Lost In A Memory (A Taylor Lautner Story)

The Truth

Chapter 2- The Truth

**Five Years Earlier**

I stared at Kaylen, wondering why this was so hard. There wasn't a thing we hadn't done together ever since we were seven. Biking, camping, the beach, school, and you know, being neighbors, I come over all the time.

So why was this so hard for me?

Kaylen was my closest friend. I mean, I was only twelve years old. But she had been in my life for so long. It wasn't that hard to tell her how I felt, was it?

Actually, it was.

I liked her. More than friends, and being a twelve year old, I hadn't needed any other thing to worry about. I mean, it's cute now, but that's really scary when you're young like I was.

So I worried all day through school, all afternoon through homework, and it figured I'd have the most homework on a day I wanted to talk to Kaylen.

Kaylen Reamer was my closest friend, like I said, but it wasn't a normal relationship. From day one, that is, day one of third grade, we told each other everything. From first crushes, to siblings being obnoxious, to complaints about homework; anything normal twelve year olds think about was shared between us.

I remember our first camping trip. Our fathers had been friends for a long time... years before we were born. They liked camping and such, and they had taken us up to the mountains: all four of us trekked through the woods together. When we were scared, Kaylen and I would hold hands. It was... well, the cutest boy/girl relationship that any pair of ten year olds could have.

"Taylor, let's tell scary stories." Kaylen said as we packed into our sleeping bags on the first night.

So I told her the scariest story I'd ever heard. "My mother's friend found a severed arm in her back yard, and come to find out someone had been murdered there. An axe was used to cut the body up, and the pieces were spread apart all over the county." I said creepily. The house had, of course, been haunted, and the story goes on to say that whoever lived in the house was killed within a week. So, yea, it was your typical fake 'scary story'.

Once my story was done, Kaylen was practically curled up against the tent wall, balling her eyes out. I couldn't help but laugh at her, but I was only ten, after all.

There was a sudden urge to run out the door. This was me, thinking, breathing, and wondering about what I would say to Kaylen, now that my feelings had became evident to me.

I sat at the kitchen bar, smiling slightly to myself as I replayed many of our times together. It was a little bit too much for me to handle, but these feelings can't be ignored. I finally found the concentration to finish my work, and I immediately ran outside and over to Kaylen's house.

The front porch always seemed to 'smile' at me. The flowers and pots sitting around gave it a spring feeling, even in the dead of winter. At least, that's the way I remember it.

I knocked on the door, feeling the bubbly feeling inside that told me I was nervous. Kaylen's mother answered the door. She was a skinny woman, in her mid-thirties, which was why she got along great with my mother.

She pushed her hair behind her ear, a gesture I'd gotten used to. "Hey, Mrs. Reamer." I said in my little shy voice. "Can Kaylen come out?"

"Sure! I'll send her out in a few minutes." Mrs. Reamer disappeared inside the house, trying to tend to Kaylen's younger brother, I guessed. Four-year-olds are so annoying, I thought. I loved Jeremiah, but he was a pain when he followed me around all the time.

I smiled ruefully and walked back down the driveway, headed to the spot where Kaylen and I usually hung out. The road was paved, but had lots of gravel lying around. I started kicking pebbles as I walked down the little street.

Our place was a short walk into the woods. A small log, big enough for two, was nestled into the brush, just out of sight from the trail. The surprising part was, unless you walked to that log, you couldn't see the small drop-off, and the tiny creek running underneath. It was beautiful there.

Kaylen and I had found it one day when we were exploring. I'd tried to get her to come back to the house, because we had wandered too far. She wasn't concerned, so she had jumped over the log quickly, trying to get away from me. I heard the splash, and peeked over the log to see her lying in the puddle, covered in mud and laughing. Ever since then, we sat on the log, our legs dangled over the creek, and talked.

The best part was, it was directly between our houses, so neither of our parents knew exactly what we were up to, but they could know we were safe.

I was almost to the section where the woods broke into the trail when I heard Kaylen yelling. "Taylor Daniel Lautner! I'm talking to you!" She screamed my name like I was some sort of famous person.

I said nothing, still getting my bearings. How would she understand this crush I had on her? She wouldn't.

I stopped walking and waited for her to catch up. She jogged the distance, smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's great." I gave her an enthusiastic 'thumbs up'. She smiled.

"Something's wrong."

"Well..."

"Well, what?"

"Nothing." I said, hiding my face and blushing.

"Seriously." She said. It was quiet for a few minutes. We walked the rest of the way to the log. The trees opened up over the area, waving lightly in the breeze. The canopy was breathtaking, alluring. The green of the bushes blended with the brown of the trunks, making the perfect forest scene. It was just like a movie, the two of us sitting side by side on the old dingy log.

I took Kaylen's hand, as I had so many times, but now I felt it meant something different. It was time for the truth.

I finally spoke. "I like you."

Kaylen gave me a look. "You like me?" She seemed offended, so I tried to make it clear.

"Yea. You know, more than friends."

"Oh." She got it, I thought. That doesn't mean she liked me back. I cringed as I thought she would say something painful.

"I like you, too." She finally said.

The light coming from my eyes must have been blinding. I almost jumped up and ran circles around her. But, to be cool, I stayed still. She smiled.

We held hands and talked like normal. It seemed to be the same as before, except that now everything was glowing. Her face, the trees, our hands tied together. The world was glowing.