“They just wanted some information,” I casually said hoping that would appease him.
He shrugged his shoulders confused by my indifference. “Information about what? Did something happen at work? Are you okay?”
“Nothing happened at work, and I’m fine. Really!”
“If you’re fine, you would tell me why they were at your birthday celebration hassling you. You’d tell me why they handed you their card in case you ever wanted to ‘chat.’” His tone was sharp. In his line of business, he expected everyone to cut to the chase. There was no room for misinterpretation if everyone got their point across the first time. He could be relentless.
“They just wanted some information regarding the neighbors I grew up with back home.”
Somewhat satisfied with my clarification, he crawled to his side of the bed, and I got into mine.
“You said you were from Delaware, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t been back there for almost a decade.”
“I know.”
“So how could they possibly think you’d have any information about the place? You left when you were a teen.”
My frustration at Peter’s insistence and anxiety over the past had formed a dangerous concoction. I snapped. “I don’t know, Peter! I had nothing to offer them, and they didn’t give much away either. So I don’t have any more answers to your persistent questions.”
He raised a hand in defeat, and I pushed aside the feeling of guilt. “Okay,” he said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to nag you.”
“It’s fine,” I reassured, my voice dropping the tone. “I’m really tired from the whole week.” I leaned over and kissed his warm cheek then turned away and switched the light off. Normally, when he was in town, we would make the most of our time together and not one night would pass without intimacy. Tonight, however, I couldn’t force it even if I tried.
Chapter 3
THEN
“Don’t do it, Lucas,” I pleaded, feeling my heart lodge in my throat. “Please don’t.”
He looked down at me from the tree branch he balanced on. “Why not? I chose dare.” He shot me a winning smile, his eyes gleaming with the challenge. I’d issued the dare in full belief he’d instantly turn it down, and I would win. Now I was scared shitless and worried there would be a few broken bones as a result.
“Come down and choose truth then. Just don’t do it.”
“Not a chance, Gem.” Lucas turned back to the higher branch that was two yards away from the one he was currently perched on.
“Are you ready?” he teased.
“No!”
My palms were sweating for him. If he failed to make the distance, he would fall two stories to the ground.
“Watch me fly, Gem,” Lucas announced while bending at the knees.
“Lucas, don’t do—” My words were cut short while I watched, mouth agape, as my friend and neighbor soared through the air like a spider monkey, arms stretched long and ready.
With a cry of delight, Lucas had made the distance, his body swinging like a pendulum until he came to a stop and dangled from the tree.
While he cheered in celebration, there was a part of this scenario we hadn’t thought through. In order to get down, he had to walk his hands along the branch until he reached the thick trunk. The problem was the thickness of the branch he was currently swinging from. His hands couldn’t wrap around its girth enough to hold his weight.
Lucas’s fingers were slipping, and his worried eyes darting down to mine. “I think we have a problem, Gem.”
“Shit! What do I do?”
“Catch me.”
“Catc—” I cut myself off and shrieked in horror, “What?” as my feet did an anxious dance.
“I’m slipping. Catch me!”
Lucas’s shouts mixed with my screams. His body began its descent, finally hitting the forest floor in a heap of limbs. Running to his side, I rolled him onto his back. He was half moaning, the other half laughing.
“Are you hurt?” I searched his body for injuries. Lifting his right arm to check for breaks, he groaned louder.
“Oww,” he said through his pained chuckle.
Dropping his arm onto his chest, I folded my own in frustration. “Why are you laughing?”
His green eyes met mine, and my heart pounded for all the right reasons. “Your face,” he said through a smile.
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” His eyes softened. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
I flopped down, stretching my legs. “You did scare me. You’re too heavy for me to piggyback you home.”
Lucas clasped my hand. “Help me up,” he instructed, already starting to move. Rising to my feet, I heaved until he was standing tall next to me.
“Ow!” he groaned, hanging his pained foot slightly off the ground. Hooking his arm around my shoulders, I helped him gain his balance, and together we hobbled to the clearing a few yards away. I clumsily lowered us both to the ground until we were seated next to each other.
We were on the cliff edge of the woods that overlooked the valley, and further beyond into the neighborhoods. It was our own private lookout, one that took over an hour to get to by bike and foot, and one that only Lucas and I knew about. Over the endless rows of houses, including our own, the sun was setting with its usual vibrancy. Pink and orange shades slashed across the sky like an artist attacking his canvas.
This was where we shared our happiest stories and one where we revealed our greatest pains.
“Does it get any better than this?”
I turned to Lucas whose face was coated with a pink glow.
“No, it doesn’t,” I replied. “This is our slice of heaven.”
“Our nirvana.” He turned to me, a smile on his lips. “I have something for you.”
I returned his smile. “You do?”
I watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled free the item. I couldn’t see it until he took my wrist and slid on a leather bracelet with a metal face. My heart swelled and I ran a finger over the glimmering metal.
“It’s engraved?”
In the darkness, he nodded. “It says ‘Love.’”
Leaning over, I kissed Lucas on the cheek. “And I love it,” I said, unable to stop touching it.
We lay down staring at the darkening sky, our hooked pinkies our only connection. Our chests rose and fell in unison, the grass beneath us turning cold as the night set in. My eyes grew heavy, and my breath had slowed when I heard him speak again.
“Happy Birthday, Gem.”
“Happy Birthday, Luc.”
~
A familiar voice cut through my dreams.
It was urgent. Demanding.
Consciousness dawned, and I shivered from the night’s chill, dew dampening my skin.
“Gem, wake up,” Lucas sounded again, my body shaking. “We need to get home.”
We need to get home.
Shit!
When my eyes shot open, darkness greeted me. I bolted upright colliding with something hard, an agonizing blow above my brow flattening me once more. I cried out in pain, clutching my head.
“Ow… Jesus! What the hell… was…”
Beside me, Lucas grumbled, his hand rubbing his forehead where mine had collided with his. My eyes had now adjusted… moments too late.
“Shit, Luc. I’m sorry. What time is it?” I asked, wincing through an instant headache.
“I don’t know, we fell asleep.” Over the neighborhood’s sparkling lights in the distance, an ash-colored banana-shaped moon hung in the sky barely casting any light. Surrounding us, merry crickets chimed in sequence, and the wind rustled the tree canopy.
We both scrambled to our feet knowing we had some explaining to do back home.
“Can you walk?” I asked as Lucas tested his pain threshold.
“Yes, it was just a jar.”
Half an hour later we were on the other side of the woods and back on our bikes. My long loose hair whipped behind me as we sailed down the hill in the darkness. Despite knowing we had to get home, we were filled with the overwhelming sense of freedom and joy that only two small-town teens trapped within our own imaginations could feel. With one hand on the handlebars, the other holding Lucas’s, we navigated our way to the base of the hill.