Where Life Takes Me

Chapter 1 // Realization

"Are you out of your mind?" I call. Nice one, Nicole. Insult the already depressed person. The person grips on tightly to the metal rod, not giving up without a fight.

All I can see of the person is their back that's facing me and a tiny tiny strand of hair which I can't really make out what color due to the only light source being on the other side of the bridge and another about 50 feet away. Stop thinking about their hair, Jesus. There's a much bigger problem at hand! I resort to Plan B soon after seeing that just grabbing their wrist isn't going to be enough. I wrap my arms securely around the person's waist and pull as hard as I can. I notice that the person's clothes are soaking wet, further leading me to think that this person is probably freezing. One hand of the person's slips off of the rail and goes straight to my long-sleeves covering my arms; I feel the hand clawing at the material. Classy.

"Let me go or I swear to God-" Comes a raspy male voice produced from none other than the stranger that I was currently hugging for dear life. Literally.

"You'll what?" I cut off. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish here? You think that your problems are just going to disappear if you end it? I think you need a reality check, my friend." All that I get in response is a grunt, more clawing and more fighting against me. I yank the person one last time, causing myself to fumble over my own two feet as the person releases the railing all together.

"Let. Go." The voice growls.

"How about... no." I reply, giving that evil-eye to the back of his head which I hope he can sense. His hands are thrashing against my jacket in hopes of making me let go. Thankfully, I'm stronger then the boy. To make this situation easier, I quickly let go of my arm that's around the person's body, grab his hand, then spin him so that we're facing each other. I then return like before by locking both my hands around the person's wrists. The body finally gives out and all the tense muscles in his body soon relax and his head flops forward, never giving me a change to catch a glimpse of his face.

"Hey," I say softer this time, hoping that he can hear me over the pelting rain, "it's okay."

"No, you idiot. That's the point!" He snaps, instantly going back to the pulling and the yanking.

"Hey. Yo, stop." I tell, wide-eyed.

"Let go of me."

"I will once you stop fighting against me," He stops fighting.

"And once we sort this out." I finish.

"Want to know what this is? Bullshit." Back to struggling. I tug both of his arms at the same time.

"No, this is me trying to help you." He shakes his head furiously from beneath his hoodie.

"Well I don't need your help!" He spits. I laugh with venom.

"Hate to break it to you, but you kinda do."

"Go to hell."

"I'm not letting go."

All of a sudden freaky mystery boy gets a burst of energy and manages to escape my grasp, shock taking over my body as he shoots down the path. His feet are moving so fast, his hood flying off just as he runs under the street light; dark brown, that's the color of his hair. I begin sprinting after him, watching his every move. He tries to pull his hoodie back up but fails miserably. Adrenaline takes over my body and my feet splash the puddles that scatter the paved sidewalk. I give it my all as I run after him, little by little inching closer. Once I'm near him, I push off the ground, launching myself unto his back. As I come into contact with his wet jacket, I wrap my legs around him piggy-back style and hold on tightly. The weight comes as a shock to him and his legs buckle, his body failing to carry my weight. We both fall, me landing on top of him while he's stomach-down on the concrete. He immediately tries to crawl out from under me and gets half-way up so that he's in a squatting position. I shuffle over to the other side of him, my shoes slipping in the process, but I eventually get in front of him, grabbing onto his hands.

I sit and wait for him to say something, my bottom making contact with the nice wet ground (note the sarcasm), "You aren't going to win this." I inform breathlessly as I lean my head back, closing my eyes for a split second to take a deep breath.

"Why." He says, not really asking a question.

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this?" His gulp is audible even with the droplets splashing around us. The rain has died down a bit, now just being a light drizzle.

"Doing what? This?" I ask, squeezing his hands to make him aware that I am in control here.

"Why are you trying to save me?" He groans, his body laying down on the sidewalk, hoodie drooping over his eyes so that only his nose and mouth are visible. His nose is tinted with pink, as are his lips. At that moment he decides to bite his bottom lip and for a split second I'm afraid he's going to bite it off. He then sniffles, his nose sucking in then back out which I find to be a bit funny, but I contain my laughter.

"Because you're a person and you have a life ahead of you."

"Please." He scoffs. I cross my legs but keep a firm grip on his fingers, staring intently at the boy, hoping to see his face.

"No, I don't care what kind of crap you're going through, okay? You think you're the only one with problems?" I start raising my voice. "You honestly think that you're the only one out there who has to deal with things and struggles? You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not saying that."

"Then what are you trying to say? Because I know that your problems aren't as bad as some. You can't say you have it the worst or that you have an unfair life, because take a look around... okay, not here... but do you think everybody's life is just all rainbows and butterflies? Heck no. Yeah, our lives may get crappy sometimes but that doesn't mean that we need to choose a way out, you have-"

"You have no idea what I deal with!" He shouts cutting me off. I don't know what got to him, but he sits up and begins crying, pulling away from my grip as he bends his head over and his body shakes. He brings his hands up to meet his hood, pulling it off to run his fingers through his sopping wet hair. Watching him, my eyes begin to water. Sympathy has won me over.

"Hey," I clear my throat, "you'll be okay. You just need to keep on fighting."

"Do you know how many lousy times I've heard that?" He whimpers through his muffled sobs. His body shivering and shaking all at the same time. I don't know how to react other than my normal instinct: to hug him.

"I'm sorry that you feel this way."

"I don't want your pity." He snaps. He's obviously very flustered but, quite frankly, I'd rather have him angry than dead.

"Okay, no pity, but you have to let me hug you." I tell as he shakes his head.

"Oh come on! It's just one hug. I heard they help," I say in a sing-song voice "in fact, I know they help." I scoot closer not waiting for him to confirm, at this point he's too weak to react in any way and deny my request. I lean over and wrap my arms around his shoulders tightly. After a minute I release him, still feeling his quiet sobs vibrating through my chest.

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" He pleads.

"I don't want anything from you." I respond, closing my eyes trying to speak clearly without getting chocked up. "But I think that the more suitable question would be: who are you?"

There's a quit pause in the conversation, neither of us moves.

His head begins to rise, hesitating several times. I start to see his nose more clearly, his lips, and then lastly, his eyes. Our eyes meet, his tear-stricken green orbs connect with my brown ones, I notice a tear slip out of my eye, not that it mattered because it just blended in with the hundreds of raindrops falling around us. I take in his whole face, from where his hair meets his forehead to where the water droplets fell off of his chin, I take all of it in. A shiver of realization shoots through my spine and my mind can only conjure up two words: Gabriel Cooper.