Five Seconds After the Flash

Chapter Fifteen

Summer classes started, and I threw myself into them whole-heartedly. I was glad for the distraction, and my classes were getting interesting now that I was basically finished with my core requirements.

Lydia and Ryan were too cute to stand, and I was happy for both of them. Ryan eventually confessed to me that he had been stressed because Coach had decided to make Andrew the first string quarterback, so I was glad that he had Lydia to keep his mind off of things on the field. It seemed to cause him to take a step back from football and focus on what he wanted to do outside of the sport, because he had asked me for help choosing the right summer classes and made me promise to help him study to do well. Football was still his first love, but I was happy to see him make time for Lydia and school as well.

Ryan had also decided that it was time to move off-campus, and Daniel would be joining him in the fall.

It had been two weeks since I had spoken to Andrew at the restaurant, and I had not heard from him at all. When I asked Ryan, he skirted around the subject and said that Andrew took his new role on the team seriously, and didn't really talk about personal things on the field.

I missed Andrew, but I tried to focus on school and promised myself that I had learned a valuable lesson at the very least. Still, I dreamed about him every night, and woke up with an aching feeling when I looked at my phone and saw that he had still not tried to contact me.

I was walking back from one of my English classes and cutting through a shortcut when I heard a bird singing in a tree nearby. When I looked for the source, I saw a blue jay with the most brilliant blue feathers, sitting on a branch and singing its heart out. It took flight, and landed in front of me on the sidewalk.

I think blue jays will always remind me of freedom now.

The words from my grandfather's journal came back to me suddenly, and I realized that since the ordeal with Reid and Andrew, I had not finished reading the last few entries.

I sat down on a bench near the tree with the blue jay, but it did not fly away. It continued singing, flitting from branch to branch in the process.

I took out my phone and half-heartedly checked for any kind of notification from Andrew. Of course, there was nothing. I couldn't blame him, but it still hurt. I felt like a child again, looking down at a scraped knee after refusing to wear knee pads on the bike. 

"Guess I deserve this," I mumbled, tucking my hair behind my ears.

I hadn't heard from Reid at all after ignoring his first few messages, but I was feeling better about finally closing that door. I knew that he could be happier moving on with someone who wasn't clinging to something that no longer existed, whether he had believed it at the time or not.

The blue jay flew down to the bench next to me, sneaking some spilled peanuts that a previous occupant had left behind. I looked at the black outline on his feathers, popping with various hues of blue that spilled across his wings. He looked at me with beady eyes before finally flying away. 

I dialed Ryan's number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello? I thought you had class."

"Just got out. Listen, Ryan, I need you to go somewhere with me later. It's important."

"Hm... what's in it for me?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you 4 years old? I'll bring you a candy bar. Just pick me up at 6:00, OK?"

"Sheesh, OK. See ya Sis."

I looked down at the smooth white skin on my arm, then back to the spot on the bench where the blue jay had stood moments before.