Hey guys, so here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. It's kind of short but this is the segway into the next part, so the next chapter will be longer and hopefully a lot better, but this is pretty much the stepping stone to that.
Please leave comments and don't forget to vote:)
TheEverLasting
The rest of the time at the diner went by quickly and silently. Cayden and I both ate our food without another word to each other, which I was grateful for, and by the time we left the diner had become so busy I was surprised that so many people could fit into such a small space.
We began walking towards Cayden’s car, again saying nothing to each other along the way. I didn’t want to get into the whole explaining of our backstories, or talking about things from our past or anything like that. I just wanted to move on from my past, not have it constantly follow me wherever I go. Besides, I don’t really know Cayden at all, why would I trust him with something so personal?
“So,” Cayden said as we got into his car. “Where should we go now?”
“Shouldn’t we go back to the gym?” I asked slowly, not knowing what else to say. But it seemed as though that wasn’t the answer Cayden was looking for. Without another word and a sneaky smile, he turned on the car and sped off out of the parking lot, not saying a word.
“Cayden, where are we going?” I asked as he sped off down the road.
“You’ll see,” was all he said.
“Seriously Cayden,” I said, panic starting to arise in my chest. “Where are we going?” He didn’t say anything, all he did was chuckle while a smirk appeared on his face as he continued down the road, heading straight out of town and out towards the woods.
I had always tried avoiding the woods area of town. They looked like something straight out of a horror movie, as though a murderer should pop out at any second and take you to his secret hide out, and then you’re never seen again. I like the outdoors, just not the woods.
I tried my best to hide my discomfort as Cayden sped down a bumpy dirt road that led us further into the woods, though I don’t think he noticed my discomfort anyways.
It was at least fifteen minutes before Cayden finally stopped the car and hopped out as I followed suit.
He brought us to a small shack that looked well kept and kind of cozy that looked over the cliff at the most beautiful view I have ever seen in my entire life.
The cliff barely had a drop off the end of it, but it overlooked a small and peaceful stream that seemed to go on forever. There were trees that surrounded the stream, making this little shack seem as though it was in its own private oasis, completely cut off from the rest of the world yet providing an even better one.
“What do you think?” Cayden suddenly asked bringing me out of my trance. To be honest, I had completely forgotten he was even here.
“It’s beautiful,” was all I could say as I continued to stare at the stream and trees, afraid that at any moment it was all going to disappear.
“Yeah,” Cayden said as he walked up to stand beside me at the base of the rocks just before where the stream started. “My parents use to bring me out here all the time where I was younger. They would call it our family vacation. Some of my best memories are from those vacations, though,” he said, he cheeks turning a little red from the sudden revelation.
“I could only imagine,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“The last time we came here I was 14 years old, and I had just won the boxing match against one of the other gyms in the area. My dad told me that if I won we could come here, almost like bribing a child to get them ice cream if they do well, but instead…”
“You were bribed with a trip to your favourite place,” I finished for him, knowing exactly where he was going with this. He only nodded his head, as though what he was about to say next was going to be hard.
“I did everything I could to win that match because I wanted nothing more than to come here,” he said, he voice beginning to crack. “My dad pretty much refused to come here after my mom died when I was 8. He said there were too many memories that he didn’t want to relive and that were just too painful, but I always felt more at peace whenever I was here.”
I didn’t know what else to do or say. What Cayden was telling me was beyond personal and something that, if I were him, I would never have been able to share with someone who I was trusted completely, let alone someone that I barely knew. But I could feel my heart ache for him. He was obviously close with his mom, and losing her was not easy, but it seemed almost as bad for his dad. The problem was they had different ways of coping with the pain, and the hardest part of that was that the one thing he needed to cope was the one thing his dad didn’t want to go near.
“I’m really sorry Cayden,” I said, not knowing if there was anything else to say to him.
“Thanks, but that’s not why I told you that,” he said, wiping a stray tear from his cheek. “I told you that because that’s what makes me want to fight.”
“Because you’re upset that your mom died?” I asked, trying my hardest not to sound rude or disrespectful while asking it. From my experience, whenever you mention someone’s dead relative, they become instantly defensive, and I really didn’t want to deal with another defensive person right now.
“No, that’s not why I want to fight,” he said. “If anything it’s the reason that I don’t want to fight.” I looked at him with a confused look, and I could see it in his face that he realized he had lost me.
“My mom hated fighting, so when she died I wanted to stop fighting, my dad wouldn’t let me,” he explained. “I fight because every time I win, my dad takes up here, and it feels like old times when I was younger; when everything was still good. I fight because I don’t want to let go of this place.”
At this I completely understood him. I know what it’s like to want to hold on to something that’s gone or has left. It’s the one place or thing that still reminds you of what you want most in this world, but what you know you can never have.
“And now it’s your turn,” he said.
“My turn for what?” I asked a little confused.
“I took you to the place that makes me want to fight and that keeps me going,” he said as though it was completely obvious. “Now it’s your turn to tell me what keeps you fighting. You have to trust me in order for you to fully learn form me, just like I have to completely trust you in order to work with you. So what is it?”
I was completely shocked. The one thing that keeps me fighting is the one thing that I refuse to talk to anyone about. It’s my one secret that I’ve kept for I don’t even know how long. And it’s honestly the last thing I want to tell Cayden. But what if he’s right? What if this is the only way to trust him, and maybe even to learn how to continue on? I just don’t know.
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Alright, so here's the chapter. I know it's kinda short but the next chapter will be longer, promsie.
So let me know what you guys think of it and please don't forget to vote:)
TheEverLasting
