In This Together

In The Beginning

There was nothing special about the life of Luke Grant, he firmly believed. He was fourteen with one brother and parents that were still together. In the fall he'd be going to high school where he was expected to keep receiving high grades. An awful existence by no means, but there was not a single thing that stood out to him as special.

Luke was in a routine by this point. He would hope and pray for something, anything exciting to happen. Even a good rumor floating around about his neighbors or classmates would be acceptable. When he told his parents this, expressed how dull everything was, how he wanted to do something more, they laughed. They suggested maybe joining theater in high school, since he seemed to have a flair for the dramatic. Luke would roll his eyes and drop the conversation.

His parents shared a concerned look. It wasn't good that a boy his age was already caught up in monotony. He should be having fun and only concerned about what time he should be home for dinner and getting his homework in on time. They would also tell him to just be appreciative of what he had, that he could be doing so much worse. His only problem was being bored, and they said he could easily fix that. He had hobbies, friends, the baseball team he'd been a part of for a few years now.

It wasn't a surprise that the day she arrived was one that stuck in Luke's mind. It was eighth grade and she was a girl, so that was enough to get his attention. But also, she was someone new, something new, and with the last name of Grace, Natalie was alphabetically destined to be placed right next of him for the rest of their school days together.

They got along well enough. Luke was assigned to show her the ropes in their class, and was encouraged to help her fit in at the middle school. Sometimes he felt sorry for Natalie. By this point in school, everyone already had their cliques and friends worked out.

But with Natalie being something new at their otherwise dull school, people were drawn to her. They wanted to know more about her, if there was anything interesting about her, and if there was, if it would fit in—if she would fit in—with their predetermined friendships.

Meeting all the new faces made Natalie uncomfortable and she would clam up, avoid other students and their questions. She tried to be as polite as she could, and eventually people started to get bored by her passive attitude, started to leave her alone more. So she ended up sticking by Luke's side. He found it annoying at first, like she was a lost puppy always on his heels. But Luke eventually grew to accept her company.

"You can borrow it if you want," Natalie said with a shrug. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail, tied off with a thin, navy blue ribbon. She tucked a lose piece behind her ear, waiting for a response from her friend.

It was sophomore year and Luke had been stressing out over a test he had the next day. With all of his advanced placement classes, the homework had piled up and he'd barely had time to study for the test. And now Natalie held out a coin in the center of her palm, presenting it to him. Her "lucky coin." It was silver disc not unlike a washer and had some odd etchings engraved into it. Natalie had found it on a beach during a vacation her family took years ago, and while it was likely decorative junk, she swore by it.

Luke placed his hand on top of her outstretched one, the coin pressed between his fingers and her palm. At this point he'd try anything that would get him through the test with a passing grade. Plus, it was easier to accept the token than get into another mini-argument about how lucky items weren't a thing. So instead he simply said, "Thanks, Nat."

"But you gotta do the thing," Natalie told him, her face lighting up as she grabbed his hand before he could pull it away.

Luke groaned, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "How are you not sick of it?"

"C'mon, you gotta," she insisted. Luke sighed dramatically, but he obliged.

Natalie still held the coin out in her hand. Luke put one hand on top of hers, the other underneath and gave a squeeze. When he pulled his hands away, the coin was gone, he showed her his empty hands. And then came Natalie's favorite part. Luke affectionately tucked one of the loose strands of her hair behind her ear and when he brought his hand back, the coin was between his fingers.

"Ta-da," he deadpanned, holding it up for her to see. Natalie was beaming at him like it was the first time he'd ever done the trick. Luke felt heat rising to his cheeks.

--

A phone call came from the Grace household landline that night, later than was typically deemed polite to call. Luke was watching tv in the family room before bed when his mom called "Hey Luke?" from the kitchen. He peeled himself off the couch and went to her, stopping in the threshold of the kitchen, the look on his mom's face gave him pause.

"You weren't with Natalie after school were you?" she asked.

Luke shook his head, asking, "Everything good?" but his mom was already back to speaking into the receiver, waving him away as she walked into the next room with the phone.

He went to bed that night wondering what kind of trouble Natalie was in. Luke wondered if she'd gotten caught drinking shooters with that gaggle of girls she sometimes hung out with. Maybe they'd egged the car of one of their ex-boyfriends.

It wasn't until the next morning that Luke learned Natalie never came home the prior night, that she was officially declared missing. He'd insisted on going to school that day, sure she would pop up. But as he scanned the halls between classes, he was searching for someone that would never be there. Eyes followed him as he stumbled numbly from class to class, whispering seeming to follow him.

It wasn't until the day after that that he learned they'd found her body. Luke couldn't hear the rest of what his parents were saying to him when they broke the news over the ringing in his ears.

--

Luke was just super upset over the loss. Grief could do weird things to the brain.. Or he was crazy. That's what Delaney insisted to his little brother when Luke tried to share his story. It had been a few weeks since Natalie's passing. The funeral had come and gone and afterward, Luke refused to speak a word about the loss of his best friend. Until now, as he tried to confide in his brother.

Luke had been standing down by the creek. It was one of their favorite places to hang out. It was where Natalie had been found. The police tape had been removed, the incident deemed an accident, and what replaced it now was a simple warning sign.

Natalie had slipped when trying to cross, lost her footing, hit her head on the stony bottom, fell unconscious. Drowned. There was talk of constructing a bridge across the creek as a memorial. Luke though it was only another subsequent remedial measure taken, like the warning sign, to keep anyone from getting sued if it happened again.

He could feel it before he saw it. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and something told Luke to turn his head, look left. And there she was. Her thick hair was still tied up in a ribbon.

Crazy. It what he had thought at the time, too. But this was no illusion brought on by his grief-riddled mind. He was at a loss for words, staring at the vaguely smudgy version of his best friend. Without saying anything, Luke dug in his pocket and then reached out to her, her coin lying in the middle of his palm. Natalie pressed her fingertips to the coin and Luke felt a cold sensation spread over his skin. She gave him a sad smile. She would never be able to accept her token of good luck back. The image of his friend faded away. Natalie's luck had run out, and so had her time.

Luke slowly lowered himself to sit on the ground, stunned by the encounter. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and putting his face in his hands, he finally let himself cry.