Every Second Counts

Every Second Counts (13)

Every Second Counts (13)

"I could really go for a hot dog right now," Tristan yawned easily. 

We were currently sitting on the cold floor back in the teachers lounge with a small container of strawberries in between us. We had found the strawberries in the fridge that had gone out from the storm. I don't really want to know how long they were in there for, but at least I had something to eat for now. 

"A hot dog?" I laughed. "Those are gross. Do you even know what they put in them?"

"No and I don't want to know because I know its gross," Tristan laughed. I jabbed my plastic fork into a strawberry before quickly devouring it. I didn't know when I was going to be eating again, or what I was going to be eating, so I decided im going to eat as many strawberries as I can. Tristan on the other hand had left his fork sitting beside the container and had only a couple of strawberries. 

"You know one of those ones that you get off the street when you go down to baseball games?" Tristan grinned like a three year old. "That's the one I want."

The funny thing is that I knew exactly what he was talking about. I used to go down to the ballpark every Saturday morning with my dad to watch all of the baseball games. We were such big baseball fans and it was something we really bonded over. My dad used to buy us hot dogs of the streets every once in a while and he would tell me how he loved the smell of the food while at the ballpark/ 

For a couple of years I had even started playing baseball, with my dad as my coach. We would go down and watch baseball games on Saturday mornings, and then Saturday evenings I would play for a local team. My dad had coached me and taught me everything I needed to know. 

After everything happened I had quit baseball and hadn't been down to the ballpark since. 

I felt as if my heart had suddenly shattered and all of the pieces has sunk down my body. My heart fell out of my chest and I was left sitting there staring at Tristan. 

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked, uncertainty lacing his voice. I nodded my head before jabbing my fork into another strawberry. I heard Tristan mumble something to himself as I jabbed  the very last  strawberry with the fork and brought it up to my mouth. As I chewed on the red piece I looked up at Tristan who had become oddly quiet. 

Tristan was staring blankly at the white, snow covered windows beside us. He had a blank look on his face, but in his bright eyes I could see the worry, the despair and the sorrow. His eyebrows were slightly pulled together and I could see the faint line right between his eyes. The rest of his face was emotionless. 

As if on cue Tristan turned to face me and I was caught staring at him. His face looked hard as he stared down at me with those eyes full off swirling emotions. I was surprised when he suddenly stood up and walked right over to me. He squatted down in front of me and wrapped his strong arms around me. 

I was shocked and rigid at first, but I soon melted into him and his warm embrace. I slid my arms around his waist as I leaned my head against his shoulder. I didn't want to cry, and I tried my hardest to hold the tears back. 

"I can't believe I wasn't there for you," he lightly whispered into my hair. That's when I finally broke down. I felt the first tear slowly slide down my cheek and land on Tristan's shoulder. 

The tears seemed to flow down my cheeks in a never ending waterfall before landing mostly on Tristan's shirt. He gently rubbed soothing circles on my back as I hiccuped a couple of times. I couldn't control the sobs that were now racking through my tiny body. I couldn't control my emotions anymore as I sat there and cried.