I Love You Because

October 18th

        "Y-yes," I stammered, "Nina's my best friend. I can't let anything happen to her."

        Joe nodded, calmly accepting my answer. "I assume you plan on visiting her, wherever she is?"

        "The flight is scheduled for tomorrow."

        "Brilliant. Listen, I'm here to help you. Tomorrow, I can be your escort, since you're underage, and your ride, since I'm assuming your parents don't know about this and may notice if their car goes missing for hours. Even if they notice you being gone after a while, the car would be a dead giveaway."

        I nodded in thought. What Joe said made perfect sense... Why didn't I think of it before? "And why would you help me?"

        Joe rolled his eyes. "I told you, I've been in this situation before, and if my friends didn't help me, I wouldn't be here today at all," he said, surprisingly nonchalant for the solemnness of his words.

        "Well, I'm glad they succeeded," I said, smiling a bit.

        Joe simply shrugged his broad shoulders. "Me too. What's her name again?"

        "Nina. Nina Flores."

        "Do you know why she wants to die?" he asked, his eyes searching my own for any trace of emotion. I knew that's what I usually did when I was uncomfortable, so I started to make a conscious effort not to maintain a blank look.

        "Abusive boyfriend and tough family life," I responded. I was about to elaborate when I saw Daniel walking towards us with a quizzical look on his face. I cursed under my breathe and turned to the boy next to me.

        "You need to leave," I said apologetically, nudging him in the arm. "That little pest will never let me hear the end of this."

        Joe's eyes followed mine until they landed on my brother's small figure before smirking. "Alright, just call me when you need me tomorrow, okay?"

        I nodded in agreement and shoved on his arm harder until he relented and climbed out of the car and into the rain. As soon as he was out, Dan jumped into the now soaked seat.

        "Who was that? You're boyfriend? He's scary. You know what else was scary? When it thundered in the field! I thought I was gonna die! I was so--"

        I sighed and turned on the radio, tuning out Daniel's annoying voice. He barely seemed to notice the disturbance and kept yammering away. I, on the other hand, allowed myself to drift into my own thoughts, barely paying attention to my surroundings.

        A sudden whooshing sound snapped me out of my trance, and I realized that my tires were slipping dangerously on the slick road. I managed to right the car before we left the lane, but the rest of the car ride was much more cautionary. My brother didn't notice a thing, though, and he kept obliviously droning on about his day until we got home.

        It took all of my maturity and self control not forcibly throw the child out of the window. Luckily, I've had years of practice.

        "Hey, Dan, why don't you go play in your room for a bit? I'll call you down when dinner is ready," I suggested sweetly through a forced smile.

        Luckily, my brother didn't seem to notice and he skipped up the staircase, closing his door with a slam. As soon I heard the telltale sign that he was out of my hair, I collapsed onto the couch, face first, and allowed myself to brood on my thoughts.

        Firstly, why the hell was Joe everywhere I went? Speaking of that, how did he know I would be at the soccer field? That's just creepy.

        Secondly, what was I going to tell Nina today? I love her because she sends me into a spiraling pit of confusion? Not very uplifting if I do say so myself.

        And lastly, in what universe did my mind think flying across the ocean was a good idea? Sure, I knew that I needed to see Nina, but why didn't I just, I don't know... ask? How hard would that have been?

        I raised my head from its suffocating positon on the pillow groggily and pulled out my cell phone. No new notifications from Nina. I decided that now was as good a time as any to contact her, because even though it was late there, my best friend was always awake.

Hey.

        I decided to start with small talk. When Nina didn't respond immediately, I got up to grab my earbuds and some pretzels, and by the time I returned, I had two new messages.

What's up?

        And

I need new ideas for procrastination.

        I thought for a minute before responding.

Maybe draw? You're so talented.

        Nina replied right after.

Thanks, that's a good idea.

Hey Nina?

Yea?

I love you because your drawings can transport me into a different world.