Faults, Scars, and Guitar Strings

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

In the next few weeks I heard from Alicia once more. We agreed on an understanding. We agreed not to completely cut each other out of our lives, but she understands I do not want to be close with her as I used to be. For now, we are on an acquaintances type of relationship which I am okay with because I really do want her to get help. She could be so much more.

Lolita continued planning our dance with David and they made it clear they do not want the rest of the group to help with the planning. They gave us specific instructions to buy our fancy clothes and enjoy the night. The rest of the year went by quickly. Maria, Anastasia, Jack, and Dylan practically lived at my house as finals approached. My living room became a permanent study room. I added two extra tables so all of us could spread out every assignment we had left. On the weekends whenever they were not working we had study sessions. For an hour we concentrated on one subject before taking a half hour break and spending another hour on a different subject.

"This is it!" Maria stood up with a few papers in her hand. "This is my last assignment! I finished my paper!"

"Whoo!" We cheered.

A half hour after Maria's announcement the rest of us finished our last papers as well. "All we have left now are the final exams," I told everyone. "We are so close!"

"I am never missing months of school ever again," Maria whined. "I felt so out of the loop when I got back to class. On top of that it took me up until two days ago to finish going through the notes I borrowed from class."

I nodded, "I agree with you. We have exhausted ourselves. I will feel so relieved when this semester ends."

"I can't wait for the party," Anastasia laughed. "I need that break. For the first time I actually asked for that day off."

"I made sure I had it off," Dylan agreed, "and for that same reason. Danes Over Bullying group deserves a break after the year we had. I am also pretty sure my boss feels bad because he knows the attention all of us get. When the news did that segment on our group, they had the channel on where I now work. My coworkers were surprised to see me walk in that first day. They seem to understand the pressure so when I brought it up they offered me the day off."

"I wonder what people like that think about us," I wondered. "I mean, it must be different for all of you because you want to have a normal life. You are trying so hard to go to school and work, but do people approach you and talk about you often?"

Anastasia nodded, "They always do. After I officially became part of the group people would approach me and ask about you. They ask about Lolita and David a lot too. I always reply that you are my friends and I love how we inspire each other."

"I keep it short and simple too," Maria agreed, "Because we do want to have a normal life, but we are also so proud of our friendship and the way we all want to help others. We would never change it or take it back."

"Don't forget how this group helps our futures as well," Jack added. "We formed a group in high school to overcome our own bullying and stop the bullying around us. Can you imagine what colleges or our future employers will think? This group is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I would not have survived high school without it."

"I wouldn't have either," Maria agreed.

Anastasia agreed as well, "Me too."

Dylan put his arm around me, "We put ourselves first."

"Do you think we will have this much fun next year?" I asked.

Maria suspected, "We will have new challenges."

"And we have to sort out what we will all do when we graduate," Anastasia said.

"But," Dylan interrupted, "We will do our best to enjoy our last year together. We will have the time of our lives and make our senior year as memorable as we possibly can."

"Do you think we'll all be separated?" I asked.

"I hope not," Maria said.

Anastasia agreed, "I cannot imagine being away from all of you."

"Even if we end up apart," Jack told us, "I think we are bonded for life. We'll come back together like no time passed."

Dylan nodded, "I agree with Jack, but I'll also never leave too far away from you Kayla."

"Aw," I smiled, "You're sweet." As Dylan looked away I saw a small frown appear as quickly as it went away. He knows Jack spoke the truth, and he wants what he said to be the truth, but I know he will struggle. With all the problems with his parents, next year will be the worst. He should not think about it today though. We have studied all day. His parents need to be the last thing he is thinking about. I should bring it up when everyone else leaves. I want Dylan to continue being happy. I am determined to make sure he enjoys the summer and I am determined to make sure he enjoys most of next year. He deserves it.

"You two are way too adorable," Maria laughed.

I shook my head, "No such thing. Let's go to the movie room. I am done with homework today. We need a break."

Jack stood up, "I'll order the pizzas and meet all of you there."

Maria, Jack, and Anastasia left after we finished watching a couple movies, but Dylan stayed. He told his parents he would stay over a night longer than the rest of them. Of course he failed to mention the others would leave first. I put my arms around his neck and rested my head against his. "One of these days," I told him, "You should probably stop lying to your parents. They will grow to hate me even more."

"They would never hate you," he said. "They would only dislike my lies."

"Nice excuse."

He chuckled, "Kay, they could never hate you because they see how happy you make me. You know I am still not good at handling their pressure. They don't know who I am. I don't even know who I am, but I know it's not what they expect me to be."

"Then how about you tell me the things you do know about yourself?"

"I think you already know most of them," he smiled.

I laughed, "Tell me!"

"Why?"

I kissed his cheek, "Because all we have done all day is study and concentrate on our education. I do not want to do that anymore because we have had too much pressure on ourselves. Do you really think that I do not know that when Jack spoke today about our futures, all you thought about was whether to follow your passion or follow your parents? I saw that look on your face and I saw that frown."

"I hoped you would not notice."

"I am your girlfriend Dylan it was the first thing I did notice. Put it out of your mind for me, okay? All of that thought should be dedicated to next year. Today we relax with each other on our last weekend before school ends for the summer. It makes me sad to see you stressed out."

He turned and kissed me, resting his hand on my cheek like he always does. He smiled into the kiss as he pulled away, "I will stop stressing on one condition."

"Yeah?" I laughed, "What is your condition?"

"Spend the rest of the day in our secret place with me. I need one night where it is just you and me with no distractions and no one coming over to check in. I can't remember the last time we had that."

I smiled and pulled him into a deep kiss. He moved his hand from my cheek down to my waist. "I love you," I said as we pulled away. "I love you so much." Needless to say, we got so caught up in the moment that we never made it to our secret place. We did, however, put our phones on silent to make sure nobody would interrupt our time together. The moments I will remember most in life are the moments I spent with Dylan. If I had to choose one person that influenced my life the most, it would not even be a competition. I would not be me without at my side to help me figure it out. I never thought I would find somebody that would love me, let alone my soul mate.