Chapter Three
"Elena, this isn't a good idea. I know you're an adult but I just don't agree with you on this one."
I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. My breath passed through my chapped lips and burned just slightly. I snatched my chap stick from the vanity in my room and sighed. "Mom, this is something I want to do and there's no changing my mind." I sounded juvenile. We both knew it but pointing it out would've been a waste of time and energy.
"That boy has gone and filled your head with all these ideas. You've got no business running around, letting him throw money at you like rice at a wedding." She gave me a stern look as I stepped out of my room and shut the door behind me.
Just a week ago she was praising Damon's existence - my how things change. "Mom, please." I walked to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry I can't work the booth today; I know you're angry. Just let me go this once…" I pouted for good measure.
She looked torn. "I love you," she said, placing a kiss on my forehead. "I just don't want you leaving this earth any earlier than need be."
I smiled and smoothed my hair back away from my face. "You make it seem like I'm living life on a schedule. I have no expiration date, remember?" I made my eyebrows rise and fall, an amused look on my features. "I'm gonna ride this train all the way to the station."
"I know, but isn't there something else you two can do? You and him have been nonstop for a week like you've got to fit everything under the sun in. You're going to wear yourself out honey." She was really wound up, judging by the lack of reaction to my use of my dad's favorite saying.
She was right; I did need to slow down. I had let Damon infiltrate my well guarded life, my fortress and he was breaking me down from the inside out. It sounded far worse than it really was. In reality I adored Damon. He made me laugh until I cried and there was never a dull moment. He was the best friend I had and probably the very last best friend I would ever have.
I heard a horn blow out front. I grabbed my jacket and purse before kissing my mother. "This is the last for this week, promise," I called back as I ran through the front door.
Damon grinned at me as I hopped into his car and hit the button for the window. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, adjusting his sunglasses.
"I'm terrified."
"We're out of our minds. You know this right?" He chuckled and maneuvered his car onto the freeway.
I turned in the seat, my mouth gaping. "Damon! You set this up and even you think it's crazy!"
"Hey, sky diving is extreme."
"My mother thinks you're trying to take me out early." I laughed at the ridiculous sounding statement.
Skydiving had never been on my list of things to do but apparently it was on Damon's. He invited me along, claiming that it would be exhilarating. I was scared and my stomach was in my throat but I couldn't help but feel that twinge of excitement as we pulled up to the hanger where our instructor was waiting. Damon and I had known each other for one week and I was about to jump out of a plane with him.
"Do you really think we should be doing this? I mean…I lied on the application. I said I have no health problems. What if something happens to me?"
Damon chuckled but kept on walking. "You can't back out now, Elena. You only live once. We're doing this."
A groan escaped before I could stop it but it only amused Damon further. He wasn't going to let me back out. We were quickly trained, suited up and before I knew it I was strapped to an instructor from LA Skydiving. Damon sat across from me, smiling. My throat felt dry but I smiled through my terror. There was a layer of sweat forming along my back where I was buckled to the man I would jump with.
"I think I might pass out," I called to him over the buzz of the engines.
He reached across the aisle and squeezed my knee lightly. "I promise that this is the most extreme thing we'll do. If we can do this than we can do anything."
The confident smile settled my nerves slightly. I tried to calm my heart rate by breathing deeply and evenly. "I trust you."
We reached our altitude quickly. My reality moved in extreme slow motion as I watched Damon wink at me and then free fall into nothingness. My partner and I jumped directly after but the details were lost as the wind hit my face and I looked down below me for the first time. My body felt weightless and I wondered if dying was anything like jumping from a plane. All the correct emotions were there; uncertainty, fear and then the feeling of total freedom. At least, that's how I imagined death.
I met Damon on the ground where we tackled one another with hugs and laughter. Exhilaration was such a new feeling to me and I couldn't thank him enough for helping me experience that for the first time.
"I'm only suggesting that your ideas are safe. That's all." Damon raised his hands in defeat as I walked past him into the restaurant.
"Oh please. People have died from eating bad sushi. You can get worms. I'm risking my life here." I followed the hostess to our table.
He shook his head and pulled my chair out for me. "Okay, so you wanted to eat sushi for the first time and this is the best place in Los Angeles."
I looked around, admiring the fancy surroundings. The silverware probably cost more than everything I owned. I picked up the menu and looked over the selections. Damon and I hadn't crossed anything off my mental list since the sky diving. I had to admit, the skydiving changed something inside of me and I wasn't sure if it was good or bad. The dimpled guy sitting across from me had managed to become such a priority in my life without me even realizing. The scary part was we barely knew one another. The more time went on, the more I wanted to know everything about him. I focused less on the time I had left and more on what I did while I was able.
"Let's go to the beach tonight," I said, still looking over the menu.
He looked at me curiously. "Whatever you want."
"Can you order for me?"
"Are you sure about that? You might not like what I like."
"Damon, it's raw fish. I'm not sure I'll like anything on this menu. I don't think it matters who orders it."
"You get points for trying."
I looked at him curiously. "And what exactly do the points buy me? Do I get a catalog to order from?"
"The points are only for show but I'll buy you a soft pretzel from that place you like."
I shook my head and pulled a pen from my purse so I could doodle on the napkin as he ordered our food. I drew little hearts and a very detailed stick person. I was halfway through a skyscraper when Damon spoke up again.
"Can I ask you something, Elena?"
I stopped in the middle of drawing a window and set the pen down on the table. "Absolutely."
He circled the straw around his glass once before taking a drink and a breath. "You would tell me if I crossed any lines, right? I mean I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way."
"Crossed any lines? I'm not sure I understand."
"Well…I feel like I forced you into this friendship and the more time we spend together the more I notice that I've sort of caused a rift between you and your mother."
It seemed odd that he would think he had caused bad blood between my mother and me. She and I got along just the same. She wasn't too happy about all the time I missed at the stand after being there every day for over a year. Still, there was no rift.
"You're being silly. My mother and I are just fine." I scoffed just to confirm for him how ridiculous I thought his statement was.
The server came with our sushi as he was about to respond but the look on my face distracted him. "You were the one who wanted to try sushi."
My nose scrunched up and I felt like vomiting all over the table so I could only imagine how that translated to my facial expression. He was right; it was something I'd wanted to try for so long. Nodding, so he knew I wasn't ignoring him I lifted my chop sticks from the table and broke them apart. Slowly I placed the smallest piece of tuna roll onto my tongue and chewed. It was moderately unpleasant.
"This is shit," I whispered, trying to drink enough soda to wipe the taste from my mouth.
Damon laughed just as he drank his own drink, spitting lemonade all over the table. We sat silently for a moment before erupting into laughter once again.
"Soft pretzels," We said simultaneously.
The night was falling quickly all around us as Damon drove toward Venice. He parked his car at my house and we walked together to the boardwalk. I was starving by the time we got in line for pretzels so he ordered me two. When I had a pretzel in each hand we walked toward the beach and down to the ocean, just like we had the night I'd told him I was sick. We hadn't really had a serious conversation since that night but it seemed that the beach just drew it out of us. Of course it could have been the protection of the darkness that enveloped you once the lights from the boardwalk faded behind the palm trees or the rushing of the waves that seemed to almost drown out the tone of anyone's voice who didn't halfway yell.
"Thank you for the pretzel," I offered, "and the sushi that you'll be eating for days."
"You're welcome." He crinkled the paper to his own pretzel and shoved it in his pocket.
"The moon is bright." I was doing my best to keep the conversation from going uncomfortable.
Damon plucked a broken shell from the sand and tossed it toward the waves. "Elena, are you scared?"
It didn't matter how strong or optimistic I was - talking about the end of my life would never get any easier. "I was terrified at first but it's like I went through stages. Denial was the worst of them if you ask me."
"And now?" The concern in his voice was endearing, especially for someone who barely knew me.
"Now…I'm not so scared anymore." I smiled at him despite the lack of lighting. "I feel fine. I feel normal."
"I think you have a good heart and I appreciate that about you."
His admission was so honest, so absolutely heartfelt I almost burst into tears. For a moment I didn't know what to say to him in return. My vocal chords had gone numb with shock and probably a piece of pretzel I didn't chew well enough.
"I don't know what to say other than thank you. I can't imagine being on the other side of things and watching someone slowly fade away."
His hand made contact with my cheek and it startled me because I couldn't see it coming. He moved my long hair away from my face and back over my shoulder. "The world will be such a dull place without you."
I laughed because I believed him to be joking. "You barely know me, Damon, and I barely know you."
He pulled my head down to rest on his shoulder. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how amazing you are."
My neck began to ache so I laid back in the sand to stare off into the night sky. He joined me. "This is odd, the friendship we have."
"It is but why question it?" He turned his head toward me and smiled. "Can I ask about your tattoo?"
I giggled. "But you said it was mine."
"I know…I'm more curious about you today than I was last week."
"It's a poppy. It stands for-"
"Eternal life and love," Damon finished my thought for me.
"That's right. It also happens to be my mother's nickname, Poppy. I figured it was fitting since she's going to outlive my father and me." The sad tone I despised crept into my voice, causing it to waver a bit. I wiped the stray tears that had managed to sneak up on me away.
"I won't always know what to say or do." He admitted.
"Damon, I won't always know what to say or do." I sniffed and sat up, curling my arms around my knees. "That's the beauty of the unknown; surprises around every corner."
"Kind of like skydiving…"
"And the tuna roll."
We laughed easily, breaking from the somber moment quickly. Neither one of us knew what to do or say but that seemed to be the general issue with our friendship. I had dealt with my fate as a singular being but I hadn't thought about how things would go if someone else were added to the mix. In a way, Damon was the proverbial guinea pig and no matter the events that unfolded between us, I would be gone in the end.
This was a short one...but still just as good in my opinion. I'm so touched by the response to this story and I'm awful at answering reviews but I read every one. Thank you!