Masked (now an EBOOK on Amazon)

Chapter #18

CHAPTER #18

"Do you think it was him? I want an honest answer, Ray," I said, my voice muffled by my hands. I felt hands on my shoulders as he made me stand up.

"I don't know, Z. I honestly don't. It's a pretty weird situation, don't you think? I mean, yeah, you get what I mean."

"You think I don't know it's weird, Ray? I would know. It's not just weird, it's twisted and an endless vortex filled with black holes that eat you up and-"

"Woah. Slow down, Z. I'm sorry. Nobody knows how you feel except for yourself. No one will ever understand how you've been through all this. I would say it'll all be okay, but the thing is; I don't want to raise your hopes. The first thing anybody says is 'it's going to be okay'. I would too, but I'm not. I'm really hoping everything will fall back into place but I'm not saying anything." I smiled. He raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you look so shocked? Do I always scream at anyone who tries to say something to me?"

"Nothing like that. But I still assumed you to, at least this time."

"Everything you said made sense and no one else has ever understood the power of the words 'it's all going to be okay'. People just throw it around casually, not knowing how it actually affects a person. You understand. Why would I scream at that?"

He just smiled and offered his hand; I took it and we walked to his bike. I looked at all the graffiti while walking through the place again. I felt the corners of my eyes prickle. I blinked rapidly to prevent those damn tears to fall. One escaped and slid down my cheek; I moved my free hand and wiped it away, hoping he wouldn't see it. He slowly removed his hand from mine and put it around my shoulder. I was so glad he didn't ask me anything. Even after we reached the bike, we stood like that for a while, looking at the sun setting.

"It's the best part of the day, don't you think?" he said, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. I can't decide between this and when all the stars come out," I said.

"Yeah. So, you feeling better now?" he asked.

I looked up at him to find him staring off at the sunset. For once, I really looked at him, not as me, but as a random stranger. Those black eyes; that always slightly- messy hair; firmly set jawline; that slight dimple on his right when he smiled. I think he noticed me staring; he looked down and raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm okay now," I said and smiled. He took his hand off and handed me the helmet. I put my hair in a bun and put it on. He drove a little slowly, letting the cool air brush past our skin. We reached my house a little late. I got down and handed him the helmet.

"Call me if you need anything, yeah?" he said. I nodded and waved. I got into the house and heard screaming.

"Why doesn't anyone believe me? He was here in this very house this afternoon! He asked for you and Z and-"

"Mom, calm down! We believe you, it's just-"I heard Sky's voice.

"What? That I'm just an old schizophrenic woman who-"

"Stop it mom!"

"Leave my room at once." I heard the door slam as Sky got out of mom's room. I speed- walked up to her. She had tears in her eyes; I hugged her tightly.

"She's in another one of her moods, isn't she?" I asked. She nodded and didn't let go until another few minutes. She wiped her eyes and sighed.

"It's hard, Z. It's getting really bad these days. I don't know what to do."