Forever and Always

Part 2

Monday came, Sky picked me up in her car, a Mustang 1967 bright red, her 'baby' as she likes to calls it. The ride was silent, but the good type of silent where the company is just enough that no words need to be spoken. We met up with Harley and Lib at the mall, I didn't know where they were taking me, this birthday week is a surprise for every day, and they all know I hate surprises so they did this on purpose. The whole day was focused on humiliating me, well, probably not intended. We went to the ice rink and as we were all starting to finally have fun without me being the awkward person I am, I heard a voice over the speaker, it was Lib.

She chuckled, 'Hi people of the ice rink, this is Elisabeth, or Lib if you would prefer,' I started to go red, 'anywho, to get to the point. In 5 days, on the 15th March, is a remarkable moment in the lifeline of history, it's the day Brodie Harper was born.'

My stomach felt heavy, everyone in the ice rink was laughing as their heads turned to me. I fell to the ground, gasping for air, I felt as if I was drowning in an ocean while everyone else around me was standing there watching, but how can I be drowning if my mouth is dry, as I'm slowly over heating. There was an uproar of everyone singing happy birthday, I climbed to my feet and ran off the rink and into the bathroom at the exact moment my throat untightened and my eyes create title waves that swarmed down my face.

Sky came into the bathroom not long after and calmed me down, she didn't understand how that so called 'small' joke made me so upset. I couldn't explain it, I just told her that it was nothing, just don't do it again. I started to notice that Lib had begun to not care about people's feelings, other than her own. I tried to not take it all to heart, so after everything got sorted out, Sky drove me back home and before mum could ask me how my day was, I rushed up to my room and closed the door.

Tuesday, I dreaded getting up the next day, hoping that in some strange way, I would catch a cold and my mum would have to tell Sky that I wasn't allowed to go out today, but sadly I wasn't sick, so I had no excuse. Sky picked me up again and we drove to the beach, Lib and Harley didn't end up coming, Sky looked at her phone, 'Hey Skyyyyyyyyyyy, sorry we couldn't make it, but you two can have a great day together,' Lib sent her a text message. She turned to me, 'I guess it's just us two today love.'

We hopped out of her baby and found a spot that was isolated and quiet, 'It's been a while since the two of us got to spend some time alone together Harp,' Sky said as she watched the ocean kiss the shore line.

She's the only one who ever called me Harp, she said she wanted to be different, I just laughed when she told me that, that's when I noticed she was starting to realise that people's opinions don't matter. She turned and faced me, her eyes watery and red, 'will you forget about me?' her voice was shaky and dull.

'Sky, what are you on about?' I was confused and she was worrying me, 'how could I ever forget the most important person in my life?'

'You say that now, but once we leave school, you're going to Queensland for UNI and I'm going to be stuck I this small town,' she turned away, hiding her face.

'Sky, I love you, I won't leave you here,' she looked me in the eyes, I put my hand out and stuck up my pinkie, 'pinkie promise.'

The corner of her mouths slowly rose to a half smile as she wrapped her pinkie around mine. We laid down watching the clouds past over, letting the day past by in the comfort of each other's company.

Wednesday, I jumped out of bed hoping for another great day similar to yesterday, before Sky could reach my door, I swung it open and leaped into her arms. She was surprised, but not wanting to ruin my mood, she squeezed tighter and spun me around.

She drove to a building that looked as if it was build 900 years ago, the walls covered in mould and all the windows were broken. We walked inside and before I asked where we were, we walked through a door and there were people everywhere, sitting in silence.

There was a drumming, then a light hit centre stage revealing Harley standing there with a Gibson Les Paul slung over his shoulder and a mic placed in front of him.

The drumming got louder, Harley then started to play, he lifted his head towards the mic and sung. I never knew he could sing or play guitar, he put so much emotion into his words and you could tell that it was an original song from the words. He showed me more of himself then he ever has in the 5 years of knowing him.

Lib ran up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, 'Bet you didn't know he was in a band?' she said and I could tell without even looking that she had that 'I knew before you' smirk displayed across her face.

'No idea at all,' was the only words that could escape my mouth.

She tightened her grip as she informed me, 'well, here's another surprise, you're up next.'

My throat sank into my stomach and my legs went jelly, I sat down on a stool as Sky pulled up one next to me, 'Harp, you're an amazing singer, you'll be amazing, you've got to do this' she insisted.

Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of a crowded room, unprepared and scared, 'Hi,' I heard my voice echo throughout the room, making my hands tremble more.

Harley came across the stage and handed me an Ashton acoustic guitar, I decided to play an original since I had been working on one. I played the intro, making mistake after mistake but continuing knowing it would be more embarrassing if I stopped. As I sung the first line, my throat felt dryer than ever, but as the song went on, I felt more comfortable and it felt as if I was in my room singing to myself. The song finished and the commotion of the crowd made me feel accepted, I guess sometimes peer pressure is good for a learning curve.

2 more days.

Thursday was a great day, instead of Sky coming to pick me up straight away she called me, 'Hey Harp! Pack your bags, we've got the best surprise.' She hung up before I could get a word in.

I packed my bag and waited out the front, I could hear Sky's baby from a mile away, I walked to the curb as Sky's baby came around the corner. 'Get in babe, we're going for a drive!' Sky said as she pulled up in front of me.

We drove for a long time, I hand no idea where we were headed and Sky wouldn't fess up.

We got to a town, with 3 general stores, a church, park, petrol station and hotel, it was peaceful and everyone there were very welcoming.

We booked into the hotel, we could only afford a 3 bedroom suit, so Sky and I agreed to share a bed, we took our stuff in and then decided to go for a swim in the river down the road.

We did a lot that day, walking through the town and shopping in the stalls that were set up along the sides of the road.

That day had to go into the records of being the best day of my life.