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i sat on my knees as i prayed for healing and love. also for peace when school starts. i have 7 days of summer left and to be honest i'm not ready. "amen," i sighed and opened my eyes to my yellow room. why must every wall in this house be so bright.
a rock hit my window before i could cover my bare legs with my sheets. i stood and walked over to my window once i heard another pebble hit the glass. i pushed aside the white curtains until i saw the boy standing outside of my house. i pulled open the window and gave him a puzzling look.
"come out here!" he smiled as he played with the pebbles in his hands. i haven't spoken with him in a couple days and he decided to throw pebbles at my window. i looked down to my pajamas and shook my head.
"i'll be out in a minute." i closed the window along with the curtains and put some jeans on and a sweater. LA never got blessed with cold winds no matter how hard one would pray. i walked down the stairs and out the front door without anyone noticing. "what's going on?" i asked and crossed my arms over my chest.
"i don't know. i was bored and wanna talk to you." he swayed as a smile pulled at his lips. "i sorta missed you." i laughed and looked away to the road.
"that's funny. i thought i'd be the last person you'd wanna talk to." he shrugged his shoulders and just kept his little smile on his face. "are you high or something? it's almost 12 and you're throwing rocks at my window?"
"what?" that smile disappeared. "no! no?" he grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. "lets go for a walk." i walked around with him in silence for a couple minutes before finally giving him a look of confusion.
"what are we doing, tate?" i stopped walking as soon as i saw the playground. "why are we here?" he sighed and played with my hands.
"i'm sorry for being such an ass to your dad. you were right, adele. not all dad's are shit." i never thought he'd apologize. it's only been a couple days but i still never thought he'd get over it. "i'm trying. can you just... say something?"
"it's okay. i forgive you." forgiveness is easy to do when it's something done to you, but not when it's done to somebody else. father told me that once. he smiled and ventured over to the swings, i followed quickly behind him. "so what've you been doing?"
"listening to the cure." reaching inside of his back pocket, he pulled out my cd i must've left at his house. "they're okay." i didn't think he'd like them anyway. his music taste is far more... interesting. "what have you been doing?"
"getting our house all set up. my room is finally done now that i've had these couple days just for it." our conversation was endless and went on for hours. i never tired of talking to him, but i realized the suns early rays peak just behind us. neither of us expected the sun to be out just yet, so the shock showed in our eyes when we made contact.
"i guess i should get you home, miss valkit." tate scratched the back of his neck and sat up. i had almost forgotten that we moved over to the play structure. "it's almost six," he exhaled with disbelief as he checked his watch.
"how did i get my oxygen tank up here?" i inquired and looked to the tank that sat beside me. "yeah-yeah. i uh... need to get home." he gave me his hand and helped me stand to my feet. my vision became radiant but i pretended like it didn't bother me.
we reached my front door and tate handed me my cd. "i'll be here throwing rocks at your window again sometime." he tucked his hands in his sweaters pockets and grinned.
"can i see you later?" he nodded and walked down the steps. "bye." i waved to him, and for once he waved back.
walking into my home i saw my mom sitting at the table with her black mug filled with coffee. "where have you been, adeline roads?"
"i went to the park with my friend. you don't have to worry about me, mother. i'm not going to do anything with my condition." she sighed and put her dish in the sink.
"that's not the point, adele. our house has rules. one of them being your curfew of 10:00." she walked over to the stairs and turned back to me. "i won't tell your father but... don't do this again or i'll have to." father didn't scare me. nothing about him was hostile. i wheeled my oxygen tank up the stairs and tucked myself into bed. i didn't know just how exhausted i was until my head hit the pillow.
when i woke up it was around 2pm. i didn't expect to wake up so late but it didn't seem to odd for going to sleep around 6am. i took the day for myself and prepared for the laughter i will experience in high school. every time i ever hear something negative about me it has to be about my father or the oxygen tank i carry around. am i not cool like other students because i have something blocking my airways and i will die sooner than later? because my father is a man of faith does that make me anything other than a human being?
the negativity will change this house if i dwell upon my thoughts for too long. i peered out my window and looked into tate's house. in one of the many windows i saw a blonde woman with watery eyes and a tissue to wipe them away. it wasn't my business to barge into what was happening in their home but the mind often times does wonder.
