Here I Come

And Again

"Again."

I opened the window of the taxi and leaned outside. The raindrops fell against my face, catching in my eyelashes. I opened my eyes despite this to catch my first glimpse of the town I had lived in up until three years ago, when I moved to my aunt's house in Hawaii to escape my parent's nasty divorce.

I was returning home to live with my dad, who claimed to have finally cleaned up his act. Quite frankly, I didn’t buy it, but at least he was trying.

The rain tasted bitter.

I squinted through the light storm, trying to see some sign that nothing had changed, when I saw him.

He stood on the side of the road, not wearing anything to shield himself from the rain. He had dark hair that covered his eyes.

He was standing there like a statue, paying no heed to the dirty water splashed by passing cars. He looked like something paranormal, something extraordinary. The taxi whizzed past him and I leaned further out the window, looking back.

For only a second, our eyes met.

Green beautifully haunted eyes peeking out from under his long bangs.

It was only a second, but it felt like eternity.

His lips formed a word I was unable to decipher, and then he was gone, left on the side of the road.

I wondered whom he had been waiting on for just a few minutes, then I forgot I had ever seen him.

So far, my hometown was the same as it had been when I left, but before I had never noticed the rundown houses, the overhanging clouds, and the general dismal atmosphere. It might not have changed, but I certainly had.

I nervously knocked on my dad’s door, humming as I waited for him to answer. FInally the door was opened. Dad looked like he had aged twenty years since I last saw him. He was wearing a wrinkled sweatshirt as opposed to the crisp dress shirts I remembered from my childhood.

Awkward silence ensued.

After what seemed like five hours, dad grumbled something about how nice it was to see me and how much I’d grown.

I nodded, said he looked as young as ever, cringing inside.

I said I missed him, and I meant it, but it hurt to see how far he’d fallen.

After a few more pleasantries, I hurried upstairs to my room. I noticed that it hadn’t been touched, with pink curtains, and stuffed animals decorating the corners. I sighed. I really had grown up while I was away. I felt like I was no longer the little girl who plastered pictures of horses and rainbows over the walls.

That reminded me, what had happened to Karter while I was away? I could never consider him boyfriend material, but I had always looked out for him when we were little, and I was worried about him.

I couldn’t wait for school again tomorrow. Not because I liked school, I mean, I got decent grades and stuff, but never really enjoyed it or anything, but because I wanted to see Karter and my best friend Jenna again. Jenna and I had stayed in contact while I was away, exchanging emails, so I felt more or less up to date on the current social situation. But whenever I asked about Karter, she was uncharacteristically vague.

I walked onto my balcony for a breath of fresh air. I could only imagine what tomorrow would bring.

Go to the chapter titled 'P1'.