How To Live

Chapter Twenty

The rally eventually dies down and all of the thankyous and praises that I receive from people I don't even know surprise me. My heart is so filled with joy from the knowledge that what we did here today meant something to so many people.

Now my only uncertainty is what the Mayor, my Father, will do about the gun laws in Bolton. Will he listen to the people of this town, or will he turn a blind eye like he has continually done for the duration of his electoral ruling.

I have not even the slightest inkling of an idea about what my Father might do, but it doesn't bother me. I know that today I stood tall and proud with my peers and we fought for what we believe in.

Whether the gun laws in Bolton change or they stay the same, this town will forever be different. People have grown and pushed the boundaries and that in its self is the greatest victory we could ever hope for. Maybe it will take a lot longer for gun laws to change here in Bolton, and across the United States, but we have set the motion, we have started a chain of events that I know will change this country for the better. What more could we ask for in ourselves? What more could we have done than march with the belief that the world can be a better place as long as we all open our eyes and see the bigger picture.

Today we marched against gun violence, but we also shed a light on mental illness, an issue that is brushed under the rug far too often, a sickness that not a lot of people really understand.

I was one of them, not really getting a grasp on how dark and twisted your mind can become when it falls into the clutches of mental illness. Tommy's death brought about feelings of depression and despair inside of my head, feelings that I found hard to shake. Emotions that still now cling to the edges of my mind, waiting to catch me on a hard day and drag me down. I have these feelings inside of me, and it's something that scares me to no end, but now it is also something that I understand, something I know I can overcome with help and support from my friends and my family. Today we showed the people of Bolton that it is it okay to feel alone, but you don't have to be.

Talking about you issues is the only way to solve them and no one should ever feel like they have been backed so far into a corner that they believe they have to take their own lives, or the lives of others in order to escape the darkness. There is another way, a better way, and help is available. No one should have to feel the way that Henry Garston did that day in the hallway, and by spreading awareness on mental illness I hope no one in this town ever will again.

I look over at Wesley and watch him as he picks up discarded signs and trash that have been left behind on the street.

He is lost in his own thoughts. His brow creasing slightly as he focuses on the task at hand, but I can tell there is something else on his mind.

A few months ago I never would have imagined myself here, with Wesley Martin of all people, Bolton's bad boy and Tommy's best friend.

When I look at Wesley, my heart is so full of thankfulness and happiness and love. This boy, a person that I didn't even know, managed to help me through the past couple of months and there is no way I can ever repay him for that.

When I was filled with darkness and sorrow Wesley managed to show me light. He made me laugh and smile and argue. He made me feel, even when I didn't want to or didn't think I ever could.

That day in the school hallway, God took my best friend and my brother, but he also sent Wesley Martin barrelling into my life, and that is something I will forever be grateful for. Because this boy is everything I was told a person shouldn't be, but he means the world to me just the way he is.

Wesley looks up and catches me staring at him.

"What?" He asks with a questioning look.

"Thankyou. For being here this summer, for being with me and putting up with all of my crazy family drama." I say and he smiles his cocky grin and approaches me slowly.