After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 45

Aaliyah

  "Come here, I wanna give you something." Acacia beaconed me with her finger and a shy smile. I bit my lip and leaned closer to her, only for her to pull me the rest of the way by a fistful of my shirt. I looked down at her hand on my body, then back into her eyes.

  "What, Miss King?" I teased. "What you wanna give me, huh?"

  Her grip loosened on the fabric and her hand fell to my lap.

  "Everything," she whispered. Her hair was in loose waves and the breeze sent pieces of it flying around her face. She was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top, no bra, and tight jeans. A little sliver of her abdomen was visible and I had never wanted it more.

  "Now, come on. That's impossible," I gave her a knowing look and a soft smile.

  "Not the way I see it." Acacia reached her other hand in her pocket. I watched as she pulled it out with a delicate, gold ring with a small ruby in the center. It was the color of her hair. "This... this is your everything. From me."

I covered my mouth with my hands, furrowing my eyebrows. "Baby, for what?"

  "A promise ring. I need you to know that all that I am, is promised to you and you only. And it will remain that way."

  "I can't take this, Acacia." I shook my head, but she was already putting it on my right ring finger. It was beautiful.

  "Bullshit," she mumbled. "I bought one for myself too." She let her fingers interlace with mine, and sure enough, an identical one was there on the same finger. "I saw them, I thought of you, and how much I've hurt you... so I thought it would be nice for you to have something you can see to let you know I'm trying."

I felt a lump in my throat. I didn't want to cry. "I don't need a ring to see that. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here."

  "Just wear it for me? Please?" Acacia leaned her forehead against mine.

  "Of course I will. It's beautiful. Thank you."

  "No, thank you. Honestly."

I opened my eyes to complete darkness. I had no clue how long I'd been asleep, or what room I was in. As I stretched my limbs, I noticed there was too much empty space in the bed. Acacia wasn't here.

  "Acacia?" I called. The whole house was dead silent. My eyes focused on the digital clock on her nightstand. It was a little after 8.
I stood up slowly and scanned the room, then went downstairs to the kitchen.

All the lights downstairs were left on, but still no sign of her. When I opened the garage door, her car was gone. She left?

There weren't any notes on the fridge or on her dresser in the bedroom, either. Maybe she was coming right back.

I went to her music room to settle down. It always calmed me to be in there, though I'd never been alone. My first inclination was to sit at her piano. I saw the paper she was writing lyrics on, and read through them again. That was what she was feeling, all this time. What she'd been hiding from me and the rest of the world. She felt trapped here. And I didn't blame her. I was the same way, but it was interesting that after I'd met her, being here and living this life seemed to get a little easier. Until I could get out and see the world on my own, she would be my little escape from this small blue collar  town.

Thirty minutes passed of my playing around on the piano when her home phone rang. I contemplated answering it, but I was starting to worry about where she could have gone. I had no way of knowing anything.