Shorts

Tied Together at the Heart

He looked at me with those deep brown eyes, and I could tell he was about to break. "Come here," I whispered, pulling him into me. With the ghost of a smile, he just barely nodded as he let me wrap my arms around him. His cologne smelled exactly like summers in Florida. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to remember that brief memory... a time when I didn't have to try.

Only seconds passed before he started shaking. Neither of us said a word, soon growing comfortable in the silence we had created. What would happen if he broke again? If things ended the way we only hoped they wouldn't? I didn't want to know.

When he pulled back, my eyes lingered on the streak in his hair, the one that fell just above his eyes. He smiled at me, and neither of us had to try to know that it was forced. "Thank you... for being here," he complimented me, his voice barely above a whisper.

Doesn't he know? He doesn't need to say those things. I'm never going to abandon him, not like the others. Memories flashed through my head as both of us memorized the other, for the millionth time. "You don't need to thank me. You're my best friend, and that's what best friends do for each other."

A ghost of a nod. His eyes flicked towards the floor as he studied the laces in his boots. I listened to his feet shuffle on the floor for one, two, three, four seconds. My heart pounded in my chest, making me clench and unclench my fists. What would happen if he broke down again? Well, no matter what happened, I wasn't going anywhere.

He looped his fingers through the belt loops of his jeans as he rocked back and forth. I listened to the ghost sound of his heels on the floor, his shaky breaths, his clothes shifting as he moved. Neither of us said a word.

It wasn't long before I held out my hand. With hesitance, he took it and I led him out the back door. The birds and rustling trees welcomed us into the fall sun. We walked until we met flowing water, the creek that I had grown up in. I glanced at him for a split second and saw a ghost of a smile on his face... getting bigger. "I used to love coming out here. See that cluster of rocks under the bridge," I wondered aloud, pointing ahead to where the little river met the asphalt. "My sister and I used to walk across those and pretend we were warriors, or fairies, or whatever else it was we wanted to be that day," I laughed a bit to myself.

He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's beautiful... peaceful, like that one place you don't really want to show a lot of people because then it wouldn't be yours anymore. It wouldn't be a secret." I nodded, settling into him with ease. He knows why I brought him here. He needed an escape, after all that. Even now, there was a little more light in his eyes. I don't know if I did that, or if he just feels better, but I like to think it was the former.

Soon, we settled back with our legs dangling off the bridge, so high above the water trickling on. There was a perfect view of the moon. I sat still and listened to him breathe. He was calm now.

I felt him move closer, felt an arm go around my waist. It was easy to lay my head on his shoulder. We'd done this dance so many times before. Now, it just feels like second nature. His chest moved in a steady up and down beneath my head. I took his free hand as we sat there, taking in the night around us.

Maybe we won't be like this forever... but I don't want to think about that right now. I'm exactly where I need to be. He's my best friend, one of my favorite people in the world, and I will die before I let him down again. He must know that, somewhere inside of him. He has to.