A week went by and I didn't talk to anyone, not even my mother. I didn't tell her anything about Chris. It wasn't gonna help anything. For the most part, all I really did was sit in my room looking out the window, imagining Chris sitting outside smoking a cigarette.
I had to get him out of my head. If it wan gonna be 5 years, it was gonna be a long 5 years sitting and waiting every day.
Gordie. I could spend time with Gordie. It would definitely take my mind off of things. I called him. "Hello?" Gordie asked. "Gordie, it's Emily. Hey, what do you have going on today?" "Nothing really, did you want to do something today?" "Yes, I could love to do something. Anything to get me out of the house." I said, sounding a little desperate. "Okay, how about going to a park?" He asked me. "That sounds great. Can you come over in 15 minutes?" I asked. "Of course. See ya."
There was a knock on the apartment door. "Sup, Gordie." I said with a smile on my face. I closed the door behind me and we headed for the park. "So how've you been, Em? I mean, since Chris is gone and all." He asked me. "I'm okay. I guess I'm still in shock. I haven't completely broken down yet but that's next, I'm sure." I said.
"Know that I'm always there for you, okay?" He stopped us from walking and rubbed my arm. "Thank you, Gordie." I smiled. "And don't you worry, Em. We'll find Teddy." He slightly grinned. I gave him a hug.
We made it to the park and sat on the swings. "I bet I can go higher than you." Gordie challenged me. "You're on!" I said and started pumping my legs. I got so high that I thought I was going to end up going over the pole and upside down. "Jump!" Gordie yelled. "Are you crazy!? I'll break a leg!" "No you won't! Here, grab my hand!" He yelled. I did so, and we both jumped off together, landing safely on the ground, except the fact that I felt like I sprained my foot.
We played soccer with a ball that was left in the field, and hiked a trail in the woods nearby for a bit. There were a few tents around.. They looked like they weren't supposed to be there. One of the tents even looked familiar to Gordie. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he ignored it and we kept walking.
"What time do you need to be home by?" He asked me. "Eh, I should probably go now, if that's okay." I said. He walked me home.
"Thanks for today, Gordie. It was fun and I really needed it." I said and gave him a hug. "No problem." He smiled.
My mom was on the phone all day to see if anyone knew where Teddy was. Still nothing. It was scaring me. It had been 2 weeks. But for some reason, I could feel that he was still alive. There was still hope in me that knew.
I began to put signs up on every corner to see if anyone had seen him. They had our phone number, and had copies of a picture of him. Something had to come up. Something.
Gordie knocked on the door the next day. "Hey, wanna go play tennis?" He asked. "Uh, Yeah! Sure. I'll be right out. Wait for me outside?" I asked. "Of course!" He said and went out front. I put on shorts, a t-shirt, and some converse. I grabbed my racket out of the closet and ran outside. Gordie was no where to be found.
"Gordie?" I called out. He didn't answer. I just sat there for a second to see if I could spot him anywhere. Out of nowhere, he jump up behind me and poked my sides, scaring the crap out of me. "You suck Gordie!" I yelled as he laughed. "C'mon, let's go." He said in between laughs.
We hung out every day that week. It was nice, like something was actually going our way for once. He didn't get mad at me for every little thing i did, he asked me about how things were going, and seemed like he actually cared.
Things were different with Gordie.
