Promise I Will

16

My head shot up, and my ears perked up. There was a knock at my front door. I wasn't expecting anyone, my mother was out in town and my father was at work. Even though I had only spent one night at home since got back from the hospital, they act like nothing had happened. I studied the door for a moment before I looked through the peep hole. I was met with the blonde headed boy I've come to be quite fond of. His head was hung low and I could sense that he was anxious.

I sink back down from the balls of my feet and straighten out my posture. My hand found the door handle and I hadn't realized I had opened the door until my eyes were staring into a set of blaring blue ones.

"Hi." I squeaked out.

"Hi." He huffed out a puff of air.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but-" I paused for effect. "Why are you here?"

"Well..." He holds his breath and I could see the nervousness in his eyes, "I thought maybe we could go to the games fair, I mean..."

"Yeah, that'd be nice... Get my mind off of things."

I give him a warm smile to calm him down. It seemed to help, I could see his shoulders relax and his breathing steady. I shift my weight from one foot to the other and watch as his teeth take hold of his lip.

"Alright." He mirrored my smile.

"But," I chew the inside of my cheek, "No rides. My body is still sore." I said, thinking about my bruises.

"Of course."

* * *

"I'm so bad at this." I giggle. In my hand, I clutched the ball tightly and lifted it above my head. I narrow my eyes on my target. The small circular cut out, made to substitute the face of a clown. I had already failed to get two of the three balls in.

"Bah!" I let out a grunt as I swing my arm. I let the ball go just as my hand is in front of me and it flies into the air.

"Nice try." The host says as I fail for the third time.

I sigh and turn on my heels to face Carson. I push out my bottom lip into a pout and ask, "Will you win me a stuffy?"

"Um, I can try." He shrugs his shoulders and I move out of his way. Carson puts his hand in his pocket, and I watch as his face scrunches up as he hands the host a paper bill.

"Here you are, " says the host, handing Carson the three balls for the game.

He takes them in his hands and fiddles to take two in his right and one on his left. With his left hand, he raises it above his head and swings it back but doesn't let go of the ball. He does this a few more times before he lets out a breath.

Finally, he does the same thing, raises his hand above his head and swings his hand back and draw his hand up. But this time letting the ball escape his hand and glide in the cold air.

He huffs out when he sees that his ball hit above his target.

Again, he repeats his earlier actions and fails both times. "I'm sorry." He laughs out while giving a frown, but a smile at the same time. I smiled like SpongeBob does when he wakes up for work in the morning.

"Come on, I think I saw the strength test over this way." He nods his head to the right.

"Alright. But this time I want a stuffy." It comes out like it's the only reason I came here with him.

* * *

"Thank you for the stuffy." I suck on my lower lip while smiling like the joker.

"Is that all you care about?" His brow raises in a teasing manner.

"Yes. But thank you for taking me out. It was nice to think of something else for a change."

Carson gives me a puppy like smile, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I wave my hand out in front of me and watch him walk down my driveway. He gets in his car and I shift my weight and spin around to face the door.

Walking in the house with a smile, I look at the shoe rack. My parents still weren't home. But I didn't care. All I could think about at the moment was how much fun I had today, with my friend.

At least I hope he's my friend.

* * *

Dear diary,

I'm so happy I could die. Maybe that takes away the happy. Never mind. I'm just so happy, and now I have a reminder of the day. A reminder of how much fun it is to hand a friend. I know I shouldn't trust him. But I can't help it. He's making me see everything in a new light. Maybe everything might not be so bad after all. Who am I kidding though? I still have to deal with Olivia and Aiden. And don't forget their entourage. But he was my friend, right? He will be there for me. Right?