Moon Girl

Twenty Six - Hard Wednsday

One of Elton Johns many best selling albums played through the car. Nancy sang along dispute her being tone deaf. I never want this summer to end. We were free! Nancy and I could go anywhere and do anything. We could read in the park or walk a trail. Mom and dad didn't have to take us, we could just go. Freedom never tasted sweeter.

I joined in on the singing.
"You're going to be famous one day." I laughed at her confidence in me. I was only 12, I still had so much growing up to do. "And when you are, I'll be your manager."
"Of course, I'll just sing Elton John covers."
"Oh you can do more than that!" She swatted at my arm.
"Fine, that will be your Christmas present then." Laughter filled the car.

The car behind us rocked back and forth waiting for their window. I'd seen their lights come in and out of view in the side mirror. After the last car passed, they slid into the lane of on coming traffic and hit the gas. The engine roared with speed.
"Oh, so they want to race."
"Nancy-"
"Don't Nancy me, I'm the one driving." Her pedal was nearly to the floor and our hair zipped around us like whips. The night air felt cool. I don't remember the last time oxygen was so intoxicating.

It all happened so fast. The wind was whipping around us. The lights were the only point of vision in the dark night. The screeching of tires and the sound of breaking glass.

So much noice and none at all. My ears were loudly ringing but I could hear the crunching of the car around us. The last thing I heard was Nancy screaming, then it all goes black.

🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙

Dark clouds hung over Krystal today. Most days were good days. There were always a few bad days, this was one of the few. Bits and pieces of last nights memorial dream played in dark corners of her mind. Krystal has become a shell of the girl she was starting to be again, she was the girl she's been for the past 6 years. Quiet. Aloof. I'll-mannered.

Krystal moved at a sloths pace. Gloom and heartache were the weights attached to her ankles. Blake waited patiently outside Krystal's classroom door. She was the last one out. Her spirits lifted slightly at the sight of him.
"Want to eat under the bleachers?"
"Why?" Blake shrugged his shoulders.
"It's nice out and they're having a bake sale where we normally sit."

"Where we normally sit." We have a normal. We share something, something consistent. That was heart warming thought.

"Sure, why not."

The bleachers we set at the back of the school. You had to walk past the parking lot, past the baseball fields then, you got to the bleachers. They were two stories high and sparkled silver. Every month they power washed the stands, unless it was season, then it was weekly.

Dispute the vibrant, green grass and blinding bleachers, a dark cloud still hung over Krystal. Her dream, her memory ate at her. No matter how hard she worked at it, the survivors guilt would rear its ugly head. Normally the pair take glances at each other back at forth, Krystal just watched her shoes as they walked.

They sat under the bleachers, staring at the sun through the metal stairs. Their lunches spread out around them, Krystal's food was barley touched.

She's sitting here with me, but she isn't here. She's some where else.

"You okay?" For a moment Krystal didn't answer, she just stared at the glare of the sun on the bleachers.
"Nancy used to say that Wednesday's were like the spine of a book, they held everything together. I found that, after Nancy," she paused, leaving room for implications. "Those were the days I broke down the most on. Wednesday's." Blake watched her with sad eyes.
"It was a Wednesday, wasn't it?" She nodded slightly. Goosebumps raced down Blake's arms.
"She was speeding, she always did that. The car behind us started to pass us in a no passing zone. Nancy thought they were tying to race us, so she sped up. There was a car coming that we didn't see. The car thought they had room to move over, but he clipped the front end of our car." Krystal swallowed. "The car rolled. A piece of their break light got mixed in our car and got," she stopped, tears leaking from her eyes. Blake pulled her into a strong hug.
"Shh, It's okay. You're okay. I got you." Blake repeated into her hair.

After everything, I never thought it a million years that Blake Hardy would be the person in my life. Letting my walls down, telling my secrets to. The person I cry on. Blake Hardy would have been my last choice, but I'm glad I didn't chose. He might have been the last person I thought I would want but he was the first to ever care and take care of me. I can never repay him or his father for everything.

This was the down side of being friends with an emotional roller coaster, sometimes the speed damningly to the ground. But even on days like these, moments like these, I was glad for her. She wasn't perfect, none of us were. We all come with our baggage, some is just heavier than others.

🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙  🌙

During the last class, Krystal texted her mom that she was going to hangout with Blake. Actually, she was going to visit Nancy at her spot, but she didn't want them to worry.

It was slightly windier now that it was at lunch. For Krystal, it felt like the storm inside, so she welcomed it. The sun was still warm, but bearable.
"It's Wednesday." She informed her sister as she pulled out a handful of grass. "I know how much you liked them." Tears started to pool in her eyes. She blinked them back and looked down. "I really miss you." Finally, she sobbed.

Cars passed by, ignoring the lone figure on the ground. Most people who traveled this road often, knew the story. Most people who lived in the area, knew the story. This had been Krystal's life for so long, she grew accustomed to the solitude.

Krystal played with the piece of grass she unearthed, tying them into knots or purely just shredding them. A car door open and closed. There was the occasional person who didn't know the story and didn't know to keep driving. Those were the people Krystal dreaded the most. Blake sat down beside her, hold a bouquet of flowers and a single rose. He laid the bouquet on the ground in front of the cross and handed Krystal the rose.
"I thought I'd find you here."
"Why are you giving me a rose?"
"You don't seem like the flower type, but just once can be nice." She gingerly removed it from his hand. With her fingers, she carefully twirled. "There is no way to hold something that is truly beautiful; not without consequence. There is a reason why roses have thorns. Adam Stanley." Krystal looked up at him, Blake was already looking at her. "My mom likes quotes, she used to tell Hannah that when she was sad. I never really understood it until recently."

I was never a fan of roses, they were too conventional. But this one, it had meaning, purpose. I can appreciate that, and Blake's gesture.

"I like it." She finally muttered.
"I knew you would." She sat shoulder to should staring at the slowly weathering cross.

A long time passed before the broke the silence.
"I know you've probably heard this a hundred times, but I'm really sorry about Nancy." Slowly, she nodded her head.
"Thank you."
"I know I never knew her, but I want to you know, even if I did, you'd still be my favorite." His voice was low. She sucked in her bottom lip and tears began to pool in her eyes. Without a word she laid her head on his shoulder, still holding the rose between her fingers.

That is the nicest thing someone has ever told me, and Nancy used to compliment me all the time.