Edge of Darkness {J.K.}

Three

The last week of high school flew by, and so did the entire four years now that I think about it. As a freshman, I was dying to get out of there. Weeks dragged on and on and on, and I felt like I'd never leave. Then, somehow, I was waking up on the Saturday morning of my graduation day wondering where the hell the time went. Which sounds so cliche I had to roll my eyes at myself, but it's true.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My appearance had slightly progressed over the week. I'd been eating more, a lot more, and my eyes looked a little brighter. My lips weren't so pale anymore and had almost returned to their usual rosy hue along with my cheeks. I took my time getting ready, letting it sink in that this would probably be the last day I saw most of these people and definitely the last time we'd all be together. This was the last time they'd see me. When I was done, my makeup was perfection, and my naturally curly hair was shiny and surprising not frizzy as it almost always was.

I went downstairs to pour myself a cup of coffee, almost spilling it when I heard my mother squeal from behind me which scared the living hell out of me.

"My girl!" she cooed, "Look at you. You look beautiful."

"Please don't cry mom. Then I'll have to cry and ruin my masterpiece," I motioned to my makeup, but she was already beginning to tear up.

"I just can't help it. I'm already starting to feel the empty nest syndrome."

I pulled her in for a hug. I wasn't going far for college, just a couple of hours away, but I would miss my mom. She was one of the only people I let be there for me all of the time, and she never failed me. Dad entered the kitchen and saw us hugging, joining us for a group hug.

"We're gonna miss you, kiddo," Dad said.

"I'm not going off to war guys, you can come see me anytime. And I still have the whole summer," I laughed. "And since when do you call me 'kiddo'?"

"Since you started getting so old."

Soon, the three of us were in the car on the way to the school. Our class was one of the biggest my school has ever had, and we had to have the ceremony outside on the football field to fit everyone and their families. It was one of the most humid days of the year so far, and my hair didn't stand a chance. But as soon as I walked out to the field and saw all of my friends together, smiling and waving as I approached them, I forgot all about how my hair would frizz up and my makeup would sweat off. We didn't have much time to socialize; the ceremony was about to start. Soon, all of our names were called, and we were officially graduates of Lakeview High School. It felt sort of surreal.

Tara, Michael, Danny, Delaney, and I decided to go grab lunch together at a diner we always went to afterwards. Like the quarry, the diner was one of our sacred spots. Michael offered to drive since he had his car here and the rest of us had ridden with our parents, so we made our way through the parking lot to his old Chrysler parked at the end opposite of the field. I was mid-sentence talking to Tara about how much I would kill for a Belgian waffle right then when I saw his car. Not Michael's car, his car. His cherry-red 1968 Shelby Mustang. I stopped talking and froze dead in my tracks. I knew it anywhere; it was undoubtedly his. I'd ridden in that car and made out on the hood too many times to mistake it for anyone else's.

Tara looked back at me confused. "Mia?"

Danny realized what I'd seen and nudged Tara, pointing to the car. "Stay here," he said turning to me. "I'll take care of this."

I kept my eyes fixed on the car and stayed planted to the ground. The door started opening, and out came none other than Jake Kiszka in his signature worn out brown leather jacket and aviator sunglasses, a sight I was sure I'd never see again. It killed me to see him, and it killed me to still think he looked beautiful.

I could hear Danny from where we were standing. He was angry. I don't think I'd ever seen him so angry. Cussing and yelling like that was not typical for him.

"You've got a lot of fucking nerve coming here," Danny roared, fists clenched. I could see the veins popping out of his arms from here. "Don't you know what you did, man?"

Jake spoke softer; he was clearly more calm. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it seemed to enrage Danny even more.

Danny replied to whatever Jake had said. "Good luck, dude, because I'm not letting you get anywhere near her."

That's when Jake finally saw me. He removed his glasses and just stared at me while Danny was threatening to beat his ass if he ever tried to see me. That's when something came over me that I couldn't control. He came over me. He tended to have that effect on me, being the one to push me out of my comfort zone. I started walking over to them.

"Mia, don't," Tara grabbed my arm but I pulled away.

That's when Danny saw me and also tried to stop me. He met me halfway and stood in front of me like a body guard. "I really don't think this is a good idea," he warned, glancing back at Jake. "If he does anything to hurt you, I'll probably end up in jail."

I touched his shoulder. "It's okay," I smiled weakly. I didn't want anyone handling my shit for me. This was something I had to do on my own. This was my mess. I walked on.

Jake smiled when he saw me continue walking. His eyes looked glossy and tired and sunken in, either like he'd been crying or he hadn't gotten any sleep last night.

"You look like hell," was the first thing I said to him. I thought maybe by acting cold then he'd think I'd gotten over him. I obviously hadn't.

"You look beautiful," he reached his hand out to touch my cheek, but I dodged it. He didn't deserve to touch me yet, if ever again. He realized that and apologized. "I'm sorry. I just missed you."

"You can't say stuff like that," I started tearing up. So much for acting cold. "You told me you loved me and then you left like I meant nothing to you. Like we hadn't spent two months together that felt like a movie. You didn't even bother to tell me where you were going or call me back. You just showed up at my house in the middle of the night and said you didn't love me anymore and that you couldn't be in this town another day. And then you left, and that was it. How can you do that and come back and tell me you missed me?"

The tears were streaming at this point, leaving shiny trails down my cheeks and causing my mascara to run. And, for whatever reason, he was crying now too. I was so mad, confused, and nearly ready to punch him in the face, but I just stood there waiting for a response.

He took a breath. "I can explain everything, I swear. I just need you to give me the chance to. This is such a big fucking mess, but I'll tell you everything. I'm allowed to, it's safe now."

"Allowed to?" I questioned. "What's safe? What do you mean, Jake?"

"I'll explain that to, I promise. Let me take you somewhere," he walked around his car and opened the passenger door for me, looking at me with hopeful eyes. Maybe he could explain everything. Maybe it was all a big misunderstanding, and everything would finally make sense once we starting talking. Or maybe he was lying. Either way, I had to find out. I looked back at my friends who were all staring, waiting for me to come back and tell them what the hell was going on. But I didn't do that. I waved at them, got into Jake's car, and drove away with him.