Repaired

Chapter Seven

Anabelle

It was a nice drive to the fair. Cole and I spent the entire ten minutes reminiscing middles cool memories.

"Do you remember the time that guy- what was his name? Kyle? Do you remember that time that kid Kyle asked you to a dance in like grade 6?" He asked me. I let out a small laugh. "Yes, I do. I also remember you punching him square in the face for me, when he wouldn't take no for an answer." I replied. I looked over at him, his smile as bright as I'd seen it in a while.

I was happy he was relaxing a bit. I hated seeing him upset. I was really curious about what was bothering him, but he kept telling me it was nothing. I had known him long enough, though, to know it was one hell of a something.

We parked the truck a little way away from the fair, so that it'd be easier to leave later. We made our way over to the ticket booth, and just when I was about to pay, Cole pulled out his card and paid.

"Cole!" I whined. "You forget that I'm an independent woman who don't need no man. I can pay for myself."
"Yeah," he said. "But I'm an independent dude who likes to spend money." I smiled at him, putting on my wristband.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked him. He just shrugged his shoulders, so I grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the bumper cars.

"Belle, these things are boring." He said to me. "Too bad. We're doing them." I told him

It took us an hour to do every ride once, and when we were finished, Cole insisted we go on the ferris wheel. I disliked heights, but I was obligated. I dragged him all over, now he got to choose.

As we waited in line, I watched Cole. He seemed extremely lost in thought, running his fingers through his hair every so often.

When we got seated on the ride, we end up having to wait. At the top, every chair got about five minutes, and the ferris wheel had about 8 chairs. I pulled out my phone and put on She's a Rebel.

Cole looked at me quizzically, before realising what song it was.  He looked at me, his blue eyes warm and calm. "God, I love-" He started out saying,  but cut off mid sentence before continuing. "What?" I asked him. "God I love this song." He said. I nodded and smiled, but got a little frightened when we started to go up.

"Hey, it's okay." Cole said to me. "I'm here. Here, move a little more toward the middle." He moved himself over a little more, and I happily obliged.

All the stopping and starting of the ride had me a little scared, but when we got to the top, it was beautiful. The sun was just now setting, the sky being all hues of reds and oranges. The sunset was cast onto the ocean, making it seem like the water was on fire.

I looked at Cole, who surprisingly was looking at me, rather than the view. He smiled, and I looked at him quizzically.

"What is it?" I asked him. I watched as his eyes moved from mine to my lips, and it looked as if he was thinking over some things in his head. He leaned in, but was interupted when we heard screaming from down on the ground.

The ride started moving down, and when we were let off, we saw the popcorn stand burning down and the fire department just arriving. The carnival workers were directing people toward the exits.

I was shocked; how had the damn thing burned without us noticing? I looked up at Cole, who was just as shocked as I. I looked forward, and I felt Cole put his hand on my back and lead me toward the exit.

"Cole, should we go and see if we can help?" I asked. Cole shook his head. "No, that's not a good idea."He said, his eyes a little glazed over. "Cole, what- what's wrong?" I asked, stuttering out my words.

"It's fine, Belle. Let's go. Now." He said, pressing the cross walk button. The sky was becoming dark, and the air felt incredibly still. We walked back to the truck, Cole looking around as if he was afraid someone were following.

"Cole, you need to lighten up." I said when we got in. "Just let loose and relax. It's easy if you try." He let out a long sigh. "Belle, I told you I'm fine." He said. "Don't lie to me." I replied. "I know you. You're not okay."

I reached my hand over, putting it on his. "Whatever it is, Cole, I hope you tell me eventually. I can't help you unless you tell me." I said, looking him in the eye. He started the truck, and on the way to my house, he kept looking over at me, once again seeming as though he was about to say something, but rethinking at the very last moment.

"I had fun tonight, Belle." He said to me, not moving his eyes from the road. "I can't exactly tell you what's wrong, but I promise you that everything will be okay eventually. Hell, maybe I'll even be okay eventually." I looked over at him, his face illuminated only by the passing street lights.

"Things will get better, Cole. I'm here for you. Tell me whenever you're ready to, and I'll be there for you through the entire ordeal. I promise." I replied as he pulled up in front of my house. There was a moment of silence, and as usual, I decided to open my mouth once more.

"Just remember that you're amazing, okay? You ARE the best." I said, brushing my hair out of my face. Cole let out a soft chuckle.

"Goodnight, Anabelle. Go get some rest." He said. "I'll text you later."

"Oh, we're using full names now? Okay, goodnight, Nikolai!" I said, hopping out of the truck. "I shall eagerly await your text. Behave yourself!" And with that, I shut the truck door and made my way into my house.

Truthfully, as homely as my house was, I felt more at home with Cole than I ever did here. This house was just another place where I was forced to be reminded that real life is a series of tragedies all strung together by small happy moments.