Edge of the Ravine

8

Chapter Eight

      Something special happened the day that I met Alec. It was like an instantaneous bond had formed between us two from the moment I got into the car. And since then, it only grew in strength and depth.

      In the space of an hour, I learned every thought or feeling Alec had about moving to our tiny town. What he thought of his parents' divorce to his mother's subsequent abandonment of him. How he disdained the attention of the other kids, calling them an unruly mob searching for a piece of mystery in their jaded lives. And I even learned what he thought of me.

     "You're very different, Oliver. I could tell from the moment I first set eyes on you. You are so patient and enduring. Like a tree. Steadfast and letting all the bullcrap just blow right past you." Suddenly, Alec chuckled, "and I'm like a wooden swing, clinging to you for dear life."

      An unfamiliar heat flooded my face and I realized too late that I was blushing scarlet. "Why... hmm... Why do you think that?" I asked timidly.

      Again, Alec chuckled, his voice sounding like music whenever he released a laugh. "I've seen you, Oliver. You're so quiet and timid. Like a scared puppy." This term made my heart sink a little. "But you don't sink to the level of a lot of other boys. You desire to be liked for who you are. And you don't try to become who they want you to be. You're incredibly admirable."

      My cheeks warmed again and I could not look him in the eye. This description Alec had for me was entirely fictitious, I admit. But it was also incredibly tempting to accept this as the description for myself. To believe that the reason I had no friends was because I would not confirm. Yet, I could not lie even to myself. And especially not to Alec.

     "I wish I were those things," I began. Alec held up a hand to stop me there. Unwilling — and unable — to go against his wishes, I closed my mouth slowly.

     "I know you are those things, Oliver. Even if you don't know it yourself. Give yourself some time, and you will know it too. I'm positive."

      For some crazy reason, I believed him.

      So much so that, when an hour had passed, I made my way through the woods with a much lighter heart. A heart that would not allow anything Amelia said to get to me. A heart that could not help but soar high above the trees. And a heart that knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Alec was something special. He was my guardian angel, sent to save me from the perilous monotony of my everyday life.

      I could not have needed an angel more than when I walked through the back door of Amelia's shack, however.

      Standing beside the kitchen sink, Amelia refused to take her eyes from the tree line outside of the window. It didn't surprise me, actually. Rebellion did not make it past my great-aunt for very long. Especially since I constantly had a magnifying glass trained on me at all times.

      I wish I'd been able to pretend that I had not been caught. There was nothing more I wished to do that to scrabble up my ladder to the loft that was my bedroom and act as if I hadn't absolutely disobeyed her. But I couldn't do that. And she knew it.

      For a long time, we did not move. I stood there in silence and waited just as she stood there staring out the window. It must have been fifteen whole minutes before Amelia spoke. I knew better than to try to speak first. Nothing good was coming from this situation. At all.

     "You have disobeyed me, Oliver." Amelia slowly turned to look at me and I quickly lowered my eyes. "Not only you are late, but you've come from the north woods. A boundary I thought I had made clear you were not to cross."

     "You did," I murmured. Always she desires for me to admit my mistakes.

     "Then why would you dare to disobey me?"

      Maybe it was because I still believed the things Alec had said of me. Perhaps it was because the tone of Amelia's voice ranked too much. Or maybe it was because I was fifteen and had bottled up too much for far too long. Either way, I suddenly snapped, "I dare nothing because I felt your retribution! Every single day, I do as you command. And it is never enough for you! So why shouldn't I disobey you? When you can no longer do anything to me worse than you do already?"

      My outburst was unheard of in that house and I had never heard my own voice raised so high. Not had Amelia, who looked shocked and angry at my defiance. Would I pay drear,y for this tantrum? Yes. Would I give up my newfound sense of freedom? Absolutely not.

      I was a steadfast tree. Everything else could blow right past me.