- - - - - - - - - - The Next Afternoon - - - - - - - - - -
"Hello?" I answered on my cell.
"Hey it's Jonah," I heard.
"Oh, how's it going?" I asked.
"Good. Listen, I just wanted to call and ask….." he trailed off.
"Ummm, hello?" I asked.
"Yeah, sorry. Ok, do you want to go out with me? But even though we just met, I really like you and I want to get to know you better," he said quickly.
This time it was my turn to be speechless. "Oh, you know. I'd actually really like that," I said.
"Great! How about we go roller blading tomorrow night?" he asked.
"That sounds great. I can't," I said.
"Me too," he said, "but I have to go. I'll call you later."
"Ok, bye," I replied happily.
"Bye," he said sounding equally as happy. I was excited and was sure that things were going to turn out great.
- - - - - - - - - - 6 blissful months later, end in a tragedy - - - - - - - - -
"Thanks for walking me home," I said, "are you sure you can't stay awhile?"
"Yeah I'm sure. I promised my aunt I'd help her move into her new house today," he said.
"Right," I said, "I'll talk to you later then." We were in front of my house so I went on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him and even though it felt like I've done this a million times, it never ceases to make my heart skip a beat. We just stood there, wrapped in each others arms. (If only I had held on a few moments longer, I would later think to myself.)
As I turned around, I heard a screech and a sickly thud. I turned back around and saw Jonah sprawled on the floor with blood pooling rapidly by his head. I quickly ran over to him with silent tears already running down my face. The driver got out, cursed very loudly, and jumped back in his truck.
"Hey!" I yelled, but he was already driving down the road.
"Jonah, Jonah! Can you hear me?" I asked, trying not to move him. I checked his pulse, but I couldn't find one. I quickly ran to my bag. I took out my phone and dialed 911, but it felt like centuries before the ambulance and the police arrived.
They loaded him into the ambulance and I knew that he was gone. More tears ran down my face and I could barely get the whole story out to the police officer. The truck was parked in front of my neighbor's house when we got there, so I told them to start there. He went to go talk to the paramedics before they left and he came back with a grim face. "I'm sorry to tell you that, that young man is dead," he said. I already suspected this, but having it confirmed made it even worse.
"I'm going to call his parents and then I'll interview your neighbor's. I'll let you know when we find out who did this," he promised.
"Okay, thank you," I said, and stumbled into my house. As soon as the door closed, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I was all alone and mom and Jonathon wouldn't be back until later. I couldn't myself to call anybody though. I managed to make my way to my bedroom and just collapsed onto my bed. I couldn't believe it even though I still had some of his blood on my hands. At that precise moment, I promised my self that I would never love anyone like that again. It just hurts too much.
- - - - - - - - - - - - 5 sleepless months later - - - - - - - - - - - -
I sat in the car with Isabel and Mia by my side, taking in the sights of L.A. "Thanks again for letting us stay the summer at your beach house Aunt Lisa," Isabel said.
"Oh don't worry about it. I hardly ever use it, so you guys will be doing me a favor," Lisa replied. I continued to gaze at all the buildings passing by. Isabel and Mia said they wanted to come because of the beaches and the celebrities, but I know that they just wanted me to get out of my funk. It's just that ever since the accident, I haven't been myself. Like a part of myself died too, but I'd never admit that to anyone. They'd just say that I was a love sick teenager and that I'd get over it. A part of me doesn't want to, but I'm hoping this trip will bring me back to life, so to speak.
Mia poked me in the ribs, "Hey, you okay? No more bad dreams?"
Ever since Jonah died, his lifeless body has starred in my dreams more than once. "Yeah but hopefully a change of scenery will make things better," I said cheerfully.
Isabel glanced at us from the front seat but said nothing. "We're here!" Lisa proclaimed.
"Oh my gosh, it's huge!" Mia exclaimed.
"Isn't it awesome?" Isabel agreed. I was speechless. The house was beautiful and it was right on the beach! "It's amazing," I said in awe.
"Come on. Get your things so I can show you your rooms. You'll have your own rooms, but you'll have to decide who….." Lisa didn't get to finish her sentence. We ran into the house to pick out our rooms. While Isabel and Mia paused to gaze at the inside of the house, I ran upstairs because I knew one of the rooms was bound to have a view of the beach. "I call this one!" I yelled as I heard their footsteps running up the stairs. The room was beautiful. It had a balcony overlooking the beach and a huge comfortable looking bed. They came in and didn't object, but did remark on how lucky I was.
"Damn! I knew I shouldn't have paused. I lost valuable seconds," Isabel grumbled.
"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Don't you guys still have to pick out your rooms?" I asked. They glanced at each other and booked it down the hall. I laughed and went to go get my bags. When I came back to my room I was going to unpack, but that huge, comfortable bed was calling to me, so I dropped my bags and jumped onto the bed. I sighed, even better than I imagined, especially since I was so exhausted from the trip.
I started dozing off and the next thing I knew, it was already dark out! I checked my phone and it was already 8 o'clock. I slept for three whole hours! I didn't think I was that tired, but I totally felt refreshed. After a quick potty break, I found everyone downstairs watching tv. "Hey there sleepy head," Isabel said.
"Good morning," I joked, rubbing the rest of the sleep from my eyes.
"Do you want some lasagna? Since you missed dinner?" Lisa asked.
"Oh, sure that sounds great," I said as my stomach growled at the thought of food. I sat next to Mia on the couch as Lisa brought over my food. Grateful, I dug in heartily. It tasted amazing, but I'm not sure if I was starving or if Lisa was that great a cook. I was leaning towards the latter.
"So what are our plans for tomorrow?" I asked.
"Well, we were thinking we'd go to the beach," Mia said.
"Yeah, because there's bound to be some good looking male specimens there," Isabel said with a sly wink in her eye. I sighed inwardly, but didn't comment. They'd been trying to set me up for months. Mia let the comment slide too and turned her attention back to the tv. They were watching a lifetime movie that I'd already seen, but I didn't mind. We watched the rest of the movie in a comfortable silence. Talking every so often when Lisa asked us questions. When the movie was over, we decided to go upstairs to the media room. Lisa excused herself to her room because she still had to get up early for work in the morning. We felt too awake to just sit down and watch another movie, so we decided to play rock band. Izzy was on guitar, Mia was on drums, and I decided to sing. They looked at me in surprise, but didn't say anything. I haven't sung aloud in a while, but I felt like it was time to get out behind the wall I was always hiding behind. I was kind of timid because I hadn't sung in so long, but after a few moments, I got into the music. It was a song by Muse and I just got lost in the song.
I didn't realize when we finally finished, but when I looked up, Izzy and Mia were looking at me with smiles on their faces. "What?" I asked.
"Nothing," they said in unison.
"Okaaaay…" I said hesitantly. They turned back to the screen and we moved on to the next song. I felt really good about singing again and gave my all into the next few songs. After a while, we shut it off and just got in a circle and talked. What I love about our friendship was that we could talk about anything, but I was surprised when Izzy asked, "So, are you going to scope out the beach hotties?"
Mia gave her a sharp look, but I stayed silent. I took a few moments to process her question. I didn't want to get into another relationship and I promised myself I wouldn't, but I know Jonah wouldn't want me shying away from life like this. "I don't want to get into another relationship," I told her.
"Well you don't have to get into a serious relationship! Just mingle, throw yourself out there a little," she suggested.
"You don't have to do anything Clary. Just enjoy yourself this summer," Mia said.
"I will. This is supposed to be the best summer ever! I don't want you guys to worry, I'm moving on. The past is the past. I have to start living my life again," I proclaimed.
Izzy looked like she believed me, but Mia looked slightly dubious. "I think I'm going to bed early tonight," I told them while stretching.
"What? How can you be tired after your long ass nap?" Izzy asked.
"Oh, leave her alone," Mia defended, "good night."
"See you guys in the morning," I said, making my way towards my room.
"Okay, goodnight," Izzy said. I walked into my room and walked out onto the balcony. The fresh, salt air soothed my warm skin. I did not think I could sleep, but the crashing of the waves was lulling me to sleep. So I went back inside and curled up on my side. I slept soundly for the first time in months.