The Sixteenth Summer

Chapter 6

The next few days were pretty much the same, except I didn't hear or see any of Elijah.

I decided I'd dreamed him up.

Just another one of those stressed filled fantasies I'd been making up since I was a little kid.

Except I wasn't stressed.

At least, there was no reason for me to be.

　

Five days. It's been five days since I've seen or heard anything from Elijah.

I don't know why I'd been keeping track.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I thought that each new day was one step farther from Elijah, and one step closer to sanity.

Well that was about to change.

I stood up and stretched, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I thought I saw something moving outside my window, but dismissed it was one of my cats.

I pulled the curtains anyways.

I changed into some denim shorts and a school t-shirt. I stretched and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

I tied on my beat up converse, said bye to my mom, and closed the door behind me.

I took about two steps before just about jumping clean out of my skin.

I started to scream but some one's hand was over my mouth. I bit down.

"Ouch HEY! What's the big idea?"

"What's the big idea?! I-" My head swam. There was no way. Not possible.

The voice was familiar.

Elijah?

Hadn't I decided that I'd made him up?

Just like my imaginary friend Jack?

Like that?

I felt like I was gonna pass out.

Black spots blinked on my eyes like little bugs, and I felt nauseous.

"Get a grip loser." He scoffed, then I felt myself falling.

I picked myself up before I hit the ground.

"What-what are you doing here?"

"I was just trying to borrow a rake geez."

"A rake?"

"My aunt is an old widow and wanted to rake! What's so weird about that?" he said, semi-irritably.

"Nothing I guess." I said, walking towards the gardening shed, "Follow me."

　

　

We waded through the knee deep weeds and grass that'd my dad would make me mow in a few days, towards the old dilapidated shed that held all our gardening stuff.

I grabbed the key from under the faded orange cracked flower pot, and undid the padlock.

I let myself in and he followed me.

I searched around until I found what looked like a rake.

The metal teeth were rusty, the handle was cracked, and it was covered in spider webs, but it was a rake.

I held it out to him. He made a face. I rolled my eyes, and tossed it at him, heading out of the shed.

I locked the shed behind me, and turned to face him, crossing my arms.

"Now, why are you really here?"

"What? I told you! That old bag wanted to rake!"

"Mhmm. What kind of old widow doesn't own a rake?"

"I- I don't know she’s-!"

"Hm. Act your age, not your shoe size."

He looked down at his beat up black Converse.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sixteen."

"What?"

"I'm sixteen, my shoes are twelve, sixteen year olds and twelve year olds don't act that much different do they?"

I laughed sarcastically, thinking of my thirteen year old brother.

"They should."

He grinned.

I rolled my eyes and headed off to feed the horses.

"Where are you going?"

"To feed my animals. Are you gonna follow me around all day?"

"I might."

Great I've got a stalker. How is it that I don't even turn sixteen until October, but I'm already more mature than this guy? I guess girls mature faster.

I greeted Zena and Dex, and fed them as usual, checked on the barn cats, who had had kittens since the last time I'd seen them, and fed the dogs, all with Elijah in tow.

"Bored yet?"

"No, it's all very fascinating to me." He said sarcastically.

"Yeah well no one asked you to come, if you're bored then why don't you just go home?"

He didn't answer me.

Finally after a few minutes I turned around.

　

He was gone.