The Phoenix ~Louis Tomlinson

Chapter 6

I couldn't tell you what happened the rest of the afternoon. I can't even remember what we had for dinner. My mind was replaying the events of the day and I couldn't seem to focus on anything. Anna could tell that I was feeling twitterpated, and after dinner, she pulled me aside to get all of the details.

"Well clearly, tonight is the night for that sundress of yours." She said, nudging me in the ribs. We sat on the dock as the sun set, looking across the lake to the Tomlinson house. "And you should probably take the letter with you!"

I had forgotten all about the letter, but she was right.

A little before 10, I started walking along the path to Louis'. The moon was nearly full, so it was the perfect time for a night trip in the canoe. The butterflies were going crazy in my stomach, and the lightning bugs were twinkling as brightly as the stars.

The moment I saw him sitting on the dock with his feet stirring the water, a smile the size of the state of California spread across my face.

"Hey, punk. Isn't it past your curfew?" I joked.

Louis turned around, smiling. "It's a good thing the moon isn't full or I'd have to worry about you turning into a werewolf." We joked around like we hadn't lost more than five years of friendship, I found the familiarity comforting. But those years of silence still tugged at the back of my mind. I knew that I deserved answers.

He stared at me for a moment, "Did you bring your letter?" He asked.

I held up the folded piece of notebook paper. "I haven't even peeked at it, yet."

"Me, either." He smiled, holding up his note. "Let's get in the canoe before the lake monster get us!" And with that, I got into the canoe as Louis pushed it into the water, hopping in once the water was nearly to his knees. We both grabbed an oar and silently paddled toward the middle of the lake. I was glad I was sitting in front, facing away from Louis. I wasn't able to stop smiling.

No words were needed once we reached the middle of the lake, I set my paddle down and turned to face Louis. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, I didn't want him to go away. I didn't want to lose him to whatever had taken the past few years away from us. I wanted to remember everything about this moment, from his messy hair to the rebellious scruff on his face. In the moonlight, his tattoos painted his skin with perfect contrast. He smiled, and I knew I'd been caught.

"Before we read the letters, I want you to know that I'm sorry for the way I've acted the past few years. I can't even begin to make it up to you, and I've missed our friendship so much. I've missed you, Valerie." He smiled, but a look of sorrow washed over his face.

I looked down at my hands and the letter, wanting to change the subject. "Shall we?" I asked.

"Should I go first?" He asked.

"Oh, yes! I can't even remember what I wrote! But let's hear it," I replied.

"Okay, here we go. 'Hi, Louis! This summer was so much fun, I think it was the best one ever! We'll be leaving the cabin in a couple days and I'll be a freshman in high school. Leaving friends at the lake is always sad, because I miss you guys for a whole year before I can see everyone, again. And a lot seems to change while we're all home and going to school. But when we come back, we're always friends. I think my favorite part about this summer was when we hiked all day and found the Look Out Point that the older kids always talked about. We thought we were lost, but we found our way! I hope that next summer is just as good as this one was. Yours truly, Valerie.' The end." Louis looked up from the letter, smiling. "We were so young. But it feels like it was yesterday. I think finding Look Out Point was my favorite part of that summer, too. The big kids couldn't keep it a secret, anymore."