'Till Death Do We Part

Josh and Jade

"Hey Jade," I respond, suddenly pulling myself out of my thoughts.
Jade takes a long puff of the cigarette held between her two delicate fingers as we all begin walking towards the woods separating our school and the highway. Ron takes my hand in his, his grip a little too firm like he's convinced I'll run away if he lets me roam free for too long.
Out of everyone in our group, Ron and I are the only ones who have ever been in a long term, serious, relationship. Zack and Colby have girls they mess around with sometimes, but I've never seen any one girl stay with them for too long. Sasha is the same way, in fact, she's notorious for being the slut of our school. Jade has had one boyfriend, and honestly, I don't know that much about him other than the fact that his name was Josh. I met him only on one occasion, when Jade and I, along with a few other friends, went to the lake together one August. With only a few clouds in the otherwise crystal clear sky and a slight breeze which cooled the scorching temperature, it was a perfect day to go swimming. All 5 of us simultaneously jumped in the lake, disturbing the calmness of the water's surface and creating a huge splash that instantaneously soaked us. For a good while, we laughed, chatted amongst each other, and cracked jokes. At one point, Josh swept Jade off her feet and held her in his strong arms while they both gazed lovingly at one another. I remember thinking, they're the happiest couple I've ever seen, so I paid it no mind when Josh carried Jade out of the water and into the small cabin next to the shore. I didn't give it another thought, even when Jade walked out the wooden front door with a towel draped loosely around her small frame, and then proceeded to climb inside the back seat of her car. Josh remained inside the cabin for another 10 minutes, when he finally came out with a smug expression plastered across his chiseled, tanned face. I assumed they had done what most couples do; it was none of my business, so I said nothing. As the afternoon came to a close, we decided, so had our little outing. Thus, we loaded our things into our cars, and we drove home, with my other friends and I in one vehicle, Jade and Josh in the other. Before I left, however, there was one thing I noticed which provoked some later thoughts. As I started the engine, I looked over and saw Jade's shoulders heaving up and down, wiping tears that spilled down her pale cheeks. Josh only gave her a glance and said something to her, but I couldn't make out what it was that he had said. All I know is that a week later, Jade and Josh were never seen together again, and the topic of their breakup was constantly avoided. I still wonder what happened between them, and if what I witnessed that day at the lake had anything to do with it. I've always been too scared to ask.