When I Saw You I Felt...

Waterfall

I was feeling mixed emotions at that moment, Nathan did not look okay, like he had gotten into a fight. His purple bruise on his right cheek was prominent like it happened yesterday.

"My parents dragged me out to my brother's sport tournaments," he said in a monotone voice, like he didn't feel too great.

That was not the answer I was expecting. I honestly thought he had gotten into a gang fight. He attempted his smile but something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I said as I touched his arm I didn't know what else to do.

He looked me in the eyes, and hesitated before saying, "I'm fine, really."

I could tell he was not "fine" . He had a look on his face, one I had never seen before.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" He asked me in the same monotone voice.

"It's 1 am," I replied.

"I know,"

"Alright, let's go," I said as I went inside to grab my keys and write a note.

***

When we got into my car Nathan put in an address in the GPS.

"Let's go there," he suggested.

I nodded and began driving, the car ride was silent and a little awkward which was impossible for us. There were many elephants in the room, the kisses, the leaving, and the bruise.

I looked straight with no emotion in my face as I drove because Nathan was doing the same thing. I broke the stupidity of that and looked over to him when we got to a red light. I wanted to know what was bothering him because I knew something was.

***

When we arrived at the address it was a waterfall with a cement barrier that was meant for people to sit on. It was the middle of the night and the multicolored lighting made it even better. Nathan grabbed my hand and we sat on top of the concrete barrier (Like at the beaches). I sat with my legs crossed and stared at the waterfall.

The silence was so loud, I had glanced over at Nathan a few times and he had done the same. Out of nowhere I blurted out, "I know somethings wrong."

My voice came out way louder than I wanted it to and it slightly echoed against the waterfall. Nathan put his hands in his jean pockets and sighed.

"I want to tell you," he said as he looked at the water below us.

"You can tell me," I said as I reached for his hand.

He looked away as he said "My brother is a dick, like a total dick. He punched me in the cheek because he blamed me for not cheering in the crowd as to why his team didn't win. He's a year younger than me but bigger than me. I tried to punch him back and then my parents blamed me for almost hitting him," he explained so I ran here.

"I am so sorry, your brother sounds like he has the mentality of a two year old," I moved forward and kissed him on his bruised cheek. I put my head on his shoulder as we looked at the waterfall.

**

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I heard were police sirens moving closer. I shot up as they got closer and turned around. Suddenly the blue and red lights were reflecting off both of our faces.

Nathan and I both stood up as an officer climbed up the steps to get to us. I held on tightly to Nathan's hand.

Then the cop was about 5 feet away from us. "Put your hands up," she said to both of us. I was terrified.

"Nathan Melcook you are under arrest for assault," The officer said as she cuffed Nathan. I saw a few more officers come up from behind her but Nathan did not fight them.