Keep Our Secrets

11

"Hey, I need one of you guys to go to the store for me." Mom yells.

"What do you need?" I ask, walking into the living room.

"Hey Jake. I need some flower pots." She smiles up at me.

"Alright." I lean down and kiss her cheek. "I'll be back in a minute." I walk away and swipe the keys off the table. Hopping in the car, I put in a Jimi Hendrix CD, and start my drive.

Somehow, through the song I start to think of Bailey. Everything leads me to thinking of her now. Plants and flowers, sunsets and sunrises, mugs full of tea, the smell of rain. Everything. Things she loves, things she hates. It's driving me crazy. I can't write music without making it about her. I wake up and she's the first thing I think about, and last thing when I go to sleep. It's eating me alive. She was my brothers best friend. Not mine. She needs to get out of my head before I go crazy.

The song shifts into another one, and I pull into the parking lot. I climb out and walk inside. The door dings open when I push it. Mr. Gus turns around and smiles at me.

"Hey Jake!" Mr. Gus waves.

"Hey Gus!" I smile and wave back.

"What brings you here?" He asks.

"Mom needs flower pots." I tell him. He nods and shuffles around the register.

"Well, we moved the gardening stuff around, I'll show you." Gus was a small guy, with his back shaped of a question mark due to his old age.

"It's alright Gus, I'll look around for them." I smile.

"You sure?" He asks. I nod and he shuffles back around. I start walking up and down isles, and i glance down the paint section. I look away, but my eyes pull me back. On the other end of the isle a messy bun of red hair is sitting crossed legged, looking at sketch books and pencils. And I know that red hair like it was my own. Bailey. I walk down the isle and stop a few feet from her. She doesn't notice me, she's looking at everything else.

"I think that book suits you." I say. She looks up at me and takes a second to realize.

"Jake!" She beams. She picks the sketch book up again. "You think so?" She asks.

"Yeah." I chuckle. The book had little mushrooms and fairies on the cover. She smiles and picks her stuff up and stands. She turns to me. I feel my heart race. She's wearing a light green sun dress, and her usual white converse.

"So. You stalking me?" She giggles.

"No." I shake my head and rub the back of my neck. Damn. It got hot in here. "No, mom needed some stuff so I'm picking them up." She nods. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Well, I stopped by the house, mom and dad are gone. And I was grabbing some stuff from there, and I realized that I needed more things." She smiles.

"Well. I hope you found what your looking for." I smile back. Her cheeks get red and she looks down.

"Yeah." She sighs. "I think I did." She looks back up at me. I look around her face, and her hair. Little fly aways poking out of the bun.

"Well. Im gonna go find the stuff mom needs." I point behind me.

"Yeah." She giggles. "I'll see you at home?" She asks. Home.

"Yeah. I'll see you at home." I smile down at my feet.

"Bye Jake." She walks past me, and her perfume wafts through the air. I turn my head and watch her leave the isle. I just want to.. I shake my head and continue on the search for what mom needed.