The Big Five

34. Dilemma

Emma left quickly, refusing to take me or Maggie. She said she needed time to herself.

I found myself wondering what the guy was like. In my mind, he was a buff guy with bad drinking habits and evil beyond redemption. I mean, who kills an old woman and runs off? It was just wrong.

I was angry. I felt Emma's anger coursing through my veins. I needed to see what the guy was like.

But it wasn't my place. Emma needed some closure. Maybe seeing the guy who killed her grandma being put to jail help her. Besides, I had my own problems to sort out.

I really needed to stop venting my anger out on the bike. I found that I had ended up riding all the way to the edge of town after forty minutes of furious pedaling.

Wow. I didn't even realize how far I had come. My mom would be worried.

I sighed and leaned my bicycle on a nearby tree. I looked back at the town. This part was a little deserted. Coming to think of it, Eric's house was around here.

I wondered if I should go find him, but thought better of it when I remembered his dad. I shuddered at the thought of those bullets. He shot at me without hesitation. There was no way I was going back there.

I let the breeze cool me a bit. My hair clung onto my sweating face and I gathered it to tie it into a ponytail.

Darned honeysuckles. I freaking forgot my hair band.

I sighed and let my hair down. Nothing seemed to be going right today. I looked up at the orange sky and watched the thin strips of clouds slowly fading away.

"What a beautiful day," I muttered.

I heard the last cries of birds. Crickets began to chirp one by one. The wind rustled the leaves and the sky began to turn into a shade of purple.

I was reminded of Mrs. Williams. She had always talked about the beautiful descriptions whenever we got to literature. She especially loved to talk about poems.

Poems. There was that one poem we read that talked about how peaceful nature was. I guess this feeling was what the poet was talking about.

I shrugged. School. Wow. I was going to graduate in a year. It was still hard to believe it. I would be in college.

I always wondered what college would be like. Trey said it wasn't bad. Speaking of Trey, he was going to be coming here for the summer. And I couldn't wait.

HONK! HONK!

I jumped and whirled around, ready to punch anyone who came near me. I relaxed when I saw Eric's black car. He poked his head out and waved.

"What are you doing out here?"

I smiled weakly and walked over.

"Nothing much, really..." I trailed off.

He looked skeptical, but thankfully didn't question it.

"So," he said, "you, uh, you want a lift?"

"To where?"

He shrugged.

"How about the meadow?" I said before I could stop myself.

He shrugged again. "Why not? Get in."

I got in the passenger's seat and we drove off. The town got smaller and smaller, and after a while, we finally stopped.

I stared out the window, watching the wind sway the grass in its own rythme. It was just so peaceful here. We stayed in silence for a good ten minutes before the night began to darken.