Across the Maps

Chapter 9

Cole stands there dumbfounded for a few seconds, his mouth open and his large eyes clouded with confusion.

I stand there watching him for a few minutes. Finally I am able to speak. "Um.." I say. "Jeremy, this is Cole." I pause for a few seconds, letting my words hang in the air. "Cole, this is Jeremy."

They stare at each other silently, taking in each other's appearances. The awkwardness makes me uncomfortable, but I don't know what to do.

"Cole is the gardener's son and my friend," I explain to Jeremy, who is still sitting there flabbergasted. "Cole," I speak. "Jeremy is my friend from school."

Neither of them speak, but they both nod slowly. "Um," Jeremy stutters, his voice shaky. "I should go."

"No," I pause. "It's fine."

Cole snaps out of daze and finally speaks, "I'm sorry for interrupting. I'm going to go. I'll see you around."

He exits the room, his shoes echoing on the floor as he walks down the hallway, the noise quieting as he walks away.

I am sad to see him leave but I am also relived that most of the awkwardness is gone.

Jeremy turns to face me, his face slowly returning to normal. "It's late," he exclaims, his voice quieter than usual. "I should go and call my parents to pick me up."

I nod and he dials a number on the phone. After speaking into his phone for a little while, he hangs up and then turns to face me.

"My parents will be here in ten minutes." I nod. We sit there silently until his parents get here, and relief rushes through me when he's gone.

After he leaves, I pull on an oversized gray sweatshirt and some boots and saunter outside, hoping to run into Cole.

After wondering around for about half and hour with no luck, I end up at the creek.

The sunset light reflects onto the water and there is a breeze that makes me cold. I sit down on the edge and pull my knees to my chest. Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh. Today couldn't have been more awful.

I hear a rustle in the leaves and open my eyes. I turn around to see Cole. He walks over to me and sits down.

"Hey," he says, his voice quieter than normal.

"Look I'm sorry for not telling you about Jeremy," I apologize. "I wasn't expecting you to come over. But I should have told you about him. I'm really sorry."

"It's just that I was really shocked when I walked in and found the two of you."

"I'm sure it probably looked weird. But we are just friends." I pause. "I was going to tell you about him though," I assure him.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he questions, a hurtful expression on his face.

"I'm not sure," I answer truthfully. "I didn't know if you would like him."

"Why does that matter?" his voice rising. "Why does it matter if I like him?"

"It's just that you two are my only friends here and I was hoping you could both get along. But I know now that it was a stupid thought. Don't worry, you won't have to see him again."

I stand up, brush my jeans off, and walk away, leaving Cole alone at the creek.

I'm sorry about the short and bad chapter. I know you all thought it would be great but I wasn't sure how to write it. I'm going to update soon. Anyways, please vote and comment if you like it!