What Happened To Forever?

Chapter 3: Unlocked Doors and Apologies

Taylor’s sitting on the curb, her head in her hands. She looks so upset. Tay’s had issues with Ryder in the past as well, so she’s not new to how vicious She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named can be. We both know that Taylor being even slightly chubby is beyond ridiculous. She’s barely 100 lbs. I guess ballet five times a week does wonders for the figure. I choke back my tears and pat her back. If she sees me cry, we’ll both be drowning.

“Tay… You know the thing about you being overweight is a lie. She’s being a prick, you said so yourself. Ryder’s just jealous, babe. I mean, did you see her thighs?” I coax. She laughs dryly.

“I just can’t believe she said that about me. And about Caleb! Ryder doesn’t know the whole story, she can’t just judge him. I can’t believe you’re taking it as well as you are.” Taylor turns to me and sees the tears welling in my eyes. Shit.

“I’m an effin idiot, I shouldn’t have brought that up. I’m so sorry, Bren,” she wraps her arms around me. It brings me back to the days Caleb and I used to come here.

We sit hand in hand on the curb. It was maybe mid-July of last year, and it was too hot to sit in the stuffy ice cream parlor. I grasped my chocolate ice cream with gummy bears in my hand tightly, Caleb’s hand occupying my other one. The hot summer sun was melting it more rapidly than I could eat, causing it to drip down my hand onto my leg. Caleb licked his strawberry cone contentedly, his eyes not visible behind the dark lenses of his Ray Bans. He suddenly turns to me and I jump a bit, making him laugh.

“Scare ya, did I?” he chuckles. I’ve always been really skiddish and jumpy whenever someone surprises me. At my own surprise Sweet 16, I started screaming when everyone popped out and yelled “SURPRISE!”

 “No, I’m braver than that. I bet I’m way braver than you are,” I tease, poking his bicep. “Can I have a lick of your ice cream? It looks really good.” My mouth waters.

 Caleb hesitates, then holds out the cone toward me.  I move in to take a lick when he moves his hand and smushes it into my face. I shout. The strawberry ice cream drips down my face and I push him jokingly.

 “I cannot believe you just did that!” I cry, trying to keep the grin off of my face. Caleb grabs his napkin and wipes my face clean.

“Sorry-“ he starts but is interrupted as I mash my cone into his chin. I run off, getting some weird looks.

“Come back here!” Caleb shouts. “You’re gonna pay for this!” All that soccer, lacrosse and football must’ve paid off because he caught me pretty quickly.  Grabbing me, Caleb spun me around in a circle, than set me down on a picnic bench. 

“We’re even,” I tell him. He leans down and kisses my head.

 “Brenna? Can I ask you something?”

 “Yeah… sure,” I reply cautiously. I didn’t know what to expect but I hoped it wasn’t a proposal. He had started rambling about getting married a few weeks ago and I wasn’t leaning toward it. We were only 16, after all.

 “Can you promise me we’ll be with each other forever?” he whispers.

I hesitate. I can promise all of my high school days to him, but my whole life? I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know what’s going to become of us after college. But to make him happy, I say:

“Yes. Forever.”

Now, sitting on this curb I feel like it was a long time ago. That was one of the last times I’d ever get ice cream with Caleb. A happy memory now turned bittersweet due to his death. It seems as if good times have been unfairly ripped from me. And now Ryder has her mind set on making my life a living hell.