is. I come here when I’m sad about something. It reminds me of how magical and big this world is.”
I smiled and then giggled. “You sound so grown up.”
“Well that’s because I’m fourteen and you’re only twelve,” he teased playfully.
I frowned and turned my head to face him. “Are you going to stop hanging out with me when you start high school this Fall?”
He turned his attention away from the stars and met my gaze. “No of course not. Besides, you just live next door. You can always come over to hang out.”
