The Mentor

Chapter 34

I definitely needed some air after the awkward conversation with Kyle. I felt like I was going to explode sitting in my room finishing the latest tattoo. Thankfully, I finished smoothly in about forty minutes and my client left satisfied.

    I opened the door to the front of the shop, jingling the bell as I went. There was a complimentary bench outside with a golden plaque that I decided to take a seat on. Upon closer inspection of the bench, I realized that the engraving on the plaque read,

        "My heart is full of memories. With pride I speak your name.

Alexandra Lynn McCarthy, Landon Anthony McCarthy

        In loving memory"

    Yikes, that hit hard.

    I sat down on the bench and buried my face in my hands, taking a few deep breaths in hopes to quell the wave of sadness that was about to crash over me. The intrusive fear that Kyle was abandoning all we had for good was creeping up on me like a bobcat on a mountain.

    I heard the bell on the door jingle and looked up to find Scott standing next to me, lighting a cigarette swiftly. He could tell something was up for sure. Somehow he always had a way of knowing.

    After knowing Scott for only a few months, I realized I cared for him more than I let on. I found myself worrying about him constantly, longing for his comfort, and feeling a sense of relief whenever he was around despite the fact that I was still a little afraid of him. I cared about and longed for Kyle as well, but in a different way. Scott was there, always watching and checking in. I could tell he cared about me too even if he had a strange way of showing it. The truth was, they were two entirely different people and somehow even though I felt the same about both of them, my feelings couldn't be farther apart on the scale of differences.

    "What happened?" He asked.

    I didn't want to show him a moment of weakness, but I longed for comfort.

    "I uh...I spoke to Kyle. It didn't exactly go the way that I had hoped." I admitted.

    I gave Scott the details and he sighed, pacing the sidewalk in front of the building for a moment.

    "No words of wisdom?" I asked.

    He chuckled softly and sat down next to me on the bench finally, snuffing out his cigarette on the concrete.

    "You won't be concerned with it in six months. You just have to allow yourself to be honest. Like I said, don't put up that strong front right now, you need to feel."

    He was right. I never knew how he conjured up the right thing to say at almost every moment.

    "I-I know...you're right. You're always right and I never know how."

    He pulled out another cigarette and tipped his head down to attempt to light it against the wind. His brown eyes scanned the ground eventually settling on staring at his shoes.

    "It's through lived experiences, Jamie." He whispered.

    "What do you mean?"

    He sighed and swallowed hard. He took a long drag of his cigarette as he stretched his arms out over the back of the bench, glancing at the plaque quickly.

    "I uhm...I processed the difficult things in my life in a way that was...counterproductive. I learned from it for the most part. Though I typically only share what I've learned with very few people, people that deserve to learn."