Welcome. What I'm about to say is a bit heavy... I'm here to tell a story. This is the story of how my life fell apart... Though... I'm not a huge fan of the past. All it's ever done for me is taint the good memories I've had with my former friends...
As soon as we got in the car to leave the hospital, I turned on my phone and logged into Snapchat. I can't believe I even forgot to log back into it sooner... I wasn't surprised when I saw dozens of texts and missed calls...
"Baby... U ok? PLEASE text me back... I'm so fucking worried...What the fuck was that on the news??? Call me... NOW..."
I feel so bad... I'm so stupid... I should've checked Snapchat a lot sooner... I returned his call immediately. The phone only rang for about 5 seconds, and he picked up as quickly as he could.
Shane: "Babe... What the fuck... I tried contacting you for like 2 days... Are you okay???"
Me: "I'm so so sorry, babe... There was so much going on..."
I've never heard him sound so worried in my life... I've known Shane since middle school. He always seemed laidback and like he didn't have much going on. On the inside, however, he's no different from everyone else. We all have our battles and scars. He's gifted with the ability to keep his cool in those battles.
Shane was the first person I've ever gained a closeness with when my family moved out this way. Coincidentally, he was also my first love. We dated for a little while in middle school. It didn't work at the time because we seemed so different. Our ideas of love were premature and nearly inconceivable. When we broke up, I was upset of course. But I quickly realized that it's no ones fault. We were too young to have had any dating experience. That's simply what we were back then: An experience. A GREAT experience. That was 4 years ago.
We remained friends for a while since then. We talked off and on and maintained a strong friendship despite the fact that he had moved to another city just before high school. We've only recently rekindled in person when I found out he comes by every other weekend to visit his mom and his cousin's family. We went to see a movie. After that, I stayed a night over at his cousin's house with him. That's where love found it's way back to us; I kissed him. The ball went rolling, and now here we are over a month into a relationship.
Things are much better this time around. We're nearly adults now. We have much more experience and wisdom, and we have a greater understanding of what a relationship should be and how it feels. It's a compromise. It's a mutual understanding. It's a passionate experience, and it's a commitment. This time around, I feel like we're both in the same headspace. We both see each other clear as day and know just what to say or do to make each other smile. It's much better than before, and I'm all for it.
Shane: "I'm so glad you're okay... I didn't even know what to think when I saw that shit on the news..."
Me: "I just... got out the hospital..."
Shane: "Tell me what happened... All of it from the beginning..."
As I explained it all to him, his side of the line was silent. There were times where I needed to check if he was still in the call. I couldn't tell if he was really tuned in to what I was telling him, if he was holding back from reacting too much, or if he hung up the phone...
Me: "And that's the summary version... I don't know what to do..."
Shane: "I'm so sorry, babe...I wish I knew what else to say..."
Me: "It's ok, baby... Really... I'm just confused. Like, what's happening to my body? Who attacked me? Why are people disappearing?"
Shane: "I just don't want you to end up hurt..."
Me: "Don't worry... I'll be fine, babe."
Shane: "Okay... I gotta go. Lunch is about to be over. It's my mom's weekend. I'm coming down to visit, and we're gonna spend some time together... Okay?"
Me: "Alright... I love you."
Shane: "I love you too."
I checked the time. It was 12:46. Lunch time was just about to end... I missed all the class time all because of my boiling blood... What the fuck am I gonna tell my teachers? My mom glanced over at me.
Mom: "Relax... I got a doctors note. You'll be fine. Stop stressing out so much. Your nose will burst again..."
She can read me like a book... I used to be able to hide how I feel from my family easily. My mom drove me home to get me a change of clothes. When we got home, I stared long and hard into the mirror... I examined myself... I saw something in myself that others couldn't see for some reason... I saw a coward... I was once again reminded of the person I really am... No matter how hard certain people can read me, no one can see the truth from the surface... No one except yourself...
I frowned and proceeded to get ready for school. Coming to school for only the last 2 periods is completely worth it to me if it means I don't miss any work in those classes. When I'm absent for a day, I miss out on too much and I fall behind. At least this time, I wouldn't miss as much work. When I finished getting ready, I got back in the car so my mom can drop me off at school. I decided to text Shane one last thing while he was in class.
"I love you, baby... Call me after school. I miss you, and I wanna go more in depth to you about what's going on..."
We arrived on campus. The time was 1:44 PM; just before 6th-period. I exchanged goodbyes with my mom and headed to my improv class. When I got there, something seemed off... Everyone was on edge... They were all worried... I saw Noah first, so I asked him what was going on.
Noah: "DUDE... Are you just getting here? Where were you? We thought you went missing."
Me: "Hospital... Long story... What happened?"
Noah: "The announcements this morning... They brought up that so many people are disappearing... Students... Teachers even... Haven't you noticed the amount of substitutes we've had recently? The amount of absent students? They're MISSING..."
