[2] Selfish Desires

2.5 - Distant

            The rising sun shone through the trees and spread itself out in patches across the forest floor. I picked my head up off my forearms and peeled the pine straw off my jacket. Jake was still sleeping on the ground next to me.

            I looked all around at the trees and vines in every direction. I knew this forest wasn’t very big, but I had no idea which way was the way we came from. My parents were probably out looking for me, they probably called the police, or they were home crying about me not coming home last night and not going to school today.

            I knew we should probably get going before we were gone too long. Jake looked so peaceful sleeping like that, and I felt bad waking him up. I also felt creepy watching him sleep, so I snuggled up next to him and kissed him softly, hoping he would notice.

            “Good morning, Sweetheart,” he stretched like a kitten and rolled over on his back.

            “Wow, someone’s adorable,” I tried to ignore the scratches on his arms because he looked cute in every other way. “We probably should head home or head to school, don’t you think?”

            “Yeah, I guess so…” Jake shook his head, “but why do we have to go back? We should just spend the day together…”

            “Jake,” I put my foot down, “Can you at least lead us out of the woods and we can go from there?”

            “If I can find my way out,” he snickered. He propped himself up on his elbows and licked his lips, “I think we came from that way, but let’s just explore. I know this forest isn’t that big.”

            “Well we’re near the airport, the fair, the animal shelter, and… the jail,” I glanced up at Jake.

            “Oh shit,” he remembered the letter he got earlier in the week, “My dad is getting out soon… I don’t even remember when…”

            “Isn’t it today? He said he was getting out on Friday, didn’t he?” I walked towards him and he seemed a little out of it. “Jake?” He didn’t say anything at all. He just glanced up at the sky and then back at the ground.

            “I wonder what time,” he bit his lip, “Oh, what the hell. I don’t want to talk to him. The only one I would want to talk to is James and I doubt he even knows about it. I’m sure there’s a road nearby and we can take that back towards your house.”

            “You really don’t like your dad, do you?” I said, not expecting an answer.

            “If your dad killed your mom would you like him?”

            That was an easy enough question to answer for most people. “No I wouldn’t.”

            Jake grabbed my hand and we headed towards the edge of the woods, watching out for leaves and twigs on the way. I followed him through random breaks between the trees and bushes for a few minutes until we reached the edge of the forest.

            “I think this is 23rd Street,” Jake told me. He looked up and down and nodded, “We need to go that way.”

            Now I’m usually pretty good with directions, but after walking around in the woods for a while my perception could be a little off. I could only guess that Jake was used to walking around and exploring things. He could be placed anywhere in the city and know exactly where he was and how to get to places. At least he was good on foot; sometimes in the car he wouldn’t know where he was. He was definitely fascinating to me because even though we had some things in common, I know I would never get to meet someone like him again in my lifetime.