The Story of Scömìche Part 2 (Completed)

Chapter 13

After an hour with the two kids I determine that roller skating was a bad idea. Lindsey, the younger of the two, has already fallen and bruised her knees so many times that they are both a dark shade of purple. I have done the same when trying to dive after her, and the whole time, Sally, Lindsey's older sister is laughing at us and rolling away faster than I can catch her when I tell her we have to leave because I'm in pain and Lindsey can't walk. I take off my skates and give them back over the counter, watching Sally over my shoulder. After putting my shoes back on, I run after her despite the strict rules about not going onto the skating floor in shoes. When I nearly catch up, I trip on a floorboard and face plant. For a second, all I can see is spots, but when my vision clears up again, I see her standing on the other side of the floor watching and laughing hysterically. I get up, shrug at her, and start to head back over to where Lindsey is sitting with ice packs on each knee.

"Alright, ready to go?" I say to the little girl.

"What about Sally?"

"When she sees us leaving, she'll come." I pick her up in one arm and carry the ice with my other hand. She waves to her sister over my shoulder and I hear, "Wait. Scott, wait!" I turn around and see her coming toward us full speed ahead. "Wait. I'm coming. Hold on one second. I'm coming." She stops quickly and throws her skates off and her shoes on, sprinting over to the counter and then back over to us. She grabs my hand tightly and pulls it around her shoulders to make sure that I don't leave without her.

"Was that so hard?" I say, laughing. I make a mental note to tell Mitch my story. Once I have the two young girls in the sitting down in the backseat, I say, "So, where should we go next?"

"I want to go see Mommy and Jakey!" Lindsey shouts.

"Hey, indoor voices." I say, feeling like a teacher. "We're in a car. You can't go see them. They're both really tired and need to be alone right now."

"But Daddy's there. And Mommy and Jakey are together so they're not alone."

"But Jakey is a baby. He's only four days old, he needs to be with your mommy and daddy right now. Anyway, aren't you excited that you get to spend time with me?" I glance in the mirror to see their reactions. Lindsey is frowning and Sally is staring out the window looking bored. "I guess I'll take that as a no. Do you want to go see a movie?"

"Yeah!" they say in unison.

"Let me guess...The Secret Life of Pets?"

"Yes!" they say, again in unison. I chuckle and drive to the theater. After we go through the long process of getting tickets, popcorn, three different types of candy each, and making each of them promise they won't tell their parents what they're eating, we head into the theater. I scan the seats for three open spots next to each other, and when I see them, I also see Todrick and Kevin. I smile at them and go over to sit next to them.

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Halfway through the movie, I fall asleep. When it is over, Lindsey is practically screaming my name and Sally is shaking me.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"I thought you died." Sally said matter-of-factly. By the time I get them back to the hospital and with their parents, it is six o'clock. I am exhausted from keeping track of the two little girls all day. When I get home, I collapse onto the couch with my eyes closed.

"Hey, babe." Mitch says. I open my eyes again and see that he is standing right in front of me. My breath catches when I see him and I immediately stand up to kiss him. "Missed me, huh?" he says when I set my head on his shoulder.

"Mhm." I mumble.

"You sound really tired."

"I am."

"Are you too tired for me to take you out?"

"I guess not." I take half a step back to take note of how good he looks. He's dressed in a black button down shirt and some black jeans, and his usual dark fringe is pulled back and clipped. His eyes have an especially dark glint that makes me want to kiss him again, but I stop myself and take his hand instead.

"Can I take a shower first?"

"Nope. No time."

"Should I change?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Absolutely not. Come on, let's go." When he turns, I can see a very tiny bit of makeup accenting his already perfect features and I smile, following him down the stairs and to the car.

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After an hour of driving in the now-darkness, I notice that we are moving out into the countryside.

"You're really not going to tell me where we're going?"

"No. Will you sing to me?" I look over and see him smiling slightly.

"Sure. What song?"

"Pick any song." For some reason, Let Her Go by Passenger popped into my head and I start to sing it from memory. "Damn it, Scott." Mitch says when I'm done, wiping at his eyes. "You had to make me cry."

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After three hours, Mitch finally pulls the car over. I look out the window and see nothing but what reminds me of farmland. The only light is being provided by the stars and the moon, and it sets a faint, beautiful white glow over everything. Mitch gets out and comes around to open my door for me before I can do it myself. As soon as the door is closed behind me, he is pulling me away from the car and out into the middle of the grassy stretch. When we stop, I can barely see the car, much less the road. He sits down, pulling me with him, and sits in my lap. He puts his head on my chest while I look around us. I notice that we are at the top of a hill, and there is a lake at the bottom of it. As much as I am enjoying the still peacefulness, my curiosity gets the better of me.

"Why are we here?"

"I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of important." He pulls a pocketknife out of his pocket and slips it into my hand. "I think you know what I'm about to say." I lean down and kiss him. "Come on." We stand up and walk over to a small patch of trees that I just noticed. I hand the knife back to him and watch as he digs it into the trunk, carving his initials into it. I put mine underneath.

"This feels familiar." I say, chuckling.

"Mhm. Only this time we are in love." He takes the small knife from me and starts to work a heart around our initials. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lean against his back. Once he finishes, we go back over to the clearing. When we sit down, he sits across from me Indian style and grabs my hands, resting our intertwined hands on his knees. He takes a deep breath and starts rubbing circles on my hands.

"So now's the part where we need to talk." My stomach drops.

"Okay." I say hesitantly.

"I love you." he says, his voice shaking a little. "But, I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore." Something wells up inside me and I can't quite place it. I swallow the lump in my throat as a thousand questions go through my head. "It's not enough. I was going to try to have a long speech ready for this, and I know we've only been dating for a little while, but I love you so, so much. So, Scott Richard Hoying, will you marry me?" At first, I am so shocked that I don't respond. The smile on his face is dimming with each second of silence.

"I-I can't." His smile disappears.

"Okay. I get it. Um, yeah, okay." He stands up and walks away.

"Wait, Mitch!" I call, ready to follow him.

"Just, leave me alone for a few minutes. I'll come back soon." He sounds dejected and the sound breaks my heart. And I just sit there, and let the love of my life walk away.

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Fin Part 2
Should I start posting Part 3 on Friday or Monday?