Bad Blood

4.

Dan lived just down the road from me. We would spend every moment we could together. If I wasn't around his house, we were at mine, and then during the summer, we had found our own secret hideaway in the park and wooded area between our houses. I'm sure Gran was never comfortable letting me out, but having being caged up for most of my life in that little flat, all I wanted was to be outside.

We'd be out exploring, pretending to be pirates or detectives, racing our bikes or playing hide and seek. When I was with Dan I felt free. I'd never had friends before, never mind a best friend, and I loved him like a brother. We even shared the same birthday. We always joked that we could've been twins if we weren't so opposite. He had dark hair and blue eyes. I had blond hair and brown eyes. But between us there was this eternal connection.

On one of our adventures in the summer sun, we found the tree. This tree was far superior to all the trees around it. It was massive and tall and had the best climbing branches. I watched Dan climb almost to the top, and not one be left behind, I bounded up after him. Only, I panicked half way up and found myself terrified.

'I can't do it. I'm gonna fall.' I began to sob and I clung to the trunk. I had my eyes shut tight, too scared to look up or down. Dan scrambled back down to me.

'Its ok. I'm here. You're safe.' He told me. We had just turned five and he always acted so much older. He was so unlike all the other children in our class. And I didn't want to be friends with any of them.

'I can't move.' I sobbed.

'Don't be scared, I won't let you fall.' He promised me. I opened my eyes slowly. He was sat by me, smiling kindly. He took my hand and guided me up the rest of the way. We did it. We sat at the very top, our legs swinging beneath us, the ground eighty feet below. We could see for miles. We could see our houses and our school and the park. But no one could see us up here. I would've stayed up there forever with him, but the sun had begun to set and my Grans one rule was that I be home before dark.

We descended quickly, not wanting to get into trouble. We agreed we'd come back tomorrow with food and we'd stay up there all day. With one more branch left to drop down on to, my foot slipped and I hit the ground with a thud. At first it didn't hurt. It was only when Dan screamed, that I noticed the bone sticking out from my wrist. He stared at me with wide eyes. I tried not to cry. What were we supposed to do?

'My Grans gonna go nuts.' I told him.

'So is my Mum.'

Between us we figured that we couldn't hide my broken arm from Gran forever, so it was best we went back to mine to ring an ambulance. In the meantime, Dan took off his school jumper and wrapped it tenderly around my arm. I had stayed surprisingly calm, despite my clothes being covered in blood and the bone poking out my skin. Gran was more upset than angry.

'What on earth have you been doing?' She hollered upon my entrance into the living room where she was watching Countdown.

'I fell out a-'

'She fell over. In the park.' Dan elbowed me in the ribs. It was probably best not to mention we'd been almost a hundred feet in the air. We'd never be allowed out again if anyone knew the truth.

Dan ran home as the ambulance pulled away, waving at me through the window.

'See you tomorrow!' He shouted. I laughed. Gran didn't.

I had to have an operation to pin my wrist back together. I stayed in hospital for four days, the longest Dan and I had been apart for a year. When I arrived home in the taxi with Gran, Dan was sat in the front porch, waiting. He had the biggest smile on his face.

'I thought you'd died.' He said as he hugged me. He was the first person to sign my cast. 'My Mum says I need my jumper back.' He said next.

As the years went on, our bond became even stronger. We would hang out in our bedrooms, listening to songs, watching films, telling stupid stories. It was just me and him. He was all I needed. Most of the time we didn't need to speak, we could read each others thoughts.

When we were nine years old and the sun was shining like it always did when we were young, we were sat on a blanket amongst the grass, hidden away, laughing and joking. The laughter turned in to a tickle fight and before long I had conquered him, pinning him down underneath me. I looked right into those kind blue eyes framed with his new glasses.

'Promise me we'll be friends forever?' I told him.

'Sure we will.' He shrugged. Did he not understand how much our friendship meant to me? I did sometimes wonder if he just put up with me. Why would a boy want to hang out with a girl, anyway?

'No matter what. Even when I get married and then you get married. We will be friends forever?'

'We will, Gracey.'

'When we're both old and wrinkly. We'll still tell our stories to each other?'

'Of course we will.'

'Cross your heart and hope to die?'

'Cross my heart and hope to die.' He did the action. And I believed him, because you couldn't cross your heart and hope to die without meaning it. That meant more than a pinky promise. More than a spit shake. And even more than swearing on a mothers life. If you broke a cross your heart and hope to die promise, you would die.

On our tenth birthday, and as always we'd spend it together, after all the formal family stuff was done, we arrived at the same time at the tree. It was our favorite place on earth. Here, where no one could find us. Only, it had gone. It had been chopped down and now was lying on the ground, cut into pieces. We just stood there, staring at it. Who would do this? I felt sadness deep in my heart. This was our tree. It was where we met and where we would climb and swing from for hours most nights. We touched the newly exposed rings, tracing them around and around. Wordlessly, Dan took my hand and squeezed it. He didn't need to say anything.

*****

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