Free Fall

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kendall 

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I expected a few wary glances from kids but not a full on staring war. It was like I had murdered someone and just got out of jail.

Except, I kind of did.

I was in the same social class as I was before. People treated me as if I was gum on their shoe, and I almost started wishing I was back in the hospital room. Almost.

The memories of Charlie here are much stronger. Her locker, which was two down from mine, was spray-painted turqoise, her favorite color, and had all kinds of notes and small gifts taped to it. It was utterly surreal, as I approached my locker after English, and expecting to see Charlie putting things away, her popular group of friends surrounding her. But once she laid eyes on me, she would smile her toothy grin and make her way over to me. 

The memory lay thick in my brain and it shut out the noisy chatter in the hallwway, but I shut my eyes and turned to my locker, taking a deep breath and letting the noise fill my ears again. I stared at my nearly empty locker and for a moment I felt so lost and unwanted that tears burned at the back of my eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Turning slightly, I saw Cole leaning against the locker to my right, his dark eyes filled with worry. This would have never happened four months ago, Cole being seen talking to me, let alone being worried. I felt my heart tug at his sincerity. 

I shut my locker and positioned my bag on my shoulder, half-smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He seemed uncovinced, but thankfully he didn't try to push it. "Okay. Want to walk with me to Kelsey's locker?"

I smiled again and nodded, ignoring the gawking stares as we made our way down the hallway. I instantly saw Erick's tan head at his locker as he emptied his backpack, and he suddenly raised his eyes to mine.

My cheeks started to warm at the fact of being caught, but I didn't look away. He held my gaze for a few seconds before shutting his locker and heading towards the school doors.

*

"Kendall, you so don't have to do this." Kelsey told me for the sixth time as we climbed up to the seventh row on the bleachers. 

I sighed. "It's fine, Kelsey."

"I can run you home-"

"Zip it."

Kelsey was insanely guilty at asking me to sit through Cole's (and Erick's) baseball game, but I was actually curious to see Erick play the game he loved so much. No matter what happened to us, I still  cared a lot for Erick and wanted to see the thing that caused his eyes to light up so much when he talked about it. I always thought I had a passion for softball, but Erick's completely stomped mine in the dirt. 

I tried not to search for Erick, but my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own and slipped past all the boys warming up their arms and landed on Erick. He was exiting the dugout with Cole, his catcher gear on apart from his helmet. Something seemed off between them; Cole threw the ball in his glove and had his jaw set. I looked over at Kelsey and saw she had a frown etched on her face. 

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, and Kelsey stared a few moments longer before looking back at me. 

"Um...Erick is-going through something right now." She said the last part almost awkwardly as she chewed the inside of her cheek. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that why he's acting weird?"

Kelsey gazed into my eyes, clearly contemplating whether or not to tell me something. My skin itched with irritation. "Tell me, Kelsey."

She sighed. "I don't know what's going on with him at all. I just know something is. He told Cole and I this morning he was moving to Mexico after baseball is over and saying he couldn't be our friend anymore." She shook her head. "It's stupid. You can't just abandon your friends."

I looked back at the field at Cole and Erick warming up. Moving to Mexico? When Erick and I first started talking about his life in Mexico, he was certain he'd never move there. 

"But isn't that your home?" I had said, confused. 

He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes as it always did. My palms started to sweat; this wasn't normal Erick behavior at all. 

"In a way, I guess. I mean, I was born there and everything and my family is there, but..." He stopped short and looked at his hands. it was quiet and I patiently waited for him to continue.

"That isn't my true home. I can't live up to my potential there. I can't go to medical school and I can't play college ball. Those are my only two dreams that I can't let slip through my fingers." He lookedback up at me and smiled, light starting to return to his eyes.

"Kendall?"

Kelsey pulled me out of my flashback and I swallowed, refusing to let the pain settle in my heart. "Huh?"

She looked at me with wary eyes. "Nothing. You had a weird look in your eyes."

I bit my lip and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Just relishing in memories."

Kelsey's smile fell. "You're not too torn up over him, are you?"

The game had just started, our team batting first. I couldn't see Erick in the dugout because of the shadows, but I'm sure he could see me if he happened to look over at the bleachers. "I don't expect you to understand. I don't even understand it myself, Kelsey. I don't think anyone in the world has had this strong of feelings in such a short amount of time...this sounds weird but I-I really think he's the one."

Kelsey nodded and looked back at the game. We were quiet for awhile, listening to the strike of the bat and ball and cheering of the people around us. I regretted opening my mouth about how I felt; Kelsey probably thinks I'm a freak. 

"I do know how you feel, Kendall. Maybe not on a personal level but I understand how much this is affecting you. Things change so quickly." She spoke suddenly.

I nodded and looked at Erick as he jogged to homeplate, pulling his helmet over his head. "Just like that, he's gone. Things can change so quickly. One second I'm in the present, the next i'm remembering the past."