Transitions of a lost soul

( Chapter 16: An overdue conversation)

It's been a while since I've heard or seen my friends since that night and I missed them. I know it was a traumatic experience for all of us to endure, but we needed to have a talk about it and deal with the situation. I texted the group chat and decided to make up a plan for us to meet at a waterfront, where we can all be together alone to speak. Chris looks at me as I dropped my phone, sighing because it might be a failure. He held my shoulders and rubbed them. "They can't go too long without seeing you, they'll come I promise you." He kisses me and it relaxes me a little bit but not enough.

"I just hope they're okay enough to talk about it. They were good friends with him too, despite what happened near the end between us." Chris ensures that it'll work and that I need to have faith. "I have to go okay and go to work, I'll be back by 7." He kisses me again and heads out the door. I take his advice and get myself ready to leave in 2 hours to get to the waterfront. Brandon's death will be scarred in all our brains and we will never forget it, but it's worse to stay in silence..especially with each other.

2 hours fly by and I head to the waterfront by the park I used to skate in. Saint Avery waterfront was the name and I used to come here as a child with my mom because she knew I loved to look at the boats. I only came here once with Liza, but the others have never been here before. I sat by a bench and waited for them to show. None of them texted the chat and I started to worry, thinking all of them would be a no show..until I looked up. I saw all of them walk up towards me and I ran so fast to hug them tightly one by one. "Hey Jar Jar, sorry we've all gone M.I.A. You look....radiant." Liza says to me, lifting her eyebrows to me.

"Oh come on don't start with your predictions Liz." Alannah laughs at her and we all proceed to walk by the bench and sit together. "Well what's been going on everyone? we've all practically ghosted each other." Jacob says to us. "I'll start, I'm working at that new spa place that just opened up and that's about it as far as recently." Liza starts up. Alannah followed up by telling us about how she's almost finished with her art classes and that she'll be an amateur painter soon, as for Jacob he's still helping out his grandmother with her bodega. "It's your turn Jar, how's everything going with you?" Lannah asks me.

"Well remember that guy we met that night, Chris?" They all nodded their heads in unison as I asked the question. "Me and him are dating, we just made it official two weeks ago, so it's still fresh." Alannah and Liza were happy for me to move on, but of course Jacob being like an asshole brother he tells me: " I hope he can walk on stumps if he breaks your heart like Brandon did." I laughed at his comment and said it'll never become anything like how it was with Brandon. "Speaking of Brandon, how are you guys dealing with that mentally? It's such a huge elephant in the room." We all sat in silence for two minutes to gather our thoughts.

Lannah breaks the quietness and says to us: " it's best we keep that under the table..it was so fucked up to witness I don't even want to relive it." As much I wanted to talk about it, maybe it's best we don't, for the sake of our sanity. Jacob and Liza agreed and we decided to change the topic. We talked about everything that's been keeping us happy in the meantime and it made me feel whole again. Though I have Chris now, it felt so empty not having my friends around..but that separation was needed for all of us. I can Long try to forget that night, but I know I never will..but for now I'm doing my best too, we all are.