Distance

Chapter One

Should I? Could I? Yes, I should do it. No, I can't. I can't tell him that I love him. I'm having conflicting thoughts. Taylor is officially leaving me. He is leaving before the summer is over. Here I am on the East Coast and he is going to the West Coast, leaving me alone and breaking his promise. I look at myself through the mirror hanging on my door. I see the reflection of my ribbon board above my bed. I see the picture. I can't see the details of the picture through the mirror, but I know what it is because I've spent many nights memorizing every single detail.

"Give it back!" I was chasing this boy who stole my doll. "Give back my dolly!"

"You want it?" I nodded my head, hoping that he would give it back. He started to give it back to me, and my fingers were just an inch away from grabbing it. Then the boy pulled back on the doll and started to run away again. "Then come and get it!"

"Why won't you give it back?" I yelled at him. Why were all boys mean? I did nothing to him, but he took my dolly anyways.

"Give the doll back to her." I turned to find a boy two feet behind me. I stopped and stared as he walked over to the thief and pointed to me. "I said 'Give the doll back to her.'" I couldn't tell what the boy's facial expression looked like, but I was pretty sure that he looked serious and mad because the thief looked really scared.

"Ok-ka-kay." The thief's voice and walk was shaking as he came toward me. "Here," he said. He glanced back at my savior, who was walking towards me, and ran away.

"Thanks." That was all I could say.

"No problem. I'm Taylor. What's your name?"

"Arianna," I said softly while looking at the ground. I glanced up at him and he looked at me, still waiting. He didn't hear me, so I repeated it, but louder this time. "Arianna."

"Do you want to play on the swings with me, Arianna?"

"Sure."

As we walked over to the swings, he said the one thing that I would remember for the rest of my life. "I won't let anyone mess with you again, and I won't ever leave your side. I promise." I smiled.

We talked, and I found out that he was only six. Only one year older than me, but he seemed like three years older because of how big he was and the way he talked. He wasn't fat or anything, just tall. He lived on my street. I didn't know he did because I just moved here. Once we realized that we did, it started the tradition of us going to each of our houses every other day.

The picture on the ribbon board was taken by my mother when she saw us on the swings. He was the first friend I made. There he was, pushing me on the swing, when she took the picture.

It's the first day of summer. One more year of high school for me. But for Taylor, he finished. He is moving onto the rest of his life. I know that it is summer and I should be having fun, but all I can think about is Taylor leaving for college.

He's been my best friend ever since that day and I've loved him for three years. I know that's too young to know what love is, but I've never felt this way. I know it's not a crush. Not at all. He broke my heart when he told me that he loved his sophomore girlfriend. I couldn't sit there in his bedroom while he told me every detail that happened. I stood up and ran downstairs, out the door, and to my house. I cried for three hours until sleep came to save me. He asked me what happened the next day when he came to pick me up from school with his new driver's license. I told him I was feeling under the weather, but I knew he didn't believe me. He dropped the subject though. That's one of the things that I loved about him. He never pressures me to do something that I don't want to do.

I was about to go downstairs to eat some breakfast when I got a text. It was from Taylor.

Wanna go to the beach?

Sure. Pick me up in an hour? I text back.

Great. See you later.

I grabbed my phone and went into the kitchen to find my mom washing her dishes. I look just like her. We both have light blonde hair, except she has lowlights in her hair and I have two colored streaks in mine, pink and blue. My green eyes and full pink lips are the exact copy of hers. She has on her tan pencil skirt and matching blazer with a white blouse underneath. Her heels are so tall that I'm surprised that her legs aren't shaking.

"Morning, Mom," I said as went over to the cabinets to grab a box of cereal.

"Morning, Sweetie." She turned off the water and dried her hands before grabbing her purse, along with her keys. "I gotta go to work, but how 'bout if we go out to eat to celebrate your first day of summer vacation."

"Sure, Mom. Can we go eat sushi?"

"Anything you want." She kissed my forehead. "Bye!" I openned my mouth to say goodbye too, but she was already out the door.

After I put my bowl in the sink, I searched through my closet for my favorite swim suit. It didn't make me look hot or anything, I just think the swim suit itself was cute. I found it in basket with my beach/pool thing. I pulled off my clothes and put the bikini on. I checked my reflection through the mirror to make sure the top wasn't on crookedly or anything. My hair was wavy and put down, stopping right in the middle of my back. My bikini is a hot pink top with blue straps with bottoms as the same blue as the straps. I put on a simple, purple strapless beach dress along with white flip- flops.

I went to the hallway closet to grab two beach towels- one for me and one for Taylor since he always forgot his- and a blanket. I put those into a giant handbag. Making sure how much time I have left, I looked at my alarm clock sitting on my nightstand. 9:30. I still had 30 minutes until Taylor picks me up. Right next to my nightstand was my overflowing hamper. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to do my laundry. I separated my colors and whites. The colors I put in the washer, and the whites, I put back into the hamper, which I plan to wash when I came home.

I checked the time on my phone. Fifteen more minutes, so I decided to make sandwiches for later. I grabbed the ham, turkey, mayo, cheese, and bread from the refrigerator, and placed the food on the counter top. I made the sandwiches, put them into plastic baggies and put them into a grocery bag.

It's five 'til ten. I ran upstairs to my bedroom, grabbed my wallet, placed it into my handbag along with the sandwiches and made back downstairs before I heard Taylor honk. As I open the door with one hand, I grab my keys off the hook with the other, and stepped over the threshold. I locked to door and walked over to his car. He already opened the truck, waiting for me to place my things there.

"Ready for the summer to begin?" He said as he took the bag and chucked it into the trunk.

I open the passenger door as I replied. "Of course. Let the summer begin!"