Somewhere In Brooklyn

Chapter 61

January 23, 2018

"You promised you wouldn't let go!"

Despite being yelled at, Dale couldn't stop the laughter that's bursting out of his mouth. How could he? Althea, with her pink helmet, pink elbow pads, and pink knee pads, was standing a few feet away and glaring at him. Her bike was laying on the ground beside her.

Dale raised his hands as a sign of peace. "I... I'm s-sorry. But you w-were d-doing okay. You d-didn't even notice I w-was gone."

He rushed towards her and picked up her bike. When he looked up at her, gone was the stink eye and thin line of her lips on her face and replaced by her sad puppy eyes and adorable pout. "Yeah, but still! You said you would push me over there,"—she pointed to the tree—"and when I looked back, I panicked because you weren't behind me. I almost fell to the ground."

"Yeah, I saw." His remark earned him a weak punch in the shoulder. "Th-that was what the helmet a-and the p-pads for!"

Huffing, Althea sat down on the nearest bench and took off her helmet. Dale lent it to her four days ago when they started going to the park to teach her how to ride a bike. She could only assume the helmet was his sister's.

She remembered the night after they went to the cemetery. Dale had been unusually quiet when they got to his home. She asked him if he was alright and he just nodded. Not wanting to push him or call him out on his lie, she just pulled him into a tight embrace and that was what all it took for Dale to break down. He told her the guilt that's eating him inside when he left his sister the night she died. He cried about how it should have been him instead of her. He clung into her arms until he fell asleep, leaving Althea awake with her heart breaking for the boy she loved.

"I'm never gonna learn," she whined when he joined her, taking the bottle of water he's offering. "You know what, I'm just really gonna sell this bike online. At least we're gonna earn some cash."

Dale smiled. "D-don't say that. You w-were d-doing great e-earlier."

"We've been doing this for four days. The only time I reached that tree was when you were pushing me! Why do I even have to learn how to ride a bike? There's a lot of people who don't know how to ride a bike. And besides there's the subway. Or I could just walk if I need to exercise. You keep saying that you're gonna teach me but you let go and I lost my balance."

The smile on Dale's face never faltered, wanting to annoy her more by reminding her that she lost her balance because she looked back, not because he let go. Instead he said, "How are y-you g-gonna learn to b-balance on y-your own if you ex-expect me to push you? I'm n-not always gonna be around to p-push you."

Althea whipped her head so fast. "Don't say that." Her voice was firm. "I know you didn't mean it to sound like that with what you said earlier, but it did sounded like that." Along with how Leslie died, Dale also told Althea his plans the night they bumped into each other. It was a lot for her to take in, she didn't want to imagine where she would be right now if she didn't purposely walked into him.

Dale mumbled an apology before saying, "Come on, let's t-try again. How about this? I-I'll p-push you, b-but... but I will let go."

"That's what you did earlier!" She cried out, her pout was back.

"Yeah, b-but this time y-you won't look back, okay? B-Besides, I-I'll keep walking a-after... after you after I let g-go so you won't notice. D-Deal?"

Althea didn't like that deal but before she could even say no, Dale was already putting on the helmet on her head for her. He fastened the strap of her helmet and checked her elbow and knee pads in place. She hesitantly sat down on the bike, gripped the handles tightly, and took a deep breath before she started to pedal.

Dale slowly walked behind her, humming the tune of a song that she introduced to him and holding onto the back of her seat to push her. He made sure not to lean on her or the bike, so she wouldn't feel anything when he let go. When he reached the count of 27 (there's approximately 50 counts to reach the tree as her finish line), he slowly let go, but kept on humming and walking.

Althea was sure she knew the exact moment Dale stopped pushing, because her shoulders started to feel more tense, her hands more sweaty, and her heart felt like it was about to escape her chest. She would close her eyes if she could, but that would be a disaster. So she kept pedaling and pedaling and pedaling.

Dale was behind her anyway, humming one of her favorite songs. She knew he wouldn't let her fall.

She resumed counting in her mind. She figured if she counted, she'd reach the tree faster.

33... 34... 35... 36... 37... Almost there.

She must had pedaled faster because she was only on 46 when she reached the tree. Fina-fucking-lly. "I did it!"

Althea looked back at Dale, and sure enough he was just right behind her, proudly grinning down at her. She couldn't see that boy who cried all night in her arms right now, but it's there. It's a part of him. And she loved that part along with every pieces of him. Just as much as she loved this annoying but sweet side of him who never stopped to encourage and support her into completing on learning a basic skill.

He hugged her tight against his body, lifted her up and showered her face with kisses until his lips finally landed into hers. "I'm p-proud of you," he murmured before kissing her.

"Proud of you, too." Althea whispered it so quietly, she was sure Dale didn't hear it, but it was okay because she would make sure he would feel it for as long as they're together.

// unedited.