If Not for You (Completed)

Part 2: Ten Years Later

1Kazzi

It was strange to be back after so many years away. A thousand pictures floated through my head of a time that seemed like eons ago, bringing with them bittersweet memories, some harder to face than others. When I pulled up outside of a certain convenience store, they all but ambushed me, and I took a deep breath before stepping outside into the sweltering July heat.

A bronze-skinned man with graying black hair stood behind the counter while a younger man with similar features stocked a chip shelf. Boy had grown two feet since I'd last seen him. They both grinned at me as I walked in.

"Kazzi! Long time no see."

"Hey, Amar, Punjab." I offered a sly smile, and he rolled his eyes at me.

"You ever going to stop calling me that? You're lucky I don't take offense to it anymore."

I shrugged. "I'm just teasing. Sorry. How are you doing, Mo?"

"Just business as usual. You back in town for the reunion?"

"Among other things. I'm on my way to the school now, then I've got a meeting with a new patient in the psych ward at the hospital this afternoon, then my parents want to see me. Busy, busy."

"The psych ward, huh? Exciting." Amar said with intense sarcasm from where he was still stocking, and I shrugged.

"It's not so bad, but I do need some serious caffeine before I head up there." Backing away from the counter, I pulled a Starbucks energy drink from the cooler and brought it back to Mo, who rang it up at an employee discount. "You don't have to do that when I come in, you know." I said, and he shrugged.

"Only for my friends." Still smiling, he rounded the counter and caught me up in a hug. "You going to check out any of the old haunts while you're here?"

"As if going back to high school isn't bad enough?" I chuckled, and shook my head, blowing out a short breath.

I knew which haunt in particular he was referring to; a hollowed-out storage room beneath a certain bridge across town. I hadn't been back there since the week I lost Kale. I couldn't stand to see it. Just the thought of going made my heart race with a soul-deep ache I hadn't paid attention to in years. Brushing it off with a forced smile, I shook my head again.

"I wish I had time, but no. I have to get back to work after I see my folks. I only took the day off for the reunion, and still got stuck with an appointment."

Mo's eyes showed both sympathy and understanding. "Busy, busy." He repeated my words to me.

"I swear I don't have time to breathe anymore."

He shrugged. "That's the price of the path you've chosen, but a worthy path it is. You are much more respectable now than you were in high school. You were a punk."

"Thanks a lot."

He smiled. "You were, and you know it. I'm proud of how much you've grown and the career you've chosen. I know Kale would've been proud too."

My smile wilted on a sigh. "Yeah..."

He patted my shoulder. "I know you miss him. We all do. Boy was like a son to me..."

Nodding, I forced my smile back in place and hugged him before starting toward the door. "You take care, you hear? And Amar, stop growing." He grinned as I returned my focus to Mo. "I'll see you around."

"Don't be a stranger. Take it easy."

I waved and returned to my car, hating the way the sun shimmered in heat waves off the hot metal as I climbed in. Cranking the air jets, I sipped my drink and started across town toward the school. A last-minute decision, however, had me turning around, and I kept my hands firmly on the wheel as I drove, finally exiting the city district and following the back streets toward the bridge.