𝑰𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒏𝒐

2 : Heat

𝕆 𝔸 𝕂 𝕃 𝔼 𝕐

February 14th, 20xx

Fuck. My. Life.

I had forgotten that Google said it was hotter here than in East Side Bay. Everywhere was hotter than by the coast. My entire life had been spent living with the wind in my hair and the water nearby so that I could drown my sorrows with the never-ending breeze and ocean. It was easier to breathe with fresh air and nothing pulling me up.

It was also easier to get away with the clothes I wore. The clothes that gave me warmth in the cold coastal town.

"God he's annoying. Does he know how to do anything other than try to get you back?" Tate grumbled to Summer as we sat at the food court with no food.

"I don't know. He's an idiot," she replied with a frown on her face as she played with a bracelet on her wrist.

"What's his deal anyway?" I found myself asking.

All three of them turned to look at me. I knew that I was invading their space, I was the newcomer. But there was a possibility we wouldn't ever speak again. Did it matter what they said to me?

"He's my ex-boyfriend. He cheated on me for years and then I dumped him. Nothing new about that cliché story." Summer shrugged.

"You were still with the guy even though he cheated on you? Or no?"

"I know it was stupid, hell everyone knows it was, but I wasn't just going to end our relationship based on rumors. It would make me seem insecure. Plus, after I had solid evidence, I ended it."

Her eyes were blazing at me. The heat rivaled the blueness in my eyes. The color of her eyes was unknown to me, I had never met a person with them. My eyes, on the other hand, were seen on a day-to-day basis. I never counted my eyes as rare if you saw a handful of the population with them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to step on toes."

"Just back the hell off and don't put your nose where it doesn't belong," she said with too much attitude to bypass.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want? I'll throw back the same attitude, just 'cause you're a girl doesn't mean I'll hold back with my words." I spat back at her.

She grunted before she looked away, chin on her palm and fingers curled inward against her lips. Her jaw stayed clenched as we all sat tense. As I watched her, I noticed that her nose flared and that her bottom lip wobbled. Was she an angry crier?

Even so, I shouldn't feel guilty. She came at my neck first so I just told her off. Not necessarily off but the point still stood.

"I have to go. I told Mom that I was going to spend a few hours with you and she probably is waiting for me." Summer suddenly got up and spoke only to Sally.

"That's fine. We'll see you at the bus tomorrow," Sally replied quickly with a shrug before she got up and hugged her.

"I'll text you guys tonight too."

"And I'll reply if Mom doesn't take my phone. If she calls you guys, say that I tutored you on the Pythagorean Theorem or something," Tate chimed in.

"I don't even know what that is!" Sally exclaimed.

"It's fine, that's why it's called tutoring."

From there, we watched as Summer exited the small court and then turned the corner. Once she was out of sight, I turned my attention to the two people who didn't seem to mind my presence. I didn't know if she had disliked me before or if it was about the comment I made about her last relationship, but it felt as if Summer was really defensive over it still.

Was she not over the guy or something?

"What do you guys do here for fun?"

"We like to play hide and seek."

I looked at Tate with a confused face. Wasn't that game a little childish? I knew that they were different from my friends back home, all my friends being in college so they were mature, but this was another kind of childish. Were they stuck on being too young even though we were all on the brink of adulthood?

"Just listen, it's a bit different because we have a huge mall. So, we start on one side of the mall. One of us is the seeker while the rest of us hide. We give about twenty seconds, so you'll have to run while inside and hope no one beats you up from bumping into them or their kids.

And then one of us goes in and then we find the others. It's simple but you can't hide behind objects, you sort of have to disguise yourself while out in the open."

I simply nodded as I realized this game could be fun. Back home we had a similar thing. We had clues made to help us find others, a scavenger hunt that was made specific by each person.

Maybe I was also a tad bit childish too.

"Okay. Who's first?"

"Tate. He's always first."

We stood up and ended up going back outside. Sweat was forming on my hairline as we walked, it was hotter than I was used to. Having been in the cold, every part of me had thrived in it. How was heat supposed to deal with me?

"So, what was it like in East Side?"

"Well, first and foremost, we usually call it East Bay. It was chilly and I never struggled since I grew up there. Hence why I'm wearing a long-sleeve in this fucking heater called Fresno."

I had to give at least a false reasoning for why I wore what I did. There was no bad reason for it, my father wasn't around to beat me and my mother wouldn't lay a hand on me that way. I didn't harm myself and I wasn't being targeted by the kids back home. I just didn't want to escape from the feeling of comfortableness.

Looking at Sally, I was kind of mad at her. Meeting Sally was all by chance, she caught me at an awkward moment when I was throwing the trash out in my pajamas. From there, she invited me to which I felt obligated to go. I didn't like feeling obligated.

By the time we finished the game, I had won once while they won two times. Angry at tying, we agreed that we would end up coming back one weekend. I exchanged numbers with them before I walked home in the humid night.

It was nights that were warm that I desperately wished to go home. I wanted to feel the ocean at my grasp and breath it in when I felt everything tumbling. The warmth was unknown to me, tons of things were unknown as I had never been able to live.

She was not a burden. She was not a chore. She was my sister and I didn't mind taking care of her. But sometimes, I longed to run and live. I had been held back by her. Tons of things I had struggled with had been a bit stunted by my desire to take care of her.

Leaving was not an option. In just a few short weeks, she'd have her surgery and then I'd get to live. There was a big if surrounding the miracles doctors could make. Hopefully, this surgery would change our lives.

My mother could finally breathe, my sister could live another day without behind held back, and I'd get to do both. We only had those few weeks and then we could achieve our separate goals.

******

A/N:

So, here's Oakley! He's honestly another character that I resonate with.

He's honestly a very confusing character to me. Like me, he has these strange thoughts that are hard to decipher because the thoughts don't connect as they should. It's hard to understand but it's easy for them to be created. Strange way of explaining but yeah.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts!