The Good, the Bad, and the Crazy. //+//A Complicated Love Story//+//

Chapter 24: Branson.

Her eyes flickered open.

“Mary.” Charlie whispered “I’m so sorry.”

She looked up at me him.

“Don’t be. You can control who you fall in love with. I know that better than anyone else. You fell in love with a bitch, she fell in love with a goof. I fell in love with an idiot jock, he fell in love with a crazy girl. We’re not in control of these things. I’d understand if you took her back. I think we all would.”

Did she just say she loved me back? I think she did.

Charlie sighed “I’m seriously thinking about going to see her later. You guys really won’t be mad?”

Bryan laughed “I’m just relieved its all over.”

Mary scoffed “You guys still don’t get it. It’ll never be over.”

“Mary,” I began to say “it’s not the end of the word if you don’t get into college.”

“It’s the end of my word.” She said turning her head so that her face was buried in Charlie’s lap “That’s not even what I meant. She’s not going to stop until she wins.”

“But didn’t she just loose?” Bryan asked.

“No.” Mary mumbled against Charlie’s leg “Didn’t you guys hear her? She had one trick left up her sleeve. That’s what she said. Something to take it all away. Everything. I don’t know what it is. But I know it’ll work.”

Bryan stroked her hair “Don’t worry about that now, just go to sleep.” She said.

I watched Mary’s perfect face as she drifted into a dream.

“Oh, Aaron.” I said “Your cars still back there.” I spoke through the little window on the wall in-between the driver and the back compartment of the van.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it later.” He mumbled staring straight ahead.

“Hey,” Charlie said “I don’t want to go home.”

“Me neither.” I agreed.

“Yeah,” Aaron and Bryan agreed.

“Hey, we should go to the lake.” Sam said bouncing in his seat as he turned off the high way.

My parents owned a small stretch of land out in the country and there are three cabins surrounding the lake. We own them all and sometimes we go there just to get away.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Chalice said.

“Hey, can we go pick up Sophia to come with?” Aaron asked.

“Sure.” Sam said. So we headed to my house. Kate was out of town and Junior was at a friend’s house. I left a note for mom and dad and got Sophia in the car with us.

“Oh.” She said when she saw Mary.

“She’s cool.” Aaron assured her.

“Really?” She asked sounding doubtful.

“Yeah, she’s even one of my favorites on my phone.”

She laughed at his attempt at a joke.

“Oh and Sophia this is Bryan, Bryan this is my sister and Aarons girlfriend Sophia.” I said.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” They both said shaking hands.

We arrived at the lake in no time at all.

“I though you said these were cabins.” Bryan said hopping out of the back of the van.

“They are.” Sam said taking her hand.

“No, these are like mansions. They’re three stories. A cabin can’t be three stories.”

Sam laughed.

“Who’s bunking with who?” He asked.

I grabbed Mary in my arms; she was still asleep so I had to be very careful not to wake her.

“Sophia and Aaron are in the first cabin.” I said “No matter how gross that is.”

Aaron wrapped an arm around my sister and they skipped off to the first cabin.

I laughed “Sam, Bryan and Charlie can all share a cabin. And I’ll share with Mary.”

“Hold up.”  Bryan complained “What if Mary doesn’t want to share with you.”

“Bryan, I need to be there when she wakes up. I need to talk to her alone.” I insisted.

“All right.” She said grudging “But I swear if you hurt her again, I will kill you. I got my gun in the van.”

I looked up at Sam and Charlie. Sam was staring down at her with admiring eyes and Charlie looked a little scared.

“She’s got a real good shot too.” Charlie said.

I laughed “I promise she’ll be safe with me.”

I watched them walk away to their cabin and Bryan shoot uncertain glances back at me time and time again.

I carried Mary into the last cabin and laid her down on one of the beds. I sat in a nearby chair just waiting for her to wake up.

At one point in the night she mumbled something that sounded a whole lot like my name. I got closer to hear her better

“Branson.” She said breathlessly and she rolled over “My poor Branson.” She was starting to squirm and she got a concerned look on her face. Just the she gasped and sat up “Branson!” She screamed sounding small and frightened.

“Mary, I’m right here. What wrong?” I said moving towards her.

She was wide awake now and she leaned into my open arms willingly.

“I had a terrible dream.” She said.

“What was it about?”

“You and I were in a big green field and the sun was shining and it was just us and it was perfect.”

I smiled “It sounds pretty perfect.”

“But then it started storming and there was a baby and it was…crying. We ran to help it and you got there first. You were trying to calm it down but then it started laughing. Not a baby’s laugh though. Layla’s laugh. The one I always hear in my head.” She explained.

“You hear Layla in your head?” I asked.

“All the time.” She said.

“What happened next?”

“Next the baby wrapped its arms around your neck and it got bigger and bigger until it wasn’t a baby anymore. It was you. A younger you. I think…I think it was you from seventh grade. And then you, the smaller you, stomped your foot on the ground and a huge whole opened up in the earth. You started falling and falling. I jumped in after you but you told me to stop, and then Bryan caught me and pulled me back up. I wanted her to let me go. I wanted to jump in after you, but she wouldn’t let me.” She was almost to the point of tears now.

“Please no more crying. You don’t know how hard it is for me to watch you in pain.” I said.

She pulled away and whipped her face once, then she turned her head to stare at me “You really love me?”

“Yes, and I’ve thought of a solution to your problem. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. We’ll go together.”