"There was something else occupying my mind though. It was a certain anniversary that was coming up."
-MATT
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Somehow, while we were fanning the fire with paper to get it going a little more, things had gone completely wrong.
Someone had left the one thing we were supposed to get out of this night at the cabin out instead of putting it away.
And now it had fluttered into the fire.
“The instructions!”
“How are we supposed to build a raft now?”
“Mr. Ehway never prepared us for this one,” Amy muttered.
That’s right; the instructions on building a raft had burned to ashes in the fire.
“Wow,” Kyle said in mock amazement. “We sure know how to make things easier for us.”
“You have successfully woken me up with bad news.” My brother stated. “Can’t you ever wake me up by bringing a cake over or something? Not lighting something important on fire.”
“Sorry Ethan, next time we plan on making things difficult on ourselves we will do it before you fall asleep,” Amy said sarcastically.
“Guys,” I started slowly, cautiously. “I don’t think building a raft without instructions will be too hard. I think we have all seen enough TV shows with that in it or read a book with it somewhere to have a general idea.”
“I…uh…” Johnny trailed off in thought for a second. “You’re right.” Kyle nodded decisively along with him.
“I have a good idea on how to build a raft. I have read plenty of informational books in my lifetime to understand the general idea. No worries, guys.”
And it was decided. There wasn’t much to worry about on the raft, we all decided. What had happened happened, and we couldn’t turn ashes back into paper.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Amy questioned, leaning on her elbows.
We sat in silence for a while, none of us really answering her. Ethan, Johnny, and Kyle looked as if they were going to fall asleep, and the rest of us were pretty tired out also. It had been an exhausting day, and we still had more to endure.
There was something else occupying my mind though. It was a certain anniversary that was coming up.
In exactly one week, it would be the official anniversary of the date that me and Kelly Howards got together.
The first person I ever truly fell in love with.
And it was time my friends knew the real story.
***
“Guys?” I almost whispered the word, my voice coming out a lot more hesitant than I had wished it would.
“What’s wrong, Matt?” Julia and Amy quickly picked up on my nerves, although I tried to brush them off.
“I just think it’s time I told you all something I don’t really talk about…”
I had officially gotten everyone’s attention. Even Andrew was focused on me as I scratched my shoulder nervously. Ethan, Johnny, and Kyle all slowly opened their droopy eyes, turning their faces to me.
“Is everything okay?” My brother sat up. He cleared his throat to get rid of his scratchy voice from only just waking up.
“Sorry I woke you, but I don’t think I’ll ever get myself to talk about this if I don’t do it now. Some of you already know part of the story, some of you know lies, and some of you don’t know anything, so I’m sorry guys. I think only a few adults know what really happened, besides him of course.”
“Matt…you aren’t making much sense.” Amy laid a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to talk right now?”
“Yes.” I took in a few deep breaths before opening my mouth once again. “I really loved Kelly Howards, and I think a piece of me always will.” I was cut off by the startled gasps of Amy and Julia, along with my brother and Johnny. They probably never expected me to say her name ever again. Kyle and Andrew were as confused as ever, but soon enough they would understand.
“Matt, you really don’t have to talk about this.” Ethan gave me a concerned look. “I mean, clearly it has always been a tough subject.” He only knew the half of it. But, I was still going to continue.
“I met her when I was eight. She moved in next door back then, and we quickly became good friends. I knew Amy and Julia, and we were best friends then, so you remember this. Kelly and I quickly became as close as I was to you two. And later, closer.
“We started dating in middle school. Already in love by eighth grade, unlike most people. Our parents thought we were the cutest, and we really were the ‘it couple.’ Mostly because our love for each other was obvious, even at a young age. Amy, Julia, you remember this.”
And they did. I could tell by the looks they exchanged with each other. Kyle and Andrew were probably having a difficult time picturing how being so in love at such a young age was possible, but it had happened with me and Kelly. Ethan and Johnny weren’t that old when this all happened, so it probably wasn’t very clear to them, but they remembered a portion of it. Ethan even knew snippets of what I was talking about from hearing stuff around the house.
“Tim was my best guy friend. We were pretty close, and whenever I wasn’t with Amy, Julia, or Kelly, I was with Tim. I trusted him with my life, and he was like a second brother to me. At the beginning of ninth grade though…things went wrong. Tim and I were still just as close, really, but he started partying. He made some…different…friends. He hung out with a different crowd. And then, he went after Kelly.
“If he truly loved her, I would have understood, but he didn’t. He completely deceived her, making up crap so I looked like a total douchebag to Kelly. He made up these stories about me cheating, and all this shit about stuff I was doing, but Kelly never listened. She trusted me. But then he got proof. It wasn’t real proof, he made it all up, but his new crowd was powerful. He hung out with the wrong kinds of people…and they helped him get just what he wanted.
“After he turned Kelly against me, he charmed her into falling for him. And once she had, he completely broke her heart.”
“Why didn’t you tell us any of this, Matt?” Amy whispered. Julia’s eyes were wide also, nodding along with Amy.
“I…there’s more.” I started back up where I had left off. “Once Kelly realized what had happened, she tried to talk to me. She begged for me to take her back, explaining that she still loved me, Tim had just screwed with her thoughts and feelings a lot. I told her no. I was still crushed from what Tim did and that she had gone to him, so I didn’t take her back. I loved her, yes, but she had really hurt me by going to Tim. It wasn’t something I could easily accept.
“Unfortunately, this all made things too difficult for her. She…umm…she…” I paused, unable to continue for a while as I tried to regain my voice. “She jumped from a pretty high building.”
“Oh my gosh! Matt…I thought she moved away…I’m so sorry!” Julia and Amy both leaned over to hug me, and Andrew looked down as if unsure of what to say.
“She’s still alive. Someone saw her before she jumped and they were able to save her enough so that she isn’t dead, but she’s still in the hospital now. She probably will be for a while, even after she’s healed. She’s coping with coming to terms with everything, along with forgiving herself. She feels guilty for everything that happened, even though I have forgiven her. I’m no longer in love with her…but a piece of me still loves her. We had something really special, and it’s been hard…
“After all of that happened in ninth grade, it’s part of the reason I wanted to come here. I’m sorry for pushing you guys into it, but it had been a rough year for me. I couldn’t stay at that school. Nobody knew the whole story, but come on...rumors and shit happen. I just couldn’t really handle it there. Tim got caught doing drugs or something over the summer, as some of you know, so I don’t really have to face him anymore. It was just kind of hard being around all the memories.”
“Mom and Dad knew though, didn’t they?” Ethan looked thoughtful. “That’s what all those ‘closed doors’ conversations were about, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, they knew. And they helped me with it. They also explained a lot of it to your parents.” I said, implying Amy and Julia’s families. “The whole story’s kinda confusing, but that’s most of it.”
“That’s tough, man. I’m really sorry.” Andrew patted me on the shoulder, and Kyle nodded along, his eyes wide.
“Wow, sorry guys. I didn’t mean to scare you all or something.” I looked at Johnny and Kyle as I said this, possibly meaning them more than the others. Kyle was young and knew nothing of this, and Johnny was young and didn’t know much.
“I thought…I mean…that’s why you never get serious with girls now, isn’t it?” Amy mumbled thoughtfully.
Before I could answer, there was a loud bang. Startled, my hand shot out and grabbed the gun, holding it out in front of me with wide, nervous eyes. I scanned the cabin, looking for anything potentially dangerous. Or anyone.
There was nothing, though, and so I slowly laid the gun back down.
“Matt!” Amy cried, alarmed by my actions. “It was probably just an animal or something outside. No need to freak out like that!”
“I know…I know. Sorry.”
“It’s…it’s okay.” Amy grumbled. “You just kind of got us all pretty scared.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just on high alert lately.”
I had a good reason to be.
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So sorry this is late! Anyone who read the message I sent out know's why it's so late! If you didn't see the message, go read it on my profile for an explanation.
Also, I know I said this would be in Amy's POV, but plans in my mind changed around and now it's in Matt's!
Thoughts on this chapter? Some deep stuff was revealed...Matt's trust issues have a reason to exist...and Amy had sex with that dude...hmmmm o.O
So, thirty votes for an upload on Saturday (Date change due to late upload)
Lol, I know that was a really far out number. I just want to see what happens haha. I usually only get like five votes, but a TON more reads....so I want to see what happens.
Speak up you silent readers :P
I love you all, silent or not(:
Now, thoughts on this chapter?
xx
Ella