Crying: A Dystopian Novel

Crying: Chapter 7

"Is John here?" I am standing on his front porch, four days later. It is a rainy Wednesday afternoon, my soaked dark brown hair makes me feel like I have been swimming. I haven't been able to find John since when we got back Friday. They said he was coming home each day; I just didn't come at the right time.

"John! Get out here! I'm not gonna answer this door for you again!" John comes to the door, his red hair is tousled and he looks like he has been sleeping.

"Sorry. I've been here the whole time, but people won't leave me alone. They keep coming and asking to see 'the brave escort'. I hate it."

"Yeah. I can't go out of my room without someone trying to cheer me up."

His eyes flick over my shoulder to look behind me. "Aww, great. Here they come. Meet me tonight at midnight at y'all's tree house. Maybe people won't follow us then."

"Okay."

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I set my alarm for 11:45, and fall to sleep at 10. The loud buzzer wakes up Laelynn, but I tell her it was an accident that it was set for then. She goes back to sleep and I slip on my tennis shoes and my sweatshirt. I creep outside to the tree house and find John already sitting there. He is wearing jeans and a hoodie, his head of tousled hair lying against the back wall. He always looks purposeful, strong, striking.

I guess you could say we liked each other; we were always there for one another. Yeah, we snuck out and met in the woods at night, but it wasn't like we were dating. If anything, we were like brother and sister because of Michael.

"How are you?" He asks as I sit down across from him.

"Good."

"Anna, be straight with me. You won't even look up at me." I haven't thought about it much. I have kept my head down a lot lately.

"Gosh, I don't know. About as good as the weather during a hurricane." I laugh at my own horrible joke, and then sigh. It wasn't a joke. My emotions were constantly swirling inside me, reeking havoc all over my mind. John comes over to sit to my right side and puts his hands on mine. I look up at him.

"Listen, I know it's hard, Michael's basically my brother, you know that. So, that makes you my sister, and I want to be there for you like a brother. But, it's different somehow. Maybe it's 'cause you're not actually my sister. Maybe it's because I don't want to take Drew's place. Maybe it's because it's an odd situation we are in. I don't know. But I'm here for you, whether or not it's from a brother's standpoint." I shut my eyes. I had always been aware of something between us, but I had let it go because of our brother/ sister standpoint. He can't replace Drew, but he is here for me- in a different way.

"No, John. Its not." I lay my head on his shoulder and he kisses my temple. For the first time since Michael had been taken, I don't feel alone. Eleise and Laelynn are always there, but it isn't the same. I feel somewhat bubbly inside, despite the situation. I finally know how I feel about John, and he feels the same way.