How to Save a Life
Chapter One: Begin the Begin
Denise did that night what she'd done every night in the past summer; sitting on the steps of her front porch, watching the stars come out one by one, accompanied only by the moon. It was her saving grace in this new town she and her mother had moved to that first day in June – the sky was the same wherever she went, she believed, and was the only thing that was truly constant in her recent turbulence. Silently, she counted the stars, as the night sky darkened, and the crickets began playing their lovelorn ballads to the wind. Their songs were bittersweet, haunting and soon lulled Denise into the parts of her that still bled for the only love she'd ever known…
They were lying on the hood of his car, looking up at the midnight sky together, simply content just listening to their identical breathing – as though they were one and the same. He had broken the silence, ran his fingers through her hair, and kissing her, asked her if she would marry him someday, telling her she was all that he wanted and could ever need. He'd simply laughed at her wondering if they were too young at 17 to get married, wiping her tears of joy away, held her close and made love to her right there in the moonlight.
He was so tender, so slow and sweet, that no one, especially not Denise, would have thought that it was all simply part of his deception; that he had said the same thing he said to her that night to another girl who lived two cities away, the same two cities he said his "childhood friend Nick" lived and would visit every other weekend to spend "quality time". "Nick" turned out to be "Nicole" and they were definitely more than just friends when Denise walked in on them in bed that night she had meant to pay him a surprise visit.
Jon had meant everything to her. He was there when her father wasn't being one; when he was constantly beating both her and her mother up in the drunken bouts he got into every time he had a fight with the younger woman he'd been cheating on her mother with. He was there that night her grandfather passed away from his long fight with lung cancer, letting her soak his shirt with her tears. He was there, always there for her to love…
Denise felt the hot sting of the tears on her cheeks and stubbornly wiped them away, clearing her throat, wanting not to dwell in her grief, as her mother had taught her throughout her 17 years. That's why they moved to Nickel Creek following her mother's separation from her father and the demise of her fairytale with Jon – to escape, to begin anew, to forge a new future and above all, to have another chance at love, a game they had both lost in. Her mother was strong like that, and Denise was more than ready to emulate that strength. They were superheroes, her mother and her, and they were going to get through this just fine… or so Denise hoped.
"Deni, come on in! Dinner's ready, and I don't want you catching a cold tonight. You've got school first thing tomorrow morning, and no way in hell are you going to miss your first day as a sophomore. I spent too much money on your going-back-to-school wardrobe!" Her train of thought broken, Denise couldn't help but laugh at the hint of irritation in her mother's banter, opening the door to the warmth inside.
Matt hated that look on Mark's face - the same pathetic, wounded look he had had all summer long throughout their surfing road trip. He had never seen his brother like that; Mark was the twin who got any girl he wanted, thanks to his charming personality and inclination to all things athletic - which girl didn't want a jock, right? He was a swimmer, a hockey player, a runner; the captain, the teamplayer, the hot guy on campus.But here he was, a raincloud over his head, pining over the first girl who ever broke his heart...
"Bro, would you freaking snap out of it? Laura was a bitch, anyway. She never cared, she was self-centred, and above all, she was a flirt. You really wouldn't want that bro, seriously." Mark looked at his brother blankly, his face flinching slightly at the mention of her name, triggering a flood ofbitersweet memories that made him smile briefly, before they fastforwarded to the scene that had played before his eyes that last day of school... Laura, his sweet, lovely Laura, in the janitor's closet sandwiched between two seniors, doing what only he should have been the one to do.
Matt saw the pain flicker on Mark face briefly, knowing what he was thinking of... "Dude, it's seriously not your fault. Don't kill yourself over it... Think of it this way, she lost you. Hell we'll think of someway to make her feel dumb about it.And fuck dude, we're SENIORS this year... we freaking rule the school! Besides, there's always new meat... Quickfix hook-ups. The way to go, according to my FHM."
Mark smirked, "Get over someone by getting on top of someone, huh Matt?" Matt chuckled at Mark's remark, "Whatever you call it bro, whatever you call it..." Mark laughed out loud and high fived his brother, "Let's go test your theory first thing tomorrow morning."