That Summer (Completed)

Chapter 5

"You're untouchable, burning brighter than the sun

and when you're close I feel like coming undone."

******

We got to the airport at noon, half an hour before Jake's flight was scheduled to get there. I sat down in the food court with Mom as we waited for Miranda.

Mom was making a business call and I couldn't sit still so I got up and started walking around the food court.

I was debating calling Anne when I saw Miranda walking over to me.

Wow, she looked amazing. She had her hair pulled back messily in a low bun with a few pieces framing her face. Her makeup was simple and fresh making her look youthful and glowy. She wore a white sundress that brought out her tan and a pair of plain black flip flops. I felt like a sack of potatoes next to her. My nose was raw from the tissues and my face felt warm and dry. I resisted the urge to run into the bathroom and throw on some makeup.

"Hey," I said, as she got to me. "You look amazing."

"Oh..thank you," she said, taken aback. "Where's Mom?"

Was she really surprised by my compliment? I felt a little bad about not saying it more often, it just felt too much like small talk. I guess that's all we ever did nowadays anyway.

"She's sitting right there," I said, pointing out the table we were sitting at. "I'm just going to run to the car and get a water bottle."

"Ok be quick, they'll be here any minute," she said, turning and walking towards Mom.

I walked slowly to the car, taking my time and thinking about how drastically things had changed within the past few years.

******

I couldn't remember exactly when we'd gotten so distant, it had to be at least two or three years ago. Maybe after grade nine?

We spent the beginning of our first year of high school attached at the hip. Wherever Miranda was, there I was. We liked it like that and I always felt more comfortable when she was near.

Then Miranda joined cheer, started to make new friends, and became busy with school. At first we both really tried to make time for each other, we spent our time after school together, we still had the same group of friends so that also made it easy. Later when she got more involved with clubs and cheer, it became harder and I started to feel like I was dragging Miranda to spend time with me. Miranda never said a word of protest but I could see it was beginning to put a strain on her. There was a lot on her plate.

So I began hanging out with Anne more and she introduced me to Grace and Sam. They were so easy to be with and we instantly clicked.

Miranda started going away for tournaments and games, I began to see less and less of her. Soon I realized that when I met a cute guy at school, the first people I wanted to tell were my friends. Not Miranda.

During tenth grade, Miranda got a reputation for being the carefree party girl. She'd sneak out at night and go to house parties with her friends from cheer and come home drunk. Seeing her like that made me sick. I told her so one night when she snuck back into her room at 3 am. She didn't take that very well and started calling me names. That night I was so angry and hurt, I told her she was no better than Dad. She didn't speak to me for weeks.

Miranda dated a few guys in high school but none of them ever seemed to work out. I don't know what she was searching for, she was never satisfied. Then one of the guys she dated in tenth grade began spreading rumours about her after they'd broken up. Saying things like she had slept around and had cheated on him. I remember Miranda coming home that day in tears, I was shocked because Miranda never cried. I spent that whole day in her room trying to get her to talk to me. She told me that he was lying but that was about it. She didn't give me any details. Then she got a call from one of her friends and she spent hours on the phone explaining to her what had gone down. I was furious and heartbroken. I promised myself that I wouldn't bother getting her to open up anymore if she'd already put me last place in her life.