✺ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 ✺- Josh Kiszka

Part 28

After what felt like an eternity, I had recounted almost every detailed moment of my day to Violet. From the awkward ride, all the way to us finding Sam's car parked in m

I had intentionally left out the specifics of the beautiful spot Josh had taken me to, brushing it over briefly and only describing it as a simple picnic at a nearby lake.

Even though I desperately wanted to tell her every detail about the hidden paradise, I suppressed it. I felt it would have been insolent of me to ruin the secret Josh and I now shared. I wanted it to remain ours, even if it meant keeping it from Violet.

When I had finished my long-winded and somewhat elaborate retelling of my day's events, Violet stared at me with a look of utter disbelief. Her look was only half of what I felt as I retold the story, still not fully believing it had happened myself.

"Five years?" Violet asked in a confounded whisper.

I nodded my head in response, mimicking her look of surprise.

"That's...Wow," She said, unable to find the right words, and honestly, I didn't blame her.

"I know," I replied, shaking my head slightly while we sat in silence for a moment longer. I began to see the gears turn in Violet's head, and her eyebrows pinch down slightly as she thought to herself.

"Even Sam didn't know," She said to herself,

"What?"

"Sam didn't even know Josh had liked you for that long," She explained, "He thought this was just a new fling for him,"

"I guess Josh really took to hiding it," I joked.

"Must have if he kept it from his brothers since the eighth grade."

"Crazy," I whispered.

We sat in silence again, my mind wandering to every word Josh had spoken to me from the day when one suddenly stuck out to me in particular;

'You're like sunshine itself'

His words always made me feel special, but that compliment made me feel as though I was dancing through the stars. I hadn't had time to process when he said it to me, but now, I couldn't get those four words to escape my mind even if I tried.

A smile formed on my face, and a familiar warmth spread throughout my body.

'You're like sunshine itself...'

Violet and I had fallen asleep later that night, spread out across the couch after watching old rom-coms for hours. None of them were particularly good, and we picked fun at the bad acting and cheesy writing but watching them together filled us with a comforting and nostalgic fondness.

I had woken up to the T.V. still playing, the credits of the last movie we had put on rolled down the screen in a gentle haze through my sleep-filled eyes, with light instrumental music playing in the background. I rolled over slightly, picked up the remote that lay face down on the floor next to me, and clicked the power button, causing what little light was left in the room from the screen to fade into complete darkness. Now gentle silence, along with Violet's soft, rhythmic breathing also filled the air.

I hadn't showered before we fell asleep and my hair felt coarse and oily to the touch after letting the river water dry. On top of that, I felt hot and stuffy under the several blankets that lay over top of me. I tugged them off, careful not to pull them from Violet, and let the cool air greet my bare legs.

I leaned my head back into the flattened pillow under me and grabbed my phone from where I had stashed it between the couch cushions.

I wanted so badly to call Josh, wanted to hear his voice again and feel the comforting sense of his company, but it was nearing four in the morning and I knew he would be asleep. I thought about how he would be awake in a little more than two hours, pretending not to feel his tiredness as he made his way into the garage with his brothers while they waited for Danny to drive over for their early Sunday practice.