A Place Only We Know

Book 1

I exhale releasing a cloud of smoke. I've been down this path several times, but today it seems longer. It must be the fall breeze that seems to be dragging the daily trip. D​id I take the wrong path? t​he thought rolls through my head, it rolls through my mind oh so often that I lose hope. Until I see it, our clearing. The clearing is at the very end of the woods, this is where my best friend Nicole and I say our dreams, or if we're frustrated, curse the world. This is our form of venting our thoughts and keeping them safe of the world's opinion. Any other day we go to our spot by the one tree in the clearing and sit awkwardly staring at the setting sun until one of us speaks up, but today is my last day in our small town of Hearth, Indiana. In the morning I set out to a new life in Los Angeles, California with my parents.
I make the short walk to the tree and I notice Nicole is already waiting on me. I approach her and sit down next to her and stare off into the setting sun. She takes off her sneakers and I follow her steps, the breeze between my toes soothes my nerves of leaving.
"So this is it," she says.
"Yeah, I guess," I reply
"I'm going to miss this. These moments we have created together," I hear the feeling of
sorrow in her tone.
"Me too." For a moment we stare off into the angelic scene set out in front of us. The
green rolling hills set out in the distance seem more tempting now than they have ever been.
For a moment the silence is eerie. A few moments pass, then she breaks the silence, "Can
you promise me something?" "Yes?"
"Can you promise me that you'll never lose contact with me?"
"I promise," I respond. By now the sun is almost beyond the horizon and the atmosphere starts darken as the night takes over the day.
"I should get going," she says putting her sneakers back on. She begins to stand up and as she does I do.
"Nicole," I say.
"Thomas?" she replies.
I embrace her in a hug, "Promise me that you'll never forget about me or this place even
if I lose contact."
She grips my jacket fighting off tears, "I promise," she whispers sniffing.
"Don't cry," I say.
"Please don't leave," she whispers in my ear.
We hold the hug in silence for a moment then I drop my hands to her waist. She wraps
her arms around my neck and we lock eyes. I drop my eyes to her mouth then back to her eyes, the moonlight makes them even more blue than normal. N​ow is the time​I think to myself, in one swift movement I lock my lips with hers and we tighten our stance. We hold the kiss until we both look at each other and rest our foreheads on each others.
"I have to go," she says, "my parents are probably worrying about me."
"I should go too," I say.
We lock hands and we walked across the empty land to the pathway we travel almost
everyday. The short path takes us out to road with our bikes sitting on their sides.
"Goodbye Thomas," she says. We hug one last time then we grab our bikes and we ride our separate ways.
My house is a couple of miles up the road and I try to make the trip as long as possible. I can't stop thinking about our kiss! The feelings and thoughts that must be running through her head at the moment! Butterflies engulf the insides of my stomach, a huge smile fills my face, happiness courses through my veins because who was known has my best friend was now my girl friend.
I pull into my driveway and I put my bike in its usual spot next to the side of the house. I rush inside to find my family has already eaten dinner.
"You're dinner is in the kitchen!" My mom shouts from the living room. "Okay!" I reply. I quickly heat up my dinner and I eat it rapidly.
"Why are you rushing?," my mom asks, "you only went for a bike ride!" "I just had a really good bike ride!," I say back.
"Mhm, get finished and get to bed. We leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow," she tells me.
"Okay mom," I say finishing my dinner. I rush up the steps and head to my room.
I spend majority of the night staying up in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about me and Nicole's kiss. This is the first time I have actually shown my long drawn affection towards her, this is the last time I will see her. Resentment for the morning replaces the happiness I had once felt. I eventually roll over to my side and fall asleep, pushing my feelings aside.
The morning comes fast, too fast. My mom wakes me up at the time she told me, the very crack of dawn. Before I know it, I'm up and ready and out the door in the family car with the moving truck behind us. We drive out of the driveway and onto the road I take everyday to Nicole and I's spot. The sun barely lights the road ahead of us, but just enough to show the entrance to our pathway. I am stricken with a wall of emotions by the sight of our path. I try to push those aside and I focus on the road ahead.
We finally make it to the town of Hearth a couple of minutes later. Thats when I see her. Nicole taking a morning bike ride. I'm overwhelmed with a mix of emotions and I try to focus on the car floor as much as possible. I look up from the floor and we had just passed her. Her and her gorgeous blue eyes. I'm so overwhelmed I start to cry a little. Before I know it I scream, "STOP THE CAR!" My mom, who is driving, hits the breaks and I rush out of the back door. I sprint towards her with no intention to stop.
"Thomas?," she asks.
I slowly come to a stop in front of her. We lock eyes for a moment then I go in for one last kiss. We release and we rest our foreheads together. With tears flowing down my face I say, "I'll never forget you."