Bringing him back

The Letter The Letter

Autumn lays down on her bed, breathless. Olivia had just went home and it was not a little after nine. They had spent the last half hour accompanied by Emily, chasing each other around the yard. Autumn sits up and peels off her sweater. The warm, dry air in here was too hot for her taste. She smiles to herself as she lays down on her bed. It had been a good day today. Olivia had spent the evening with her, James let the whole outburst go, she had understood something in chemistry, and the letter. She smiles at the thought and propels herself out of bed. She goes to her backpack laying on the floor and empties out it's contents. She finds the folder containing the letter and takes it out. She had been itching to reread it all day.

Very carefully, as if it were made of glass, Autumn carries it over to her bed and simply admires it. He had written it in ivory black ink in very careful handwriting. No words were crossed out, nor were any misspelled. She lightly traces her fingers over the ridges, bumps, and indents of the paper before reading it once more.

Autumn,

I just wanted to tell you that I'm extremely sorry for everything. After I left you in the forest, it gave me time to reflect on the way I've been behaving and I've come to realize that you're right. I should have realized that you would always be there for me. Even if I had come back to town the nerdy, bullied kid, you would still stick with me. You wouldn't care about your reputation - you'd care about me. About our friendship. I can't believe I'd be that shallow to give up our friendship for my reputation. For a shot at being in the popular crowd. You would have never done that. You're incredibly real - which is a rare thing to find in high school, I've come to realize.

I hope you'll find it in your heart to come to forgive me. I said some things that I regret. Especially regarding Lindsey. I know she's not the perfect girl and I didn't mean to say that. You're the perfect girl. She's the image of a perfect girl, which isn't so perfect after all. The short period while we were dating I've been over to her house while she's putting on make-up and it's like she's an entirely different person. Underneath the foundation and bronzer she's got freckles and zits and red marks. Her eyes are squinty. She's short and bulky. But when she's hiding underneath layers of make-up and clothes, it's easy to look past all of those things. That's what makes you so much better. If you don't mind me saying, you're beautiful.

I know this may seem so sudden to hear coming from the, the idiot who nearly let you go. But there was hardly a day when I moved that I didn't think about you. Wonder how you were doing. When we moved back, curiosity was burning inside of me. I wondered if you had a boyfriend. Yet, when the opportunity arose for me to ask you out, or catch up after all the years I passed it up. Why? Because I'm an idiot. And I feared that the past would repeat itself and I would be bullied again. What was I thinking? You might not realize it - but you're one of the bravest people I know. Going to school everyday as yourself, that takes a lot of courage. But what else should I expect from you?

You've always been courageous. Whether it's fighting off evil wizards, slaying dragons, or defending our fort from vampires who wanted our blood, you never showed any fear. You never showed fear when real consequences could happen. Every sleepover at my house you'd always be brave enough to sneak down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and steal cookies for the two of us. And we both know what would have happened if my mom could have found out. We would have gotten a very long , boring lecture about how stealing was bad, we should have gone to bed on time, and no more cookies for a month. It was pretty much a child's worst nightmare.

I have really missed you, Autumn, whether you believe it or not. How I could have messed up this badly, I don't know. Just remember that you're incredibly amazing, sweet, funny, and kind. I'm sorry for making you feel otherwise these past months, I'm sorry if you've ever shed a tear over me and I'm sorry that I could have potentially lost you. Once again, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. On top of that, I'd like to invite you to another date. On Saturday, if you're willing, I have endless ideas on how to spend the day together. Let me know if you'll accompany me.

-James

P.S. I am really hoping that I slipped this into the right locker.

Autumn finds herself smiling down at the letter with a goofy grin on her face. She reads it again and she's smiled so long that her cheeks had began to hurt. She couldn't wait to see James tomorrow and tell him that yes, she would love to hang out with him on Saturday.