Oh, Marcel!

Honored

~Marcel~

"So to Ember's house we go then?" Emily asks and turns off the gravel road, the house behind us now.

"Yeah." I say and pull out my phone. I used the notes to make up a plan of what we were going to do. No more hospital. We were going to go to Ember's get here things and then to Emilys, then to mine. After I had booked us one night in a hotel a little ways away from Cedar Hills. Cresent Lake.

Mrs.Slovak used to take me there sometimes to do some clothes shopping. Cresent Lake was an old town, probably the oldest around. The stores were a bit rundown, but that didn't stop them from operation. Lots of people liked to shop around in this area because being a small town everyone knew everyone.

The shop that Mrs. Slovak took me to however, was very creepy. I remember it being off to the side near a forest. The brown paint on the wood slats had begun to peel off leaving the chips on the grass. A small crumbling concrete path lead up to the creeky old door. There was shutters barely hanging on the windows, the curtains were always drawn. At the top of the little store there was a bell like a school house. It must have been a school at some point in time.

The appearance on the outside was far less creepy than the inside. When you first walked in, a stale musty smell hit your nose and your eyes had to adjust to the dark. A few lamps were lit around the brown painted store. There was a little old lady that stood at the counter peering over the cash register as Mrs. Slovak and I browsed through the racks of clothes.

Sometimes if you weren't paying attention, the little old lady would be right behind you as you turned around. She would say nothing as she stared up at you, or in my case back then at eye level with me. I was terrified of that place. I have no idea why Mrs. Slovak wanted me to wear the clothes from there, but I was afraid she would leave me and that Johnny would come and well..kill me. As long as she lived with me I was okay.

Then again, I was okay at home when she was gone. Why did I even need her in the first place?

"Marcel?" Ember says breaking me from my flashback.

"Hmm?"

"Will you come in with me?"

"Of course." I was going to go in with her whether she wanted me to or not. Never would I let this girl out of my sight.

"Thanks." She kisses my cheek and then rests her head on my shoulder. It felt so nice to have someone do that. Just a simple thing as a kiss and a touch, could make me so happy.

"I wonder what the girls are going to think." Emily mumbles to Harry. He cocks his head at her, clearly confused.

"You can't tell them." I pipe up.

"I didn't mean it like that. Just about us leaving ya know." Emily shrugs and pulls into Ember's driveway. "It's surreal to think that all of this happened in such a short amount of time."

"I know." Harry nodded, agreeing with her.

Ember looks over to me, her face white.

"It's going to be alright. Come on." I open the door and then take her hand helping her out. Ember steps out and inhales deeply.

"Here it goes."

~Ember~

Marcel leads me up to the house, telling me that it's going to be alright. I know that it is, but I'm drowning him out with my own thoughts right now.

"M-mom? Dad?" The house is silent.

"Marcel I don't think they're home."

"Then we'll leave them a note. Go on and get everything you need. I'll write it." Marcel gently pushes me to the stairs and hurries off towards the kitchen. I can't get myself to walk up the stairs quickly. All these memories are running through my head right now. Not just the memories that I have created here in this house, but the others. The past.

I realize that I have run away from all my problems. Each and every one. The girl fights, the near taking my life, and now Johnny.

Why? Why can't I confront my problems head on? Why do I just run away?

But then I think about how easy running away is. To leave all the problems behind. To start over fresh. It's so simple, yet I can never turn back and nothing will ever be the same.

"Ember! Are you getting your things? C'mon we have to go soon." Marcel yells to me from the bottom of the stairs. I realized that I was now standing in my room shoving random things into old school bags. When I looked down at what I was doing, I saw Marcel's old glasses poking out of the pocket in one of the bags.

Why had I grabbed those?

The memory of Jimmy handing them to me. The day that Marcel saw us kissing in the hallway and ran away as I chased him. He had left his glasses behind and never came back for them. He had an endless supply at home, so he didn't need them. I had kept them in the drawer next to my bed, pulling them out during lonely nights when Jimmy wasn't around and I was really missing my bestfriend. My fingerprints were all over the lenses as I now pulled them out to inspect them.

I guess I've always loved Marcel.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I smile and put the glasses back into a different pocket. I don't want Marcel to see that I've kept something that he doesn't even wear anymore. He would probably laugh at me and tell me to throw them away. But I couldn't, that was the Marcel I fell in love with.

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up when I came out.

"Here." I said and tossed down a bookbag. It was filled with pillows and blankets, but I made it seem like it was heavy. His eyes widened as he watched it come sailing down toward him. He braced himself to catch and when he did, he nearly fell forward because it was so light.

"You suck." Marcel grins and his dimple pops. I come down the stairs and gently poke it with my finger.

"Yeah okay, buddy."

"Let me take your bags miss. I mustn't have a lady carrying her own bags." He smiles and reachs for my bags. I laugh.

No matter how much I say I love the old Marcel, I would never give this one up for anything. He was brave, he was funny, and more importantly he was starting to come out of his shell. I was honored to be starting over with the best boyfriend anyone could ask for.

"So what did you write to my parents?" I'm not feeling as nervous anymore. I actually can't wait to start a new life now that I've convinced myself it's a good choice.

"I told them where we were going to be for the night and gave them Emily's number too." Marcel says as I shut the door behind us. I'm leaving the bad memories and taking the good with me. It's the best I can do.

"Alright." I open the back of Harry's Range Rover and Marcel shoves in my things. Harry and Emily are arguing up front about a tree or something. I shake my head and laugh at the two.

Yeah, this new life was going to be great. I smiled as Marcel opened the door for me and I crawled inside. He climbed in behind me and shut the door.

"Ready now?" Emily asked turning around and ignoring Harry's glare. He obviously wasn't finished with the argument.

Marcel looks over at me and grabs my hand tightly. I look down at it and then back to Emily.

"As I'll ever be."