Come Home • cel

Chapter 1

The first time I met Josh, it was a dull, rainy day. I was sitting at a table in the corner of a cafe downtown, sipping my cappuccino. Many people had came in to seek shelter once the rain started. The tables were taken, the queues were long and the people were irritable.

Several customers shot me rude looks. They felt that I had been here for too long. But I had a good reason for hanging around the cafe all day. So I ignored the looks and went back to sipping my coffee. After some time, a teenage boy walked over, carrying a tray with a sandwich and a cup of something.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the only other seat at my table for two. I shake my head and he sat down. It was awkward, like it usually is when some stranger sits down at your table. So I tried to avoid eye contact and stared at my coffee instead. I didn't want to drink up my coffee, since they didn't allow you to just sit in here, so I stirred my coffee endlessly, even though I knew it would only make it colder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh finishing up his sandwich and moving on to his drink. I prayed that he would be quick and leave soon.

Suddenly, Josh leaned closer to me. "I know you. You go to Franklin, right? I've seen you around before." he said. I nod. Then, deciding that I'd better introduce myself, I opened my mouth and said, "I'm-" But Josh cut me off, "You're Chloe, I know that. You're the queen bee of junior year. I'm Josh Hyland." "The Josh Hyland? The star of the hockey team?" I asked, my eyes widening. "I guess you could say that," he replied with a small chuckle.

"I heard you've been offered a scholarship  and the chance to play on the varsity team at some university. You must be pretty good." I commented. Josh shrugged. "It's not like I can accept it anyway. Accepting that scholarship would mean leaving this town. I can't leave. My mom has cancer. Who's gonna take care of my mom if I go?" Josh confessed. "I'm sorry." The moment I said it, I wanted to take it back. A simple 'sorry' wouldn't help. It wouldn't cure Josh's mom. It was inadequate. But Josh nodded as if he'd gone through this a hundred times. Maybe he had gone through this a hundred times, maybe more. "I know what it's like, having a sick and dying mom. I know what it's like to have people say 'I'm sorry' to you again and again. My mom died of some disease when I was six." I decided to say.

"It's gets so tiring sometimes. Who's the one who has to take care of mom all the time? Definitely not my two useless sisters." Josh's face was laced with hatred when he said that last sentence. "Don't call your sisters useless. You don't know what they're going through." I replied quickly. "I know what they're going through. They're going through whatever I am, maybe less." Josh said sharply. "My sister thinks I'm a bad sister, but she doesn't know what I'm going through." I said quietly. "What are you going through?" Josh questioned.

"My boyfriend cheated on me two weeks ago. My father's getting remarried and he's only told me. But I don't want a new mom, I want my birth mom back. Clara thinks I'm a horrible sister and hates me. My grades are dropping hopelessly. My guidance counselor cannot figure out what's wrong with me. My dad gets so many calls from teachers I think he's tempted to throw me out of the house. After all, how could a renowned doctor have such a failure for a daughter? Everything's a mess. My life is a mess." I spilled, tears rising up to the back of my eyes. But I willed them to stay down.

It was silent for a few moments, before Josh suggested we go somewhere. I shrugged. "Come on! Let's go!" Josh got up with his cup in one hand and patted my shoulder with the other. I got up as well and followed Josh outside. I caught up with Josh and walked beside him. "I'm gonna bring you somewhere I go whenever I felt upset. Nobody else know about it." he said. "So it's like, your secret hideout?" I wondered aloud. "I don't exactly hide there, but yeah, it's secret." he replied with a laugh.

We walked to the park at the edge of the town and went up the small mountain. There was a huge green field on the other side, but it wasn't where Josh wanted to bring me. Instead, we took a left turn and went a short distance before coming to a cave. Josh brought me through the pitch-black cave. It made my hair stand up in fear. But when we came out at the other side, my breath hitched in my throat. We stood on a cliff-ish thing high above ground and miles of greenery spread out below us. A beautiful lake added a blue touch to all the green.

Josh and I sat and admired the scenery. After a long time, Josh's watch started beeping. "Time to go," he said sadly, getting up. I got up too and we walked through the cave, across the field and over the hill. "You have a pen?" Josh asked when we were back beside the road. I dug around in my bag until I found my pen and passed it to him. He took my hand and scribbled something on the back. "Gotta run! Call me!" Josh said as he pressed the pen into my palm and ran off. I looked at the scribble at the back of my hand and realised that it was a Josh's number. I was definitely going to call soon.