The Girl Who Disappeared

Why are you here?

     Val shook her head. She looked to him and sighed."Why Jace?"
"Why what?" he said.
"Why are you here?"
"I care about you."
"Why?" She asked again.
"I don't know exactly," he paused, "I just do... You're my best friend."
"Thanks,Jace."
"Yeah."
"You need to go home." she said softly.
He shook his head. " I can't just leave you here."
"Jace..." Her voice trailed off.
     After that they sat in silence. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. He knew it was hopeless to try to get her to come back, but he had to try. He simply looked at her, at loss for words. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she put  the cigarette out on the arm of the porch swing and then flicked the butt away.
    Jace finally broke the silence, "Why are you here?"
"What do you mean? She sounded flustered.
"If you have no home, why'd you come back here, to your old place?" he said.
"Because" she began "it's not home, but I ain't really got no where else to go." 
"Oh." was all he could think to respond and again they fell momentarily into that awkward silence. Val reached down and grabbed the pack of cigarettes, put another between her lips and lit it. After taking a long drag she turned to Jace, "You want one?" she asked. Jace had never been a smoker, but he decided that there was a first time for everything and cautiously took one and lit it just as she had. The first drag made his throat burn and his eyes sting, but after a few puffs be started to grow accustomed to it and actually kinda liked it.
After smoking a pack between the two of them, Jace had an idea. " You hungry?" he asked.
"A little." She answered although the question seemed out of place.
"Let's order pizza," he smiled, "My treat."
"Okay."
Approximately thirty minuets later the delivery guy arrived with a medium cheese pizza. Jace met him at the end of the drive way and payed for it. He walked back to the porch his stomach growling all the way. He started to open the box, when Val stopped him.
"Wait" she exclaimed, "If we're gonna do this, we gotta do it right."
"What do you mean?" Jace asked
"You'll see." she smiled.
She disappeared through the cracked door frame of the house and emerged moments later holding a red checkered blanket. "Follow me." she said, leading the way to a clover patch in the back yard. She spread the blanket out for the two of them to sit on and shook off the dust in the process.
     The two of them took a seat on the old dusty blanket and opened a box.
"It's a pizza picnic!" Val giggled sounding almost like her old self,but Jace could still tell she wasn't okay. She was putting up a front for him. He wouldn't point it out though, and secretly he wondered how long she'd been faking back home.