Ode to Bree

Untitled

UNEDITED CHAPTER EIGHT [1]

you wither in the sun like a flower that's dehydrated; i can't touch because i know you will crumble.

       Picture this: you're sitting on a very uncomfortable log that probably has pesky ants, but right in front of you, the sky is like a beautiful painting: an array of pink, orange and yellow was spread across, as the dark clouds that held all the gloominess that Nathan felt, faded off on the horizon. The sun was showing off what was left of it from beyond; it was beautiful.

       A gentle breeze rose, and made the hairs on Nathan's hand stand upright; beside him, he heard Kat sigh in awe. Her head was tilted and rested on her shoulder. Bree and Neil were way up on the rock she was sitting on before, sharing a blanket, and Bree was resting her head on Neil's shoulder.

       "When are we heading back?" Nathan turned to Kat and asked quietly.

       Kat rolled her head to look at him; her eyes were dreamy, and Nathan could see the reflection of the setting sun, and himself, in them.

       "Soon, I suppose," her voice drifted into an accent, which was nothing more than a silly little habit of hers that Nathan recognized from their childhood. He was slowly beginning to see, if not the tom boy outer-appearance, but the silly little girl he became best friends with.

       "Are you gonna be in trouble with your Mom and Dad?" she asked.

       Mom. Dad.

       Nathan was surely set for some kind of punishment when he got back. God knows, oh how his father must be muttering profanities under his breath. The teacher must have rang his phone at work  as well! None of this was expected, and no excuse would be strong enough to get him off the hook—even if he said that he was kidnapped by Katherine Wilder, the girl that had a crazy crush on her.

       That would cruel and untruthful.

       He wasn't sure about what his mother might be up to. She was expecting him this evening, but from the entire situation going on, and the amount of tension and harsh feelings between them, she must have thought that he ditched her.

       He wasn't going to, though.

       "Hey." He felt Kat nudge his arm.

       He took his hoodie beside him and hauled it on, feeling a little chilly. Then came his jeans, right over the swimming shorts.

       "Hey," Kat said again.

       As if on cue, Bree and Neil got up and began walking towards them. They were smiling and walking hand in hand, the blanket hanging over their shoulders.

       "Let's hit the road," said Neil.

you lay your hand on my head, muttering words too good for my ears, and then there's that look in your eyes that make me shake in fear.

       Kat gave her keys to Nathan, because she was too tired to drive. He was reluctant because he hadn't received his driver's license just yet, but Kat insisted that as long as he didn't speed, he would be fine. He took her words and keys with a grain of salt and helped pack the bags into the trunk of the car.

       Bree fell asleep on Neil's shoulder, while Kat nodded away in the passenger seat beside him.

       Everything so far seemed surreal to Nathan. He expected himself to be alone, steadily making trips into the school's basement, which he made he private music studio, and write songs that Seth would put him down for.