Until The Whole World Hears?

Chapter: 16: The Storm

                        I get dressed in a faded t-shirt and my knee length jeans, to go meet up with Courtney. I’d hope that everything was fine, but something doesn’t feel right. Speaking to her on the phone earlier I could sense disconnection and a different type of tension I’ve never gotten from her before. I go down stairs after tying one shoe lace of my shoe while holding the other pair of shoe in my hand, to tell my brother I need a ride over at Courtney’s place. After putting on my other shoe and telling our parents where we would be going, we headed out.

                         On our way there we sat in silence, I’d usually be the one starting the conversation, but I had a lot on my mind. My brother pulled over to this modern pale white and blue house and cut the engine. The radio and the car air conditioning stopped, that’s when I acknowledged everything else around me, including that we have arrived to Courtney’s place. I guess it’s true that time does go by fast when you don’t watch the passing of time that will only seem slower if I watch its progress.

                       I told my brother he could just wait in the car and that I would shoot him a text if it’ll be a while. I walk up the pavement, up the steps, and ring the doorbell. I could see in the living room the light of the chandelier brightening up the room.

                    “I’m over here.” I hear a familiar voice come out of nowhere, which has taken me aback. I turned to where the voice has come from and its Courtney sitting on the porch swings. She sitting with her knees and bare feet tucked in front of her. She had on sweat pants and a Black Veil Brides t-shirt; she pulled out her ear bugs and paused the music on her phone. I came over to sit next to her and offered a side hug, which she did not return back, but instead put her phone away into her pocket.

                      “Everything alright?” I asked, backing away.

                       “I was thinking …” She said looking into the distances.

                       “About?” I say, asking.

                      “Are friendship. How we’re so different.” She says, I have a feeling I know this is going, but I know Courtney we’ve been going strong from freshman year. But I wait for her to finish what she’s going to say.

                   “Yeah … But that hasn’t stopped us from being friends now.” I say, affirmatively.

                   It’s a long pause before she says anything else.

                “Ava … I like you a lot and you have been so kind. You were the first person to be my friend when everyone else didn’t like me. I am thankful for that and I wouldn’t change that moment for the world. I have come to the conclusion that I only decided to be your friends was because you’re the only friend that I have. I want to think you for your generosity, but I think we should go our separate ways, knowing that we have nothing in common and we have different world views that could never come to a compromise. And plus … believers and non-believers aren’t to be yoked.”

                At this moment I wasn’t sure this was the Courtney I met, I was in such disbelief that I couldn’t gather my feels into words to describe how I felt about all of this.

            “Courtney are you serious? We’ve been friends since we started high school together. If it was for anything I was only trying to bring you closer to Christ. I looked pass our differences and I looked at you from the inside not the out. When Jesus had his disciples they weren’t perfect like him, the more that they were with him, the more that Jesus was shaping them to be like him and to worship God like he did--.”

             “I don’t want to worship your God, I don’t even believe in him, exactly why we should not be friends Ava. Don’t you get it? God can’t save you from the bad things that this world will bring! Wasn’t James enough evidence for you?!” She said yelling at me, like I’m the one who’s lost it.

              “God didn’t say he would stop the bad things that this world would bring me, but to build me up and make me stronger!--.”

              “Bull crap! Only someone absurd and desperate like you would believe that. I feel bad for you, you know?” She got up from the porch swing and begins to go into her house. She went in and closed the door behind her with a thud. The porch light suddenly goes out and it’s completely dark out signaling for me to leave now.