The Stranger

Chapter 16.

par•a•dise
noun
(in some religions) heaven as the ultimate abode of the just.

Can you imagine a place without worry, doubt, fear, anxiety, tears, and my favorite.. boy problems. I've envisioned this paradise for years, and I've yet to find it. In my hopefulness, I've visioned Tray being that paradise. But in paradise, everything is perfect. And, he wasn't creating paradise for us; instead he created an island.

* * * * * * * *

I jolted at the sound of my alarm clock sounding off. "Mmm.." I groaned angrily. I only received a few hours of sleep. I sluggishly dragged myself to my bathroom; slipping out of yesterday's clothes. After freshing up my face, teeth and hair, I pulled off a satisfactory look; hiding the fact that I've only slept for 2 hours. Taking a deep breath in, I formed a fake smile across my face while staring at myself in the mirror. "Another day, another day." I whispered to myself. My phone suddenly began to vibrate against my bathroom counter. I quickly grabbed it before it fell; glancing at the text from Alex.

Alex: Outside, ready?
Dazie: Coming.

I grabbed my book bag, and rushed out of my room. "Have a great day, honey." My dad yelled to me. "Thanks dad!" I replied while taking a water bottle from the refrigerator; unloosing the lid to take a sip. "When you get back home, I'd like to have a chat with you." I spit my water out in nervousness. Chat? Did my mom say something about me and Tray? "About what?" I asked shakily. "It can wait, just enjoy your day at school. And learn something." He replied in a joking manner. "Okay.. I will." I said.

I opened the front door, locking it behind me. When I turned around and saw Alex in a brand new red convertible with the top down. I beamed brightly at his success. He looks so good. I scanned him up and down from afar; a plain black tee, with dark blue jeans. He always made simple combinations look flawless. I jogged lightly towards his car while squealing. "Aleeeeee, this is you?!" I opened the passenger door sitting down, as I admired the inside of his console. "This is me." He replied smiling. "Do you like her?" "Like? I love her!" I said while buckling myself in. "What did you name her?" I asked. He shrugged. "I haven't thought about it yet. Maybe, you can name her for me." He said while reversing out of our driveway. I pondered for a bit, as the wind pushed my curls back. "How about.. Rose?" I asked while staring at his chiseled face. "I like that. Dazie and Rose." I blushed at his response.

We spent the entire ride to school blasting some of our favorite hits. From Drake's "Houstalantavegas" to Justice Skolnik's "Glow". It reminded me of the old times we spent together, and how much I missed having him around. I tilted my head back; closing my eyes, as I lifted my hands into the air as he sped down the highway. For the first time in a long time, I finally felt free. When I opened my eyes, I noticed Alex staring at me with a smile on his face. I smiled back, practically blushing at his presence and the amount of fun we were having together.

Alex's car roared into our school parking lot, causing all of the attention to drift towards us. I didn't mind it, and glancing over at him; I could tell he enjoyed it too. We were never the type of students that stood out in the crowd, so this felt like our moment. Suddenly, Alex dropped his hand ontop of mine, squeezing my fingers slightly. I glanced down at our hands, feeling queasy inside. Was this intentional? Was this an in the moment type of thing, or did he truly want to hold my hand? Allowing my nervousness to get the best of me, I gently shaked my hand away from his, trying to make it unnoticeable as possible. "Are you okay?" He asked while gazing into my eyes then slowly allowing them to drift to our hands. Damn, it wasn't too unnoticeable. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Why would you think otherwise?" I asked.

"Well, because I know you Dazie. How many times must we go over this?" He replied as he chucked lightly. I twisted my lips, becoming unresponsive because he did have a point.