ARES

f o u r t e e n

K   L   I   O

The shoe has finally dropped.

I said what I wanted to say.

I thought I would feel better, euphoric after I said what I needed to, but I only feel a fraction of what I thought I would.

Years.

I've waited years to tell him everything I've wanted to say, but the great satisfaction I was looking for never came.

What happens from here?

We went to the park to sit and talk more, which is where we are now.

Although, talking hasn't been happening.

Neither of us has said a word in close to 15 minutes.

"You said you wanted me for years, but couldn't have me. What did you mean?" I say, not standing the silence any longer.

"I can't tell you that right now. Hopefully soon, but right now-" I cut him off.

"No. I need you to tell me now. This talk has been put off for too damn long. I can't keep doing this with you. I can't, I won't keep walking on eggshells around you."

"Klio, you have to understand that I can give you whatever you want, but this. Please, please just give me a little bit of time to give you the explanation you deserve." As he says this getting on his knees, grabbing my hands, literally begging me.

"1 month. I'm giving you until the end of October to tell me what's going on and I want the whole truth. From the night you guys came over to now. Everything." I say sternly.

He grabs my face, gently pulling mine to his, resting our foreheads agains each other.

"I swear to you Klio, I will give you all that and more. All I need is that singular month." He better keep this promise.

I hold my pinky out to him to solidify his claims.

"What are you doing?" He asks genuinely confused.

"A pinky promise. After you make a promise you really intent on keeping, you make a pinky promise so that if you break that promise I get to cut off your finger." He starts to understand, but after I say that last part he looks like he wants to do it even more.

"Yes, okay, this is fair. If I don't deliver the truth to you in a month, you cut my finger off." He says extremely determined.

"Ares, you know I was kidding right? I won't actually cut your finger off.." I say slowly. I mean that is what a pinky promise is, but I won't literally do it.

"Why joke about that? This is really important." He says getting confused again.

"You know what, just link your pinky with mine and I'll cut your finger off if necessary just to make you happy, okay?" He slightly smiles, "Okay."

We link pinkies, keeping our fingers there. There's just silence while we look at each other. Nothing but silence.. until he breaks it.

"You're fingers are minuscule, you know that?"

"Excuse me, my hands aren't minuscule, your hands are just bigger than the average human. Don't disrespect me like that again." I respond in a joking attitude.

He laughs, standing up from his knees, our pinkies still linked.

"Come, I wanna take you somewhere."

***

While walking again, I notice that he stands a bit behind me, in a way that the left side of his body is directly behind the right side of mine. Still almost next to me, but not quite. He knows the sidewalk rule, that's for sure, but this is a different way to protect someone you're walking with. I don't know, I kind of like it.