Faith In The Wild •BOOK I•

|5| Flashbacks

Despite the chaos all around me, and the ache for my bed back in Woodbury, the smell of the rain was nice.
It reminded me of my nineth birthday, the last day of school before summer break, and...the last day I ever saw Carl. It was a warm but rainy day like this and after begging my dad for hours, he agreed to let me stay the night with Carl's family.

~Beginning Of Flashback~

The world slowed around us, the setting sun casting a Georgia glow across the Atlana homes.
My dad dropped me off at Carl's house and I ran up the steps as fast as I could without dropping my backpack. Before I could even reach the top step, Carl opened the door with his big, bright smile.

--"Happy birthday, you pig! Did you even save any birthday cake for me?"-- There it was, his quirky, yet sweet smile.

I scoffed, trying to act offended. "No, I didn't. And even if I did, you're not getting any!" I replied, playfully shoving past him into his house.

With a hurt gasp, his teasing smirk turned to a faux pout, and then came the puppy dog eyes while he followed me into the kitchen.

"Oh, don't even start with the pouting. You know me better than that, I brought cupcakes." I flashed my prettiest smile and my one dimple complimented my rosy cheeks, as I was setting my stuff on the counter and getting the cupcakes out.

--"Really?"-- His eyes lit up with excitement.

"Mhm. But you have to earn one." I said sternly, trying to hide my smile.

--"What? Whyyy.."-- He whined with a disappointed look.

"Because! You can't call someone a pig and then expect a cupcake. That isn't how the world works, Carl." I spat out as if I knew any more than he did about 'how the world works'.

He gave me an annoyed eye roll before reluctantly agreeing.

--"Fine, be that way. I'll put up with it today, but only because it's your birthday. What do I gotta do to 'earn' a cupcake?"-- His tone gave away that he wasn't actually annoyed, but he always loved to make me feel bad for being overly picky and complicated.

A smug smirk crept across my lips and I leaned down to whisper to him, "Come dance with me in the rain, and I'll give you a cupcake.."

He cocked his head at me and gave me a look that said 'no' in like every language.

"Come on, pleaseeeee.. my brothers never dance with me anymore. They, all three, hate being forced to hang out with me all the time, so they never do when they actually have the choice. And beside, you're like my only friend. " I quipped, frowning dramatically.

--"But it's raining."-- He protested weakly.

"So, what? I thought we both loved the rain."

--"Fine, fine. Come on."-- He took me by the hand and went outside in the street.

--"I want two cupcakes."-- He mumbled, giving me a lopsided grin.

"Deal." I chuckled.

--"So, what now? I don't know how to dance."-- He said as he shrugged.

"Of course you do, everyone knows how to dance. Here, like this." I replied, taking his hands in mine to redirect them.

I held one of his hands up and the other about waist high, while I began to slowly sway back and forth with him.

"See? It's not that hard. And then sometimes you can twirl like this.." I said, holding his hand as high as I could and twirling myself in a circle, before going back to swaying.