Begin Again (Formerly known as Reese)

Chapter Seven - Ours

**Soooo this chapter is going to be completely pulled out of my ass.. like all of the other ones.. (: enjoy.**

Chapter Seven

 The rest of Saturday went unnoticed. I literally stayed holed up in the extension from 2:30am until Sunday afternoon. Patterson tried calling me about twenty times and Trent did too. They all asked the same questions: Are you okay? Did you get arrested? Why aren't you answering my texts? Are you mad at me? What's going on, Reese?

I would have responded, but I just couldn't. Something felt very shattered inside of me. Adventuring in the woods and climbing into that peaceful little tree house was all too nostalgic. It reminded me of a time that was simple and ignorant. I knew I couldn't afford to let those longing thoughts for the past drown me out again, but I couldn't help it: they just came flowing in like a waterfall. 

So I sat on the couch in the living room, staring blankly at the black screen of the television on the wall, reluctantly glancing over at my phone every time it buzzed or rang. Patterson was relentless. He would call, leave a voicemail, and then send a text. After a while he stopped leaving the pointless voicemails full of nonsense and continued to call. We both knew I was bound to give in sooner or later, but neither of us knew how soon or how late. 

On Sunday, I finally picked up the phone. "What the fuck do you want?!" I exploded at him. "Did you not get the picture when I didn't answer the first twenty times?!"

His line was quiet for a minute until he exploded as well. "So you're not dead in a ditch or locked up in jail anywhere? Your mom didn't haul your ass off to Maine?! You didn't get abducted? For fuck's sake, Reese! You had me going crazy!"

"No," I said. "I'm fine! Now please, leave me alone!"

"What's wrong?" he asked, still pretty much yelling into the phone.

Of all the twenty six letters in the alphabet, not a single combination of letters, spaces, and pronunciations seemed to fully comply with what was wrong. That's the problem: Pat never asks the right questions--no one does. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it your mom?" he asked.

"No," I said. Maybe that was part of it, but I couldn't be for sure.

"Did you get a ticket last night?" he asked.

"No," I said more sternly.

"Then what?"

"Patterson," I said firmly. 

"Yeah?"

"Leave it alone!" I exploded at him. Then I hung up the phone, chucked it across the room, and ran to the front door of the extension. I had to get out of here. I had to go do something active--but wait. I couldn't take my board out because there was nothing but gravel roads. My mountain bike was still in storage, so I couldn't ride it here and my road bike isn't durable enough to ride in this kind of terrain. Great. Whatever, I'd just go for a run.

I curved around to the left of the extension where the opening to the large forest began. It was a bit damp out, but that was okay. I had a black wife beater tank top on with some athletic pants that came down to my knees. My ear buds to my iPod went in and the noises of the outside world went out. My feet carried me quickly through the green forest in the midday sun. I could barely see the sun, as all of the treetops blocked its rays from reaching down to touch the ground, but they let in enough light so I could still see where I was going. 

The small path twisted and turned the way I remember it had last night. I yearned for an alternative route, but I didn't know this forest well, so I knew I had better stay on the path. About ten minutes into my run, everything seemed a bit too familiar. To my right, the trees were spaced out a bit and an extremely narrow foot path led through the shrubbery. I stopped, swallowing and taking a deep breath. I lifted one earbud out of my left ear and stared at the tree house in the distance. It was even enchanting in the middle of the day. I wasn't completely sure if it was just the night time atmosphere before, but now I knew: it was definitely enchanting all on its own.

For God knows what reason, my feet started to move off of the path and towards the enchanting tree house. Once I was up close, my hands instantly reached out to stroke the damp bark of the massive tree. There were certain knots and ridges in the tree that made it look as if it had little faces. One was smiling and one was a bit angry looking. I studied it for a minute before walking around to the other side where the small notches were still there. I don't know why, but I had gotten it into my head that maybe I imagined everything that had happened that night with Nixon. I still had no idea why he wouldn't answer such a simple question. Surely he couldn't have gone so long without telling anyone or having anyone find out why he was in an alternative school. I had told him a condensed explanation of why I was attending: why couldn't he do the same? Was it really that bad? 

I shook my head, attempting to get the spiraling thoughts out of my head. Without thinking, I found myself climbing up the tree, using the notches as I went. The height no longer bothered me. I think it was just because of the blinding darkness in the night that freaked me out. Who wants to be ten feet up in an unsecure tree with notches in it and a massive treehouse at the top in the middle of the night? Certainly not me. When I got to the trap door, I pushed with all of my might and it swung open. I hoisted myself up, finding myself laying flat on the wood floor of the tree house. 

"Look who's back," a voice suddenly broke the silence. I jumped, sitting up to see Nixon laying on the bed with a magazine in one hand and the other propping his head up to look at me. 

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out so I shut it again. 

"Thought you were mad at me?" he teased.

I felt rage inside of me and stood to my feet. "You were being a dick."

"No," he said shortly. "I wasn't. You were being nosy."

"You're the one who wanted to play that goddamn game in the first place!" I argued.

He sat up on the bed, standing to his feet. "Why'd you have to ask that question?"

"Why is it such a big deal to you?" I asked, still slightly angry.

He walked closer to me until we were about a foot away. "I figured you already knew."

I shook my head, swallowing at our proximity. I tried to ignore the pull between our bodies that I was experiencing and just focus on being mad at him, but it was starting to get more and more difficult as the seconds dragged on. 

He looked genuinely surprised. "You don't already know?"

I frowned at him. "If I knew I wouldn't have asked."

He stared at me for a moment. I stared back, my eyes trailing every single one of his features. He wore a black cut off shirt with fit shorts that came down to his knees that were frayed at the ends. His hair was a bit messy, but still looked perfect. My eyes rested peacefully on his plump lips that were formed in that same natural pout as always. "You'll find out in due time, then." He turned his back on me and walked over to a mini fridge that I hadn't realized was there last night. It had been so dark last night, I hadn't realized most of what was in the room until now.

I ended up sitting on the couch again. He tossed me a beer from the fridge, coming over to sit next to me. I didn't open mine, instead setting it on the chest that acted as a coffee table in front of the couch. He popped his open and took a drink of it, sitting back. I sat back too, letting the silence wash over us. 

"Why'd you come back?" he asked finally.

"I went for a run," I explained simply, staring at the ceiling.

"Why'd you climb up the tree, then?" he pried.

I turned to look at him. "I was hoping you wouldn't be here."

"It's my tree house."

"It's my woods," I said.

He cracked a smile, shaking his head. "It's our woods."

"So it's our tree house, then," I reasoned.

He looked at me, his face neutral. I knew mine was as well, my eyes squinting a bit to see him better. I knew I was supposed to wear my glasses, but I hated the way they made me look like a nerd. "I guess it is," he said.