The Childhood Nights

Chapter I

Hadley's POV

"R-H-S! We're the lions from R-H-S! We're here to fight! We're here to win! Come on, yell: go, fight, win! Go, fight, win! Again! Go, fight, win! Last time! Go, fight, win!" we yelled. I was tired and hot. I just wanted to get out of the gym and go home, to curl up on the couch and watch movies until I passed out. I would do anything to get out of here, and I kept praying that something would get me out of cheer.

About ten minutes later, Axel came into the gym, and he didn't look happy. Not that he was ever happy anymore, not that I'm surprised.  This time though, he looked like his world was ending.  It was the same look he had when he told me that his parents were getting a divorce.

His mom, my cheer coach, saw, and told the whole team to go practice on our own.  I didn't hear most of the conversation between Axel and his mom, but I heard a couple words. I heard that someone was in the hospital, but I couldn't hear the person's name.  Then I heard my name.

"Hadley, can you please come over here?" Jenny, the cheer coach, asked.  Her usual smile was nowhere to be seen, completely wiped away by her conversation with Axel.  Her eyes held the sadness that they used to hold during her first marriage.

"Of course," I called out, jogging over to Jenny.

"What's up?" I asked them.  Instead I decided to rephrase it.  "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to tell you here, not in front of everyone. Can we please go somewhere more private?," Axel said quietly.  I kept looking up at him and I saw that his face was red from crying.  His voice kept cracking, and I could see that he needed someone to go with him.

"Let's go," I said calmly.

I grabbed my bag and walked back to Axel.  We walked out to the parking lot together.  We were silent the whole walk.  I finally realized that I had no idea which car we were going to.  I couldn't find his motorcycle anywhere and I would hope that he knew there was no way I would get on it.  Well I probably would now, since this is about Gianna.  I saw a beat-up car, which sums up Axel: beat-up and has gone through hard times, but still works.

"That's the wrong way, Smalls," Axel said, with just a hint of a laugh.  I hadn't realized how much I missed his nickname for me.  My 5'3 body was tiny to his 6'2 frame.  "Just because the car looks like crap, it doesn't mean it's mine."

"Oh, I didn't think that.  I would never think that about you.  Which one is your car?" I lied.

"You're still a bad liar." Axel reminded me.  "That truck over there, the dark red one, is mine."

I didn't say anything back.  I needed to know what Axel had to tell me, what had gotten him to talk to me for the first time in almost a year and a half.  Axel followed close behind.  I got into the passenger side of the truck while Axel got in the driver's side.  We were both quick to get settled in.

We had been driving for about five minutes, and then I felt sad all of a sudden. Something was so wrong that Axel couldn't even tell me in front of people. My calmness was leaving me fast.  I was trying to be quiet about it, but I knew that Axel would hear me breathing heavier since there was no music to drown any noise out.  He looked over and I saw the pain in his eyes.  We locked eyes for a moment, but he looked away to watch where he was going.

"Move over to the middle, Had," Axel whispered as he stopped at a red light.  He pushed up the middle console to give me a place to sit.  I did what he told me to.  I needed to feel like I had him.  I knew that I had him in my mind, but I needed to feel him closer to me.  He had always made me feel safe and like nothing could go wrong in the world, even when we were kids.