On the Ledge

Destination: Paradise

JANUARY

TUESDAY 13:31, FIRST WEEK

Sam was waiting at the train station, watching the trains come and go. He wasn't about to board though, he was impatiently waiting for a certain train to arrive in a minute. He walked back and forth nervously, then to his joy the train finally arrived, opening its doors so the passengers could exit. Among a huge pool of people Sam saw him. Instinctively, he smiled.

" Hi!" Brad smiled back.

" Hey." Sam could feel his face turn red. " How was your holiday?"

" It was fine." Brad said as they climbed the stairs. " It rained a lot though, so I pretty much stayed indoors with my cousins. And you?"

Sam shrugged. " You know, we're still not talking so.."

" Oh.." Brad nodded. " Maybe they need some time."

Sam sighed. " I don't know. I hope they'll come around."

" How's Haley?" Brad asked.

" She's fine. She's been hanging around with Taron all these days which is so weird." Sam cringed.

" I think they're more than friends." Brad laughed.

" Ew.." Sam winced. " I hope not."

As they made their way up to the town Sam approached the bus station which confused Brad.

" Where are you going?" he asked.

Sam frowned. " I thought we were going back home?"

" No." Brad shook his head. " Let's explore this town for a bit. I know a place we could go to. It's my favorite."

After they got into a taxi, Brad said to the driver: " The Blake Ridge Tower."

Sam looked at him quizically. " Where are we going?"

Brad smirked mysteriously. " You'll see."

The driver dropped them off near a construction site. Sam looked around and saw a high white tower reaching all the way to the sky. He glanced at Brad who grinned, nodding toward the skyscraper.

" It's where I usually come when I need some alone time. It's on the outskirts of the town so it's pretty calm." he said as they entered the building. The interior of it looked more chaotic in comparison to the exterior.

" You come to this messy place?" Sam looked around in awe. Brad shrugged.

" The building is still unfinished. The workers are renovating this part of the town so it'll take some time before it's finished." he explained as they climbed the stairs that were covered in dust. " I don't come here often, actually I didn't discover this place. My friends from my old school discovered it and then we started using it as a hang out place."

" But is it allowed to enter here?" Sam asked.

" Oh, yeah." Brad nodded. " The owner said it's fine as long as we don't trash the place. Actually, lots of people like coming here because of the view. But there are cameras everywhere so that people are discouraged from doing anything illegal here."

As they finally reached the top of the building, Brad opened the door to the outside. As soon as they stepped out, Sam could feel the gentle wind caress his face. From the terrace the view of the town was astounding. He could understand why its inhabitants were attracted to the place. It had the power of giving anyone the sensation of being on top of the world.

They stood in silence, taking in the beautiful view. Sam's hand subtly touched Brad's and naturally their fingers intertwined.
Brad glanced at him. Sam couldn't hide his happiness. He wanted this moment to last for a lifetime.

" The view is beautiful." Sam said.

" See, never judge a tower by its interior." Brad said proudly. " I wish we had something like this back home."

" Yeah.." Sam nodded, glancing around. He noticed four deckchairs near the entrance.

" Someone forgot their chairs." he said pointing. Brad turned around.

" No, those have been here for months. The owner put them here for visitors." he said, sitting on one of them.

Sam joined him. " Who brought you here then?"

" What?" Brad got confused.

" You said you weren't the one to discover this place. So, who did?"

" Dylan." Brad looked away briefly. Sam remained silent.

" We were just friends at that moment." Brad explained. Sam nodded.

" Who's that guy Christian?" he asked.

" He's my cousin's acquaintance. He happened to know the whereabouts of my mom so I got in contact with him through Facebook. We went to the movies first then we had a drink at the Arena where he told his part of the story."

Sam felt a pang in his chest. " And that's when I attacked you guys..." he concluded. " God, I feel like an idiot now!"

Brad snickered. " It's okay. You didn't know."

" Yeah, but I was so jealous of him. I acted like a total jerk."

" It's fine."

" So, what happened to your mom?" Sam asked.

Brad sighed. " She has a family now. Two kids." he said, growing somber.

" Is that why you went to your hometown for holidays?"

Brad nodded. " Christian happens to go to school with one of the kids. He's also friends with Greg who's my cousin so he put two and two together."

" Wow." Sam couldn't believe it.

" Greg arranged a meeting with Harry who's my half brother and together we went to their house.."

Sam watched him with interest. " What happened next?"

" She didn't recognize me until I said who I was." he said, biting his lower lip. Sam could tell he was saddened by this.

" She said it was nice meeting me but the way she said it..." Brad looked away briefly. " I felt like a complete stranger."

" Is she doing well?" Sam asked.

Brad nodded. " She's not doing drugs anymore. So that's a plus. And her two kids were nice even though they were shocked to know they had a half brother."

" Do you plan going back to visit them?"

Brad shook his head. " No way! I think that's it for now. She was so cold towards me so I won't be going back anytime soon."

" Maybe she didn't know how to act towards you and she came off like that?" Sam suggested. Brad raised his brows.

" You think so?"

Sam nodded. " Yeah. You might have reminded her of the painful past."

Brad nodded in comprehension. " Maybe."

" I'm sure of it. I used to do the same thing towards you."

Brad laughed. " I'm glad you finally realized what a jerk you were."