Sixteen
Eve doesn’t know I’m meeting Kelsey.
Even though I completely agree with everything she said and I know what I’m doing is wrong, I feel like I need to see her. That’s the thing about falling in love; no matter how much that person hurts you, no matter if they rip your heart out, put it in a pipe and smoke, there’s still a part of you who wants to be with them.
I meet Kelsey at a park. But it’s not just any park; it’s the one we used to go to years ago, before everything changed. When I see her, she’s only a dark figure lying in the double slide, staring up at the stars. Without questioning it, I take my place beside her and slide my hands into my sweater pockets.
“I don’t know why we stopped doing this.” Her voice is quiet but I can still tell that she’s been crying all day. “It was the simplest thing but it was always the best part of my day.”
“Things change,” I murmur. “So do people.”
“Fallon, I’m sorry-“ she sits up and starts to look at me over the slide but I make her lie back down. She’s ruining this; this…moment. It seems like the wrong word, but I don’t know what else to call it. “You were right. You are right. You’ve always been and always will be.”
I nod even though she can’t see.
“That’s why I’m going to get better, Fallon. I mean it this time.”
“How.” Disbelief pours itself into my voice, making my word no longer a question but an order.
“I…I talked to my parents.”
This time I’m the one to sit up. I lean over the divider and look at her. Her eyes reflect the stars and I feel like I’m reliving the past.
“You talked to them?” I don’t remember the last time Kelsey talked to them. It was years ago, excluding a time or two when she brought Tyson to see them, but the visit never ended well. Once they knew she was doing drugs, they kicked her out. They refuse to believe that I stopped, but they’ve never given me the chance to find out.
“Yes.” Tears roll over her cheeks but I can tell that they’re happy. “They’re going to get me help.”
“Rehab?” I whisper. I want her to get better, but I’m scared to be away from her all over again.
“I think so. They’re taking me next week, after everything has been settled.”
Somehow, her hand finds mine and I lean back down in the slide. I give it a tight squeeze and smile.
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Sinking Ships
Teen FictionDrugs tear lives apart, and that's no different for Fallon. With his parents two years dead and the girl he loved disapearing and returning, things are pretty eventful. Throw a young child into the mix and he's got himself a complete mess of a life...
