Life In A Moment (On Hold)

Chapter 2

(Present Day)

             As the memory came to a rolling stop,  the tears followed. I wiped the remains of my tears away from my eyes. I noticed that somehow I managed to go from a crouch to actually sitting on the ground during the memory which I have no clue how I managed that. The funny thing is that I don't even remember actually sitting down. I shook my head to clear the memories away so I could focus on talking to my best friend.

               "Cody, I'm trying my hardest to be happy and keep moving forward in my life. It's just really hard since you're gone. You were my first love which you will always be Cody. That's probably why it's really hard on me. Also everything around me reminds me of you," I whispered to his gray headstone. While staring at his headstone, I slowly traced my fingers over his name letting my fingers run over the sleek stone. Then I remembered something very important that I wanted to give to Cody. I know that he would like what I want to give him.

                "Oh! Cody have something for you," I grabbed a broken keychain out of my right pocket of my black zip up sweatshirt. I held it up so I could see the green and yellow logo before I put it down. I gently laid down the John Deere keychain on the concrete. The silver outline of the keychain shone in the light. I smiled knowing that the keychain holds a very special memory. Every time Cody seen that I kept the keychain, he would always have a huge grin on his face that's probably why I kept it for so long.

(Flashback)

             I sat down on the tailgate of Cody's truck while I watched Cody and his two friends test drive the derby car. Cody decided to bring the car to the field behind his house since the field doesn't get used. While he drove in circles, the sun brighten the orange on the car. The car was handling really well for Cody and that means it is ready to go for the derby.

            After he parked the car, Cody walked over with his two friends. They were like the tree musketeers. They are always together just hanging out or helping with the cars. All three of them are the same height. I guess they were all the same built and have short dark hair.

                "So Nicole how did the car look to you?" Cody sat down next to me on my right side. Cody wrapped his left arm around my waist. Cody's friends grabbed two lawn chairs out of the back of the truck so they could sit down in front of Cody and I.   

            "I think the car is ready to go," I told him.

          "What in the world did I step on?" Nick, one of Cody's best friends, asked. He bent down to pick something off the grass that was beside his foot. The object shone as the light hit it through Nick's fingers. He carefully examined the object.

             "Hey it's Cody's keychain. It must of broke when we came out here," Jake, Cody's other friend, said. 

        Nick handed over the keychain to Cody. Cody took his keys out of his pocket and found the ring that the keychain was on. I knew it was Cody's because of the John Deere logo on the front of it. Cody just stared at it probably wondering how it broke.

          "That's just really weird. Here Nicole it's for you for good luck," Cody placed the keychain into my hand. Before I put it in my pocket on my button up shirt, I looked at it for a few seconds. I will definitely keep it safe and I will always keep it.

(Present)

             I looked at the picture on Cody's headstone for a little bit longer. Then I skimmed over the details that were on his headstone.  After a while, I slowly pushed myself up off the ground. Then I quickly brushed off my hands and the back of my jeans before I turned around. Once I started to head in the direction of my truck, I watched my feet go from one step to another. This was always the hard part. For me, it was always hard to leave Cody since we were inseparable. This is the first time in a while that I been over to visit my best friend. I always been scared to come back. I always keep thinking that one day he will show up. I guess the realization of him being gone hasn't really sank in all the way for me. That's probably why it took me so long to come back to see my best friend.

             Crunch! Off in the distance, a stick broke. Last I knew I was the only one in the cemetery. I looked up to see where that noise came from. Off in the distance in front of me, I saw a guy who was very familiar to me. The guy that was in front of me looked the same as the last time I seen him with his sweatshirt and his Chevy hat on. This guy happened to be one of Cody's very close friends. I could tell that he recognized me but he also looked really shocked to see me.

                  "Hey Nicole. I didn't even know that you would be over here," we both stopped walking once we got close enough to shake hands with each other.

                "Hey Nick. I thought I would stop over and talk to him. How are you holding up?" I asked him. Once I said those words Nick's face drastically changed. He looked almost sad and very lonely. He  lowered his head down a little bit so he was looking at his feet instead of happening to stare at me.

              "I been better. Well I don't want to be here long because I have stuff at home that needs to get done. So I guess I'm gonna go talk to Cody now," he told me. We quickly said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I walked straight over to my small Dodge Dakota truck. I opened up the door and slowly got in. After I got in, I watched Nick knowing that I'm not the only one still remembering what happened a year ago. Nick was crouched down in front of Cody's headstone with his head lowered. After a couple of minutes, I told myself it was time to go.

          Once I turned the key, my truck roared to life. I put the truck into drive and I slowly lift my foot off the pedal. I went down the gravel road to get to the dirt road. When I hit the dirt road, I took off. I have no clue where I am heading next.

        Everyday, the pain seems be there for me and the others that were close to Cody. Cody made a huge impact in our lives. He was always striving to do good for others. Cody always wanted to do something big in his life. He was also a family person. With his family, he made sure that they were taken care of. If his family was doing something, Cody was always there to spend time with them. Cody always hated to see someone hurting so he always make sure that he could make them feel better. Cody was always that caring person that you need in your life.

                     **************
(Author's note)
Hey guys. What do you guys think of the story so far? I would love to hear what you guys think. Thank you so much for checking out my story.          
-CLPepple