That Summer (Completed)

Chapter 10

"Scars speak more loudly than the sword that caused them."

******

After the initial shock, I became very reserved. I didn't want to joke around knowing the situation at hand. On the way back home, I ignored Jake and tried to get my mind off of things. It was kind of hard to do when I was wrapped around him on a motorcycle. I tried to enjoy the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair and the rush of watching the streets whiz by us.

Jake took a detour and came to a stop in a street behind our houses. I got off, feeling more steady on my feet this time and took off my helmet. My hair was stuck to the back of my neck and I could see the pink sunburnt look my shoulders were getting.

"Why did you stop here?" I asked, looking around.

"Let's take a walk," Jake said, hopping off gracefully. How did he get off looking like a Sports Illustrated model when I looked like a rat drowned in her own sweat. Now that was just adding insult to injury.

I had to get myself out of this situation, spending more time with Jake was not going to help anything.

"Ok," I said, without missing a beat. I was going to Stanford, people. Me.

As we were walking, I realized Jake was leading us towards the pond. I suddenly regretted my decision. I hadn't been here in years. It never felt right after Jake left and Miranda check out mentally.

"Why don't we just go over to my house? It's right there," I offered, a little desperately.

"Nah, I wanna see this. I've missed it," he said, pushing aside the lowered tree branches. He paused and waited for me to follow, which I did a little reluctantly. We walked quickly, me trying to match Jake's long strides. He kept his stance hunched, he was a little too tall for the trail now. We reached the clearing and took our shoes off before going towards the water.

It was crazy, looking around the area. Everything was so different, yet I could still pinpoint certain areas from my memory. It was strange, because the trees that had looked larger than life to me before, now looked a little small. The pond didn't look nearly as big as I remembered.

I sat down, and put my feet in the water. Jake came up beside me and did the same. It was ironic, wasn't it? The last time we sat here, I was afraid of Jake leaving my life and now, same place but a different time, I was afraid of him coming back into it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone started ringing. He looked at me apologetically and took it out of his pocket. I saw a picture of a pretty woman on the display screen. She looked oddly familiar, I just couldn't pinpoint who she was. Something was tugging at my memory.

"Hello," Jake said stoically. I was a little surprised at his cold greeting. Whatever the girl said made Jake's face harden.

"Listen Wendy, I'm busy right now. I've told you before, if you want to discuss the proceedings of the court statement, talk to Jordan. I don't want to talk about this anymore," he told her quietly.

Wendy. Suddenly a face popped up in my mind. A young girl running around Jake's backyard with the two dogs. Jake's father's bellowing laugh and kind eyes when he spoke to her. I remember thinking she had the most beautiful hair, it was shiny and silvery blond. She was their housecleaner's daughter. I remembered seeing her at barbecues, birthday parties, and other events at the Harrison household. She was a quiet little girl, loved by everyone.

She said something to him and Jake frowned. "As I said, talk to Jordan. Goodbye Wendy."

He shut the phone off and shoved it in his pocket. He eyes darkened with anger. I looked at him and wondered if he was going to explain what happened. He just laid back on the grass with his hands behind his head, facing the sky. Guess not. I did the same and we laid there in comfortable silence for a few minutes.