New beginnings (boyxboy)✔

N.B 12

Ryan's POV

It occurred to me when I was chilling at the park that I didn't have any friends. I'd screwed a chance to be a part of the popular crew when I'd fought with Jesse. I had no friends, not in school or the town in general.

That made me hate the town even more. I hated been there. I missed my home, my friends. My life in Aqua St Parks hadn't been great before I moved but it had been okay. It definitely could not compare to my life 3 years ago, but I had adapted to the change – an adaptation my uncle hated. I did what I had to. I did the best I could have. After the bank took everything I tried to build a life for myself. It wasn't in the best way, but it was the only way I could.

I thought about my life in Aqua St Parks 3 years prior. It had been great. It hadn't been all rosy, but it was a normal life. My parents were married and owned a house. We had money difficulties, but we were together. I went to school and had friends. I also had a girlfriend, a brunette beauty that my friends envied. Life was normal, until disaster struck one after the other. From then one everything went downhill. I picked up the pieces. My uncle was wrong; I hadn't sat waiting for a miracle. I had done my best to survive.

I'd made a couple of acquaintances after the tragedy. They weren't friends, in our world it was one man for himself. They would sell me out if it benefitted them. I would do the same. I couldn't count them as friends, so in truth, I had no friends anywhere.

My last friend had been 3 years prior. Rick, Ricardo Smith. We'd been friends, brothers. We did everything together. There were 4 of us in our crew, but Rick was my best friend, or so I thought. When the walls came crushing around me, he deserted me. When I needed a friend he ran the other way.

But I didn't need friends. I'd been doing okay with just acquaintances. 'Friend' was a term people threw around without even knowing the meaning of.

I thought about my fight with Jesse as I threw rocks into a pond. For some reason I didn't even regret it. The only thing I regretted was not beating him up further when it was clear he had lost. I hadn't wanted to fight with him of course, but when he threw the first punch I reacted. It was an innate thing. It came naturally to me. Where I came from, you learned to fight for yourself until it became engraved in you.

Jesse was going to tell the other guys I'd wanted Rain's book back. When I'd requested that book, I'd had only one reason. I couldn't allow someone else to read Rain's thoughts. They'd seemed so personal, so private. What he had accused me of was at the back of my mind. I didn't think of how I felt about him at that moment.

You could say I reacted impulsively. I wondered if I would have done that if it had been someone else. Truthfully, I didn't know, but I suspected I wouldn't have. I didn't like how I felt of course. The guy had accused me of trying to rape him!

How did I feel about Rain knowing I had taken his book? I didn't like how I felt so much I didn't even want to put it into words. The anger in his eyes had stung. The way he'd looked at me had actually made me feel bad. I'd been frozen when he took his book from my hands, finding it hard to proclaim my innocence –okay, my guilt at having taken his book and my innocence at what Jesse said was the motive.

As I went to work later that day, a crazy thought came to me. I wanted to apologize to Rainier. It was so odd I chastised myself for even having thought it. He was going to report me to the principal, so why should I bother apologizing? If anything, he should apologize to me for accusing me of being a filthy predator who preyed on unsuspecting teenagers.

*

"Reporting for duty", I shouted as I entered the store so my uncle could see me. I was a bit early and he noted that.

"You are early", he said.

"Yeah, they let us out earlier", I said. Truthfully I had gotten bored of sitting at the park.

"What happened to your face?" he asked walking towards me.

"Got hit by a...ball", I said.

Matt was passing by. "Couldn't catch it?" he said and snickered.

"I wasn't aware it was thrown towards me", I said through gritted teeth.

"Did you put ice on it?" my uncle asked, concern in his voice.

"It's fine. I'm fine", I said walking towards the locker rooms, putting an end to the conversation. I didn't know if my uncle believed me, but at that moment I didn't care. I put my stuff away and put on my overalls.

I went to the men's room. When I looked in the mirror, the left side of my face had swelled up a bit.

Rainier's POV

The car was sinking. It was all over. I couldn't hold on any longer. I wanted to breathe. I couldn't defy my brain. My body was losing a protective mechanism. I had to breathe!

"Breathe Rain. Don't you see? It's the only way I'll forgive you".

I saw a smile. It was so subtle, but in it was a loud message. There was only one way. I had to breathe. I couldn't keep fighting. I took what would be my last breath. Immediately I started choking. I spluttered water, coughing so hard I felt my body tremble. With every energy expenditure I became desperate for oxygen.

"Rainier!"

It was a jolt, a jolt that brought me back to reality with a bang. My eyes fluttered and opened, looking feverishly at the surroundings.

"You are not making me late for school. Get up!" it was Julie.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched. I realized I was lying on my bed in my room. I had been sleeping, a sleep that had been plagued by a nightmare. Julie was standing next to my bed.

"What time is it?" I asked slowly.

"It's 7. We have to be at school in an hour", she said. "I will not wait for you", she warned.

I sat up. I looked at my alarm, wondering why it hadn't woken me up. I realized it had rang, I hadn't heard it.

"You can go now, I'll be down in a sec", I said.

"You better. Mom left, dad is making us breakfast", she said leaving my room.

I sighed. I could still remember my dream. I could still remember the words 'Tristan' had said.

Breath Rain, don't you see? It's the only way I'll forgive you.

Did he mean those words? Was my death the only way he would forgive me? The thought scared me. But Julie had said Tristan loved me. She'd said everything else was all in my head. She had no idea how real it felt.

I got up from the bed eventually and headed to the bathroom.

*