Hi, I'm Olivia and I love travelling. I cant wait until next year, i'll finally be 18 and have enough money to travel the world with my best friend Jake. Me and Jake are close, we share everything, even our birthday... It can get annoying sometimes but it's alright when you know the mad lad will always put your birthday before his. I love spending time with the boy that stole my heart like a thief when I was just 6. Lovestruck, Bewildered and Amazed were just some of the feelings that took over my body whenever he laughed his laugh or smiled his smile. The boy that walked with a football at his feet, the boy that spoke every word he thought, the boy with a heart of gold.
Every Sunday we walked and walked with the dogs out ahead, not stopping until the dogs were tired.
"You ready on time this morning Liv?" his voice echoed up the stairs.
"Nearly Jake, just give me a second, christ" I was fed up of him asking me the same question every time he came to my door.
I pulled my bag from the back of the door containing my camera, my chewing gums, my notebook, my sketch pencils, my sunglasses and my suncream. I opened the arms of my sunglasses and rested them gently on my hair that was scraped back into a very messy bun. I was actually ready on time, with 2 minutes to spare. I tied a knot in my oversized tee, to sit just above the waistband of my shorts. I walked to the edge of the room, checking my bag for the 4th time. I do this a lot, check things over and over. It's my thing. I was faced with the tall, dark haired boy I call my best friend.
"Hey there kiddo" Jake calls me this when it's early in the morning because he knows i'm still half asleep like a child being dropped to breakfast club before school.
"Hi Jake, see, I'm on time this morning, you impressed?" He looks at me and nods over-enthusiastically. He hates when i'm sarcastic because he says its the 'lowest sense of humour' and 'I'm too smart to use sarcasm'
We walk downstairs to greet my mum with 2 sandwiches in her hands. Mine with Ham and Turkey and Jake's with cheese, pickle and the crusts cut off. His hands enclosed around the sandwich as he pushed it into his bag. I noticed every detail, from the wrinkles in his knuckles to the cuticles on his fingernails. His smile knocked me into my own world, a parallel universe where we stared at the stars, moving across the sky, like creeping lions catching their dinner.
"Thanks mum, you're the best" I smiled and hugged her goodbye.
"Thanks Mrs Brottle" Jake shouted as he headed out of the door with Duke close to his side.
I grabbed Marco's lead and attached it to his collar. We headed towards the woods where we would let the dogs run free, without a care in the world.
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The dogs were like children, following us until we told them to go play. They jumped and bounced through the branches and bushes. We got to the river and sat on the rocks while they jumped in and out of the water like kids on a sugar high. They always do this, they're the best of friends, just like Jake and I.
Sundays were my peaceful days, only leaving the house for the walk, then climbing back into bed forgetting about all of my problems, Marco by my feet. Marco, my Vizsla, comforts me, even though he doesn't understand why Im hurting, why I can't say how I feel, why I can't do normal teenager things. We sat and stared at the water, not letting a word roll off our tongue, Jake let me sit and think unlike others who decided it was fun to play 21 questions with me constantly like I was a machine, like an 8 ball or a genie simulator. This was my safety net, the thing I had that kept me going, all through college, all through work and life.
I asked Jake questions and quizzed him about his brothers and sisters, I was interested, as I was an only child. It seemed I could only imagine how perfect having a sister would be, How having someone to talk to and to cry to, someone that understands. My mum is my rock, but she just does not get how isolated I feel. I feel like I am in a safe and people have forgotten the passcode, leaving me to collect dust like a diamond from an old necklace. I am lost, drowning in open water being suffocated with problems and worries.
