Too Close [Wattys2015]

Chapter 16: Stories

"No need to thank me, we are both helping each other." He says.

"And how's that?" I ask him, looking at a couple walk in Get Away Delights.

"Well, I mean, we are both kind of loners with no friends. And well we are almost the same. Except the gender of course." He explains.

I smile, it was true. We were alike in a way, we just didn't know a lot of each other.

"True." I say. "Let's do something."

He raises an eyebrow. "Like?"

"Hurry up and pay," I say. "And next time I'll pay."

He gets up and I follow him. "Promise." I tell him.

"Okay so what is it?" He asks when we walk out the door.

"Okay, so  we will tell each other the best day of our life in our. We can drive there too." I tell him.

He nods his head. "Get Away Cafe was one of the best memories of my childhood." He takes a deep breath. "Mom had a friend who works here and one day she brought me to Get Away Delights. She got this coffee and I got the usual. .The hot chocolate. And well we talked for a while, I was thirteen at the time. Few weeks after-" He stops.

"What is it?"

He looks at me, smiling. "Your turn, cupcake."

I decide to ask him later. So I tell him to start driving. He smirks. "Yes boss."

"Good." I say.

***

"An ice cream shop?" He asks. "Really."

I give him a small smile. "Really." I cross my legs, getting comfortable. The sign saying: We're open, come on in! hangs on the door.

"I came in here with my dad when I was eleven years old. I had just got back from a soccer game, which my team had lost." I clear my throat. "So my dad brought me here to cheer me up. He bought me this big ice cream cone with all the flavors they had there."

I look over at Collins who is watching me. "And it was huge, I mean you would've been memorized, it was good too. But he cheered me up, telling me these cheesy jokes and laughing like a fool. You see, my dad's laugh was purely contagious. He laugh, you laugh. And eventually he had me laughing with tears coming out of my eyes. He was hilarious." I laugh, smiling at the memory.

He stares at me. "You said was."

I turn to him. "What?"

He still looks at me, lips in a line. "Ivy, you said was. D-Did something happen to him?"

I force a laugh. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

He gives me a really look. I look away, fiddling with my shirt.

I sigh. "Okay, okay. I did say it in a past tense, okay?"

He gives me a understanding look. "What happened?"

I take a shaky breath in. "My dad- he, um, died in a car crash. The truck driver hit him head on, it was too dark to see. I was twelve, my older brother came in the his face was so pale. And I could her my mom wailing, my brother he was j-just so pale." I tell him, emotions coming up that I wanted to stay down. "And h-he had to tell me the news about my dad and my brother broke down. I couldn't-"

His index finger catches a tear that's trying to escape my eyes. "Shh, Ivory, you don't have to tell me anymore." His voice is low and soft.

I sniff, wiping my eyes. "Be happy I didn't wear any make up or I would've looked like I did when we had that water fight." I joke with him.

He grins. "Yeah. Now I'm going to take you somewhere to share with you like you did, with a sad story."

"Okay." I softly say.

Not long after him driving and us in a comfortable silence, we arrive at a small park.

"Few weeks after my mom had brought me to the coffee shop, we went to the park. We were walking and she was telling me some story- I don't even remember now. But while we were walking, she started holding her chest and fell to the ground. And of course, I yelled for help. And I didn't have a phone at the time, she left her phone in her purse which was in the car. And I cried out for help. This man had called 911 and tried to help my mom. But she had already died before the ambulance came. She died of a heart attack."  He tells me, voice low.

I grab his hand and squeeze it, comforting him. After a minute or so, he clears his throat. "Well, it's 5:00 now and I'm sure you need to be home."

I nod. "Yes, I do. My mom gets off of work at 5:30."

He starts to drive off. Collins was very accurate, we were alike in ways. Not only did we not have much friends, but we had both suffered a loss that's shaped our life. We both were teasing, except he was annoying to me. Plus, I told everyone how it was.

"Hey, Collins." I say when he turns down my road.

"Ivory." He smiles.

"Can I have Kandi's number?" I ask him as we pull into my road.

"Um yeah sure." He says, looking in his contacts on his phone.

He tells me the number quickly before he turns he looks back at the road.

"Speaking of which," he says. "I need to call her."

He dials her number. "Hey Kandi!" He says when she answer. "Yeah....sorry about that...I was wondering if you wanted to meet up somewhere, so I can make up for it to tutor....Okay that sounds great." He gets off the phone and smiles.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask.

"Gee, stalker." He uses my line, teasing. "No we're going to a restaurant for me to tutor Kandi."

He pulls in my driveway as soon as he parks he immediately starts to style his hair, which makes it jump up in crazy directions.

I laugh. He looks over at me. "What?"

"Let me help you." I say, leaning over to fix his hair. I pat it down then run my fingers through his hair, brushing it.

Man his hair is really soft!

I run my fingers through it one last time before declaring his hair is good.

"Do I look okay?" He asks.

"Hair? Good." I said. "Face? No."

He rolls his eyes. He ruffles my hair, making it look crazy.

"Jerk!" I yelp out at him.

He laughs. "Bye cupcake."

I roll my eyes. "Bye butt hurt jerk."

"There it is." He says to himself.

I look at him. "What?"

"What?" He questions, looking away. I give him a look, suspicious. "What were you talking about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, cupcake, but I gotta go and see Kandi." He winks.