Have We Met? (Remington Leith)

The Items That Built Us

I hugged the three friends whom I haven't seen in almost five years. Pulling back from hugging Drew I looked back at Remington who was standing there with worry across his face. "Don't worry, were not digging up a body," I said with a laugh.

"Like that helps," he mumbled and my friends laughed.

"So you're the one who won our dear child's heart," Heather spoke, and I laughed at the way she did.

"I guess," Rem replied.

I slapped his shoulder and he smiled. "Yeah, he is," I answered and the four laughed at us.

"Okay, grab your shovel, this mother fucker is ready to be remembered," Drew said, tossing me my shovel.

I caught it then the five of us started racing towards the tree, Remington slowly walking behind us. Once reaching the tree we started to dig up a place in front of it.

I hit something and squealed, "found it!" The five of us started to dig it up with our bare hands and before long a metal box was sitting in front of us.

"What the hell is that," Remington asked making me jump.

"Fuck, Rem, I forgot you were even there," I said, making everyone laugh.

I opened the box to reveal the precious items that built us. Heather grabbed the glowing Ruby she found on her trip to India back in eighth grade. Drew grabbed the old army knife his dad gave him before dying. Cara grabbed the dead lilly which was alive when she put it in the box. Danny pulled out the photo of him and his mom, taken three years before her death. I grabbed the rope I once used in an attempt of suicide. The items are all reminders that were still here, that we made it through the worst times.

I was depressed, Cara was anorexic, Drew was abused by his dad, Danny lost his mom, best friend, and only parent in one day, and Heather's family abandoned her once finding out she was trans. These are my friends, the ones who were crazy with me, the ones who didn't care if I fucked up, the ones I loved, the ones who loved me, the ones I still love. "I love you guys," I said, tears rolling down my cheeks while I stared at the rope.

"We love you too," the three of them said in unison.

I felt a hand on my back and I looked to see Rem kneeling next to me, staring at the rope in my hands. I kiss the side of his mouth, making him smile, before turning back to my friends. "Let's burn this shit," I said and they all nodded in agreement.

The six of us stood up and I led the group of us into the woods, my mind set on the exact location of the fire pit. I wonder if there's still wine out there?

It took about a ten minute walk before we reached the fire pit. Drew and Danny walked around, gathering fire wood while Heather and Cara walked to their secret place.

I walked over to the pile of rocks and moved them off the hole to find that my mom's old bottle of red wine was still in it.  I pulled it out and took a seat on the log next to Remington and laid my head against his shoulder.

He was studying the rope with wonder in his eyes and I sighed. "I tried to kill myself, but Drew and Heather stopped me. That night we decided to take the items of destruction in our lives and bury them. We each vowed to come back to the highschool reunion six years after graduation and dig up the items then burn them," I explained, pulling the cork out of the bottle of wine. "I almost forgot to come back, and I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for you," I added, taking a swig of the bitter sweet drink.

"It was a highly depressing time in my life. I was about thirteen, getting ready to turn fourteen," I said, taking another swig.

"Around the time your dad died," he said.

I nodded, feeling another tear slip down my cheek. "Rem," I whispered, lifting my head off his shoulder to look at him.

He looked at me, "what," he whispered back.

"There's a lot you still don't know about me, and once you find out, you might not feel the same about me," I said.

"I don't think anything can change my feelings about you," he said and I let out a sob.

He cupped my cheek with one hand and I leaned into his touch. "The first thing, when I was little, I seen a dead body, a victim of murder. I knew who the murderer was but never told anyone. I seen missing posters for the boy for months on end afterwards. Luckily they found him though, and arrested the man who done it," I explained, looking at my hands, afraid to look in his eyes.

"What's the other thing," he asked, not a single thing in his voice changing, except for his tone saddening a bit.

"I was put into a mental hospital. During a visit with my mom and aunt I tried to kill them," I said. "I still have the knife," I added, looking into his brown eyes.

He was obviously shocked, but didn't remove his hand from my face. "None of that matters anymore," he said, his shock disappearing. "All that matters is that you're still alive and that I'm here for you no matter what," he said.

I leaned in to him, placing my lips on his. He kissed back softly and I felt like we were the only people on the planet. I pulled away and we smiled at each other, his hand dropping back to his lap.

"Also, we're throwing that knife away when we get back," he said, causing us both to laugh.

"Okay," I said before resting my head against his shoulder again.

"GOT FIREWOOD," Drew yelled, running out of the woods with his arms full of wood, Danny following behind him, wood in his arms as well.

They threw the wood into the pit and the Cara and Heather came into view again, running up the path with their objects in their hands.

"Now here's the real question, does anyone have a lighter," Danny asked making the other three groan.

Remington reached in his pocket and pulled out a lighter, making Cara silently do a victory cheer. "Your boyfriend is a life saver," Danny said, taking the lighter from Rem and lighting his picture on fire before tossing it in the fire pit. He handed Rem back his lighter and Rem slipped it in his pocket.

I stood up, grabbing the rope which was still in Rems hand, and stood in between Drew and Cara. I watched as Heather threw in the Ruby, then Drew threw in the army knife, then Cara threw in the dead lilly, then they all looked at me. I smiled and threw in the rope and took a swig of the red wine before passing it Cara.

"Who wants food," Drew asked and we all yelled in excited agreement.

The chaos is not over yet! Remember, vote, comment, share, definitely comment, I live comments. Okay, that's enough if that, hope you guys are excited for what happens next, and after that, and so on. LOVE YOU GUYS!