Music In Me

Chapter Seventeen

     By the time she got there, a crowd of family, friends, and neighbors were in the house, looking in the closets, the rooms, etc.

       Idiots, she thought as she looked at them in disgust. She looked at her iPod, it's been fifteen minutes since that text was sent. 

      She turned and took off into the woods, running like her life depended on it. But, in reality, Mason's did. She didn't stop, she knew where he would be.

      Mason was sitting on the log, his hands through his hair again. He cried all his tears on her, all he could do was yell and scream. It really helped... 15 percent of the time. Mostly cuz his screams were barely whispers. 

      He looked up at the bungee cord, hanging in the tree branch above him. It seemed perfect: He dies, everyone pretends to be upset and mourning when in reality they'd be partying. They'd be happy he was gone. He would be. 

      He stood up on the log and put the chord around his neck, and he looked on the bark. It was there that they climbed the tree and watched the fireworks the day they met. They carved their names in the bark with a dull-ass pocket knife they found among the leaves and grass. He looked at his iPhone screen again, at the photo of them at the pool, him trying to smile while Lauren nearly drowned him. 

     He smiled. She was perfect, not even God nor Heaven deserved her, she was that perfect to him. He took one foot off the log, and he felt the weight of the world, the words, bullies, insecurities, misunderstanding, he felt them fly off his shoulders.

     He was one foot away from being with her again.

     His heel was the only part of him left on the log when he heard Lauren yell, "You idiot!"

     He looked up to see her standing in front of him, in the rain, in a hospital gown, panting. "Lauren? Aren't you-?"

    "Dead?" She finished. "I was for twenty-six minutes. Something made me live again, it wasn't my time, and it's not yours either." She stood up on the log with him and took the chord away from his neck. "If you kill yourself, I will have to do something stupid and kill myself so we're both in Heaven and I then I kick your ass. I don't wanna do that." He smiled. "Besides, we're getting married in four years, remember?" The rain made her green eyes glisten, and his hazel eyes come to life again. 

     That's when it happened. They didn't even think about it, they just leaned in and kissed in the rain, standing on the log where Mason almost killed himself. He pulled her waist closer to his body and she held his neck. The rain almost making them fall, but they never noticed it. It was just them, the beautiful forest, and the August rainfall.

     It was perfect.

   They pulled away and stared in each others eyes, thinking of the same song, not daring singing it:

      This night is sparkling, don't you let it go, I'm wonderstruck blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew This night is flawless don't you let it go, I'm wonderstuck dancing around all alone. I'll spend forever, wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you.

     They turned and the entire crowd of adults were staring at them and his parents were in tears, and so was Zoey (however she got there).

      "Mason," Jennifer finally said. "We never intended for you to be in this mental state. At first, we thought you were okay when you obviously weren't, and we basically focused on appearances with Lauren."

       Matthew agreed, "Yes, we were sinning. we thought she was a bad influence, that she was using you. But Lauren was dead, and right when that text message from Jerrid came out she woke just like she was taking a nap. She rushed from the hospital on a stolen bike, and knew exactly what tree you were at and she stopped you."

       "She's not that bad of kid." Jennifer said. "It seems like you guys have a very rare connection that nobody else could explain."

       Mason wrapped his arm around her and smiled. "Yes," he gleamed. "We really do." She nodded her head in agreement.

       "Mason," Lauren whispered.

       "What?" He whispered back.

       She held him tighter. "Don't ever threaten to do that again, please.."

        He held her back. "As long as I have you, my family, and my music, I'll be the happiest man alive."