Skipping Stones - COMPLETE

Chapter 5

PLACING MY HAND in his, he helps me up. When our skin touches, I don't want to let go. So I wait to see what he does. Disappointment sets in when he releases me as my feet become steadier. I glance up to him and smile. Smiling. It feels good. It's easier with him, too. In fact, for a few seconds, forgetting the reason for the intense stabbing in my chest isn't so hard.

Not wanting to cry in front of him, I look down. I'm not a cry baby. Maybe that should be past tense. I wasn't a cry baby. I rarely used to do it because I hate it, and had always thought it was a sign of weakness. I'm a girl, but I'm strong. Now, I'm not sure what I am, but if it's indicative of a flaw, then I'm not nearly as tough as I once thought.

I squint my eyes closed as he lifts my chin. "Hey," he whispers.

I purse my lips and shake my head.

"You don't have to talk." He holds his grip despite my shaking. "And if you need to cry, then cry."

That's the permission the dam holding back my river of tears needed. I try to cover my face with my hands, but before I do, he wraps me into his arms. He squeezes me so tight. My body heaves, and the loud gasps that are coming from my mouth are hushed by his shirt. When I inhale, I memorize his scent: the smell of sweat, outdoors, and something sporty. Comfort. He's soothing me. Or maybe it's something else. Maybe he's saving me.

Is he even real because he seems too good to be true? He seems like an angel sent to keep me from drowning in the sorrow that has become the reality of my life. Or maybe he's just a figment of my imagination. "Where did you come from?" I manage to ask through the sobs.

"Me? Um. The creek?"

My throat hurts so badly from crying. "So you're real?"

He laughs. "Last time I checked."

He pushes me back and our eyes lock. "No. Like where did you come from before the creek?"

His eyebrows scrunch together. "My house?"

Okay, if he's trying to be cute, it's working. "Nice. Where's your house?"

"Top of the hill, the other side of the street." He points to our left.

"Ah." I take a deep, quivering breath. "When did you move here?"

"A few months ago."

"So that's why I've never seen you around?"

"Might be." He smiles.

"How old are you?"

"What is this? Fifty questions?" He winks. "Thought you didn't wanna talk."

Hmm. He has a point, but I'm curious. I want to know more about him. Then again, maybe it's that I don't want him to leave me. Maybe it's that I want to know where I can find him after today. I need to know he's not going to leave. Because right now, he's the only person that I feel like I can just be myself. "I didn't."

"But now you do?"

"Would appear so." I shrug. "So. How old?"

"Oh." He nods. "Seventeen. You?"

"Fifteen," I mutter as I start to walk back to the creek.

He takes a skip to catch up. "So where did you come from? I've never seen you around."

Talking about random things seems to come easy with him, but I don't think can talk about where I came from. I swallow. This visit was supposed to be temporary. In an instant it has changed to what seems like a more permanent visit. Even if my mom pulls through and we go back to where I came from, it will be without my dad. It will never be the same. Opening my mouth, I try to speak, but my throat closes. Instead I shake my head. "Can't."