Across the Bridge

Across the Bridge - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At the end of my shift, I was surprised to see Alex outside the library, waiting for me. He was wearing a tank top and shorts and his hair was poofy in the front and a bit crazy.

   "Hey!" he yelled, scaring me a bit.

   "Hi," I said back, trying not to sound too excited to see him. It had been over a week. "What are you doing here?" I asked, as we started to walk. I was not only surprised he was there, but that he was alone. He and Simone had been joined at the hip for over a month.

  "I missed you," he answered without missing a beat.

  "Yeah?" I asked, teasing him. I was also a bit annoyed, suddenly.

  "Of course," he said, then bumped his shoulder into mine. "Sorry I haven't been around much."

  "It's all good," I told him, forcing a smile.

  "Do you want to hang out? I'll buy you a coffee," he said quickly.

  I really wanted to hang out and I didn't want to go home. I should have just agreed to the coffee, but I didn't. For some reason, I couldn't shake this feeling.

  "Where's Simone?" I asked him, watching for his reaction.

  "Pen," Lex said, grabbing my hand.

  I stopped walking. "What?"

  "Why do you have to do that?" he asked.

  "Do what?"

  "I came to hang out with you. I thought you'd be happy," he said, still holding my hand. His eyes were pleading.

  I swallowed. "I am."

  "Okay," he smiled. "Coffee?"

  So I nodded and followed as he turned the corner. The coffee shop was close by. We had been there lots of times together.  I sat at a table while Alex went to get our coffees. He knew what I liked. He knew a lot of things about me.  When I was young, I always wondered if I'd ever have a friend like him.

  "So, how's the library?" he asked, sitting down across from me a few minutes later.

   I smiled at him, for real. "It's good."

  "I can't believe the summer's almost over," he went on, sliding his hands across the table.

  "I know."

  "At least we'll see each other every day again," he added.

  "Right, yeah," I agreed.

  "What's wrong? You mad at me?" He looked concerned.

  "I'm not. I just... I like working at the library. A lot. Going back to school is..." I let my voice trail off, as Lex sipped his coffee.

  "It'll be great," he told me, but I wasn't convinced. "It's so awesome you have a phone now, too."

  I nodded, agreeing. I'd never had a cell phone before, so I felt intimidated by all the apps; the things the other kids knew all about and had been using for years was all so new to me. I had Facebook on my Mom's laptop, which I rarely checked. Lex talked about all the apps, SnapChat and Twitter and more, but I was so out of the loop. I pretty much only texted Lex with it. 

  It really was nice to spend time with Alex, but we both knew it was different now. We could feel it. In ninth grade, he had sort of saved me. He'd taken me under his wing. Now I was seventeen and was totally independent of him. He was still my best friend. But I didn't know what I was to him.

  "I'll walk you to the train," he smiled as we were leaving the coffee shop a while later.

  Still, I wondered where his girlfriend was, but I kept it to myself. She was usually bossing him around so he wasn't able to spend time with me, but now he just showed up and didn't want to talk about it? Something was going on.

  We were both quiet as we walked to the train stop, and when he finally spoke, it surprised me.

  "Oh, there's a party Friday night. I want you to go with me."

  "Party?" I asked, already rolling my eyes.

  "Yes. It's the end of the summer party. Camilla Rhodes is hosting... you know her..." Lex went on, ignoring my eye roll.

  I shook my head. "I don't know."

  "Please? It will be good for you... so you can socialize with the people we will be hanging with at school. It's not like you have an excuse-"

  I stopped walking. "What do you mean by that?"

  Alex sighed. "You always had to take care of Asa, I know. But now he's..."

  "Gone? In jail? I know," I spat out.

  "Pen... please. Think about it at least?" He was begging.

  "Fine," I told him, as we stepped up the train station.

  Alex grinned, surprised. "See you soon, then?"

  I half hugged him and then watched him turn and walk back towards where we'd come from.

  My Mother was in an exceptionally bad mood when I got home, so I avoided the kitchen, even though I was hungry. She yelled to me that I should make something for dinner, but I was already going down the hallway to my bedroom.

  I missed my brother, which was crazy considering how he treated me for a year before he got sent away. But being in that tiny house with my mother now was so hard. Asa had been a buffer, even though it was usually the reason we fought. Now, she hardly talked to me at all. She never talked about Asa. She never went to see him. I hated her for acting like he had never existed at all.

  The week went by too fast and when Friday arrived, I woke up to a text from Alex.

  PARTY TONIGHT!

  During the week he'd asked enough times that I'd finally agreed, but even now I was unsure. I hadn't been to a party in well over a year. Social gatherings were strange to me. I avoided the people who hosted parties. I didn't want them to know about my life. Alex was just a social butterfly and he loved parties and any excuse to be in a big group of friends.

  Once again, I wondered why he wanted me to go with him now and where the heck his girlfriend was. I knew she would never agree to a party if there would be other girls there that he knew. But, I'd agreed to the party, so I knew I had to go.

  That morning, my mother was in the kitchen when I went in to make a coffee. Generally, she was either gone already or still fast asleep when I made my way through.

  "What are you up to after work?" she asked me, so casually that she almost seemed like a real mother.

  "Uh, getting together with Alex," I answered, not bringing up the party. I knew better.

  "Oh, twice in one week. Wow," she remarked.

  "What?"

  "It's nice that you're seeing Alex regularly again." Was that a smile on her face?

  "The summer was busy," I said quickly.

  She nodded. "Tell him I said hello."

  "Sure, Mom," I finished, adding a splash of milk to my coffee before heading out the door.