The Story of Why

Keda - Bruised Battered and Gone

~Keda~

Drew came by my house again the next day. I heard a knock, opened the door and saw him, his face expressionless and half covered with a large, purple bruise. Blood trickled down from his temple to his chin. It was kind of gross and it took me aback. "What happened?!" I asked him, my voice so loud I was basically yelling.

"Nothing." He saw the look of concern on my face and said, "Don't worry about it."

Very reassuring. I decided I wouldn't ask, so I just stepped aside so he could come in. "Where's Olliver?" he asked.

"Friend's house," I answered. I couldn't help but stare at the bruise. Across his right cheek, right under his glasses.

"So...we're all alone?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. I pretended I didn't notice him wince in pain after smiling ever so slightly.

"Don't get any ideas," I warned, although I was smiling. We went upstairs to play video games.

We played for half an hour when I decided I couldn't take it anymore and paused the game. "What?" he asked.

"How did you get that bruise, Drew?" I asked seriously.

"My uncle's dumb. Can we keep playing? Please?" he pleaded. I sighed.

"Drew. Please," I begged.

"Please? Please what? Please what, Keda?" he said angrily. "My uncle was drunk and I irritated him. It was my fault," he said, his expression cold. His features softened and he looked down for a minute. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, looking back up and into my eyes. "Just don't worry too much about it. It's fine," he assured me.

I chewed the inside of my lip, but we kept playing.

After my mom and Olliver came home and Drew greeted them, Drew asked if I wanted to go on a walk with him. I told him sure because it was a chance for the both of us to clear our heads. We went outside and it was pretty cold. I buried my hands deep in my pockets and Drew put his arm around me while we walked.

For the first couple minutes, we walked in silence. Then he stopped suddenly. "What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing..." he said, although it seemed as if something was troubling him. "Can we sit down for a bit?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. So we sat down on a nearby bench and he held my hand in his, our fingers interlocked. He looked me in the eyes.

"What do you think happens when we die?" he asked, as if struggling to put the words together.

I frowned. I decided I should just give him my honest opinion. "I don't really think anything happens at all. We just live and then die. It starts when we're born and ends when we die."

"What's it, though?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said 'it starts.' What is it?" he asked.

I looked away from him, biting my lip in concentration. "Well, I guess it is life itself," I said. I stared up at him. I doubted that I'd ever figure this boy out. He just nodded. Then nodded again as he turned to look away from me. He seemed to be looking at the leaves on the ground far in the distance. He seemed to be looking at the trees, nearly bare. But I could tell that his minds' eye and his actual eye were not seeing the same things. We sat there a while longer, when he looked back at me.

"You look cold," he said.

"Yeah," I told him.

"Let's go back," he said. So we began walking back towards my house, hand in hand. Although my hand was touching his, it felt as if he wasn't actually there with me.

Back at my house, he was watching me do my homework. "Don't you have any homework?" I asked.

"I guess," he answered. My hands and cheeks were still numb with cold. Drew and I cuddled for a bit and I kissed him on the left cheek, the one without the giant bruise on it. He half smiled and looked at me. He bent over and kissed my forehead, then laid back down and closed his eyes. With his arm around me and my head against his chest, we fell asleep.