Till Sunset Do Us Part

Chapter 7 ~ The Moonlight

That was when it was official that no one cared about what happened to me -- or so I thought. I couldn't take it anymore. With my tears endlessly rolling down my burning cheek, I made sure my door was locked and slid through my window. When I got to the field behind my fence, I wasn't able to think -- but my body was able to do that for me. Before I knew it, I was at the park, half a mile from my house. When I looked back, I figured I was only faintly visible.

But I really didn't care. I kept reminding myself that no one did. I sat down on the swing closest to me and looked up at the sky. The clouds covered everything besides a few scattered stars. Suddenly, my cell phone started to vibrate in my back, left pocket. Without looking, I pulled it out, pressed ignore, and slid it back into my front pocket, while whipping a tear from under my eye. I honestly didn't think that anyone could help me right now.

"So, you're just not gonna answer me?" I turned around, not sure that I wanted to see who I knew it was.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know who it was. I would've--"

"What's wrong? Have you been crying? Don't lie to me." He lifted me up from the hard swing and moved my hair out of my face.

"Nothing. It's nothing." I turned my head to hide the tears streaming down my face. No matter how much I wanted to, there was no way I would be able to wipe my tears and keep the fact that I was crying from him; he wasn't an idiot.

Besides, he was holding both of my hand and I didn't think he would let them go. But sure enough, after a long moment of silence, he let one go, only to turn my head to face him again. He could obviously tell that I was keeping an effort to hold in the tears.

"Damn it, Rita. Come here." He pulled me into a huge bear hug. That's when we both realized that I was freezing. He pushed me away, making it seem even colder with his extreme warmth. "What the hell are you doing with only a tee-shirt and jeans in the middle of this 30 degree weather? Have you lost it?"

He seemed to be full of questions that night. "Um, I don't know." He laughed slightly. But it was a more uptight version of the one I was used to now. He slipped his hoodie over me and adjusted it to my size. He was just a little taller than me, but it still made a small difference in the way we wore things. "Uh, thanks Trent." I put my hand in the pocket of his favorite hoodie. It was still warm from when he was wearing it. He grabbed my waist and gestured towards the make-shift tire bridge, behind the curly slide. He apparently understood that I didn't want to be found by my cousin. But I was pretty sure everyone was asleep by now.

When I laid down on the bridge, he laid down right next to me. I wasn't sure I should've been, but I was comfortable. "What happened?" I was looking up at the sky - showing more and more stars whenever I would look back up at it.

"I just ... needed a break from my siblings."

When I turned to look at his face after a minute of silence to see his expression, he was staring at me. He shook his head quickly. It seemed like he was trying to regain his right mind. "I'm sorry. I was ... um..." I couldn't help but to laugh even the slightest bit.

"Uh huh. It's okay. I think. It all depends on one thing."

He looked back at me, but only this time, with confused eyes. "Okay, what does it depend on exactly?"

I smiled. "What were you thinking about? And if you even try to get away with a lie, I'll catch you. You know that," I teased.