Goodnight, My Love

Unexpected

"No way!! How could you not love that song??" I scream at my best friend while enjoying ice cream on the dock. "Because it's like, one of his worst pieces. And like the grammar is all jacked up. He's all like, 'Cause baby u-n-i we go to geder like you and I like we broke up a long time ago!!'" He says, and I burst into laughter at his horrible Ed Sheeran voice.

"You don't even know the lyrics, you re-re," I giggle. Jake sticks his tounge out at me playfully.

I look out at the ocean. I'm not one for swimming, but water is absolutely beautiful. "Amazing, isn't it?" Jake asks, as if he was reading my thoughts.

It's been four wonderful months since I met my best friend. I find that I trust him with all that I am, with everything I have. We spend all of our time together.

But it's not like you are thinking.

We're just friends. Best friends. We've stayed the night at each others houses countless times. I am not and will never be in love with him, in a boyfriend-girlfriend way.

"It's beautiful," I murmur. Jake smiles at me. The sun is setting over the water, blue and orange and yellow and red, colors mixing into a blur of shades.

We stay there the rest of the evening, hanging our feet in the water and talking like childhood friends. Before long, the sky is a dark color matching the blue water. The moon hangs above our heads, bright and shining. The stars dot our perfect ceiling, making everything even more peaceful.

"Can I walk you home?" Jake asks.

"Yeah, if you really want to. I can get there myself though," I reply.

He shoots me a grin as he rises off the dock. I take his offered hands as I get up as well. I'm expecting him to let go of my hand, but he keeps it warm in his grasp. We walk up the dirt path, the way to my house.

"What do you want to be?"

"Like career wise?" I ask back. "Yeah. I mean, what do you want to do with yourself?"

Hmmmm. What do I want to be? I've thought about. Mom is a counselor in the local hospital, and Dad works on business trips. "I want to be an artist," I finally say. "What about you?"

Jake becomes frigid beside me. He stares at the ground and slows his walk. "Promise you won't laugh at me?"

"Of course Jake, I promise," I say while sticking my pinky in the air. His hand clings tightly to mine.

"I want to be a psychiatrist," he says in barely a whisper. His eyes flick over to mine, but all I see is sadness. What has caused this young boy to be afraid of his dreams?

Jake would make a great psychiatrist. I don't really understands his reasons, but he would be a good one. He'd honestly try his best to help those people.

"I mean....for like children. Children who have....been through things they shouldn't have. Kids that have seen things they shouldn't have," He says quickly, like I was going to shoot his idea down.

"Jake, I think you'd be a wonderful psychiatrist."

He relaxes beside me, letting out a breath. He smiles brightly, happily. I see my house not far away. We walk hand and hand silently, enjoying each others presence. He leads me to my front porch, and let's go of my hand. I unlock the door slowly, not really wanting him to leave.

I turn to him and he smiles. He approaches me slowly, his hand reaching for my face. His hand gently pushes back a strand of my hair, and my heart stops when he pecks my cheek. "Thank you for everything Kassy."

And he walks away.

I open the door to my house and flick the lights on. My feet lead me up the stairs and to my bedroom.

After removing my clothes and climbing under the sheets, I take my phone off the night stand. I have three test messages.

The first one is from Mom, saying she would be home sometime around six, as usual.

The second is from Jake, saying he'd come over around noon tomorrow.

But the last confuses me. It's a number I don't know, and odd number, different from the common 614-numbers around here. The message reads:

Goodnight, my love.

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Hey people, tell my watcha think. Who's the mystery texter? ;)

Don't let your praying knees get lazy, and love pork chops like crazy!!!

~BackwoodsGirl