A Beautiful Train Wreck

Chapter 2 - Reckless

"You must be... Micah?"

Cameron's POV

Micah.

The name rang a bell to alert my mind. My heart raced as questions ran through my head, frantically searching for answers. I could hear it thumping and hammering against my chest, my body trembling with every single beat of my heart.

I never actually imagined what I'd do in this situation. But I was sure that we would catch up on everything - family, friends, past lovers. Everything. I thought I'd be thrilled to see him for the first time in ten years.

So why wasn't I?

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Micah after studying us for a minute, "Listen, new kid, make sure you find yourself another seat in tomorrow's class."

He took one last glance at me before locating an empty chair beside the window. A string of girls followed him and formed a circle around him as if performing a ritual, their sickening high-pitched voices pierced my sensitive ears from across the room.

Was that a false alarm? A fire drill for my heart? I underestimated the impact a name could have on me. His eyes looked incredibly familiar though, I was almost convinced that it was the Micah. Then again, we were both really young. Perhaps he had forgotten that I'd even existed. The thought of that tugged on my heart.

I was scared of being forgotten by the people I love. And it seemed like the fear grew stronger with time.

"I swear I saw the bracelet on his wrist when he came in, it's identical to yours," Chris reassured, furrowing his thick brows as I sank myself down into the chair.

*****

With one last steady push on my stubby leg, I lifted myself onto the top of our house. Lying on the roof in the open fresh air on a summer night, counting the stars that were exposed in the sky, was oddly refreshing to me.

It was part of my nightly routine.

But that wasn't the only reason I risked my life to climb onto the roof of my house every night. The main reason was because I knew he'd see me from his bedroom window and try to convince me to get back into the house before I hurt myself.

It was part of his nightly routine.

I patiently waited for his appearance.

A broad smile spread across my face from ear to ear, my eyes gleaming under the moonlight that brightly lit the area. And there he was, leaning on the window ledge, his head stuck out to keep me company. It wasn't enough that we spent each day together playing outside our houses or at the playground. I longed to see him again at night.

"Cameron, why do you have to be so reckless?" he sighed, knowing that he was never going to persuade this stubborn girl to leave the rooftop of her house.

I tilted my head slightly to the side as he rested the weight of his head on the palms of his chubby little hands.

"What does 'reckless' mean, Mike?"

"You know I hate it when people call me 'Mike', just call me 'Micah'," he folded his arms and I giggled when he scrunched up his irritated face, "And 'reckless' means that someone doesn't care about danger."