BESIDE YOU

Chapter 22

HAYDON

I open my eyes and look around to see a strange place. I feel really disoriented till I see Laura next to me.

I check my phone and see the time. Laura's knees were on her chest and she had rolled herself into a ball. I lean over and kiss her on the cheek.

I liked her. There was no doubt about that. But the question was that did I like her enough?

I watch her as she slowly opens her eyes. She turns her head and smiles at me before kissing me.

"Did we miss the sun set?",she asks me.

"Yes,we did. But we just missed it. The sky is still beautiful"

I've been dating Laura for a week now and trust me, she is the sweetest person on earth. She is honest, funny, calm and she could get me through anything. But then every once in a while I remember the times I made Demi laugh, the way she looked at me, just everything about her.

And I just can't let her go.

I tell myself that I can't let her get in between what I have with Laura. That Laura is the right person for me.

We watch the sky as it gets darker and darker and I take her hand and hold it tight. We go to a restaurant to have dinner and as we eat,we talk about random things. And then my phone buzzes. I stare at the screen to see a text from Demi.

Can you come to my house tomorrow?, it reads

Sure. What time?,I type.

After school, she texts back.

Okay. See you then, I send.

Laura must see the tension on my face because she asks,"What happened"?

"It is Nina's sister. She wants me to meet her tomorrow",I say.

"Oh! How is she coping with everything?"

"I don't know. She's really cold and closed off. And stubborn and tiring. I don't know her, to be honest"

"Did you know how she was before Nina died?"

I almost flinch when she says that. The thought that Nina is gone, has been gone for months now, is strange.

Let's not think about it, I tell myself.

"I didn't know her before", I say.

Now that I think of it, I wish I knew her before. Would she like me then? Or worse, would she still be cold and indifferent?

I suddenly feel the need to share everything with Laura. So I tell her how I met Demi and everything that happened after. I avoid the vandalism and asking her out part and cover everything else. Since vandalism was the major part, I had to alter the story a little.

"Have you considered the possibility that she might need help? According to what I understood, she has trouble coping with the changes in her life and needs help",Laura says.

" My cousin is a psychologist. Do you think I should tell her to maybe think about getting help", I say.

"Definitely. Make sure that she gets help"

I promise Laura that I'll make sure that Demi gets help. But I didn't know how i was going to present this to Demi. I decide to figure that out later.

We finish the dinner, I pay and then drive back to our homes. I kiss her goodbye and as I am about to drive away she asks, "What's her name" ?