JAY
I watched Ellie sleep as the plane lifted off into the sky. She looked so calm when she slept, like nothing in the world could disturb her in her. If the first time you saw Ellie was seeing sleeping, you would think she had never had a single trouble in her entire life. All the troubles and pain that she went through were hidden by her eyelids. I felt as if I might disturb her if I continued to stare so I looked away and my eyes fell on the two people in the row to my left.
I smirked as I received another glare from Alex since she was made to sit next to Kristen for the entire flight. Ahh well not my problem.
I had never been so calm in my entire life. Everything was falling into place; everything was great for the first time in my life. There were no secrets and no pain. I sunk into my chair and relaxed as I watch Ellie's eye's move rapidly under her eyelids and wondered what she was dreaming about.
ELLIE
At first I was having a soothing nap but soon I drifted off to a deep sleep. The dream I was having was really starting to scare me. I was alone in my old apartment, the one I had before I moved in with Jarrett, and I was staring into this mirror.
I was standing there all alone staring back at my seven year old self with a younger version of my father behind me dressed in his army uniform ready to head into battle. Then he changed and so did I. I was now fourteen and a fourteen year old Marco was standing behind he looked so different, scared and afraid. I seemed different too, like I had gone through hard times, and I had. I blinked and was now sixteen with Sean behind me. He shook his head and walked out of my view, out of my life. One second later I was eighteen and crying with a strung out Craig behind me laughing like my tears were the funniest thing in the world. The mirror showed me again, it was only three months later and Jessie was behind making out with Caitlin Ryan behind my back.
Every time the mirror showed me I was older; it also showed me as though I hadn't slept for weeks. I looked sick and broken.
It changed once more, only this time I was bloody and bruised, and Jarrett's hand was on my shoulder squeezing it, painfully. His ice cold stare sent chills down my spine. I wasn't crying though, my face showed no emotion at all. All the sudden I seemed to awaken and Jay was standing behind Jarrett and me. Tears were pouring down my face and I was visibly shaking with fright. Then they both disappeared and I was alone again.
I was staring at only myself in the mirror, all the sudden I too disappeared. Now I was staring at a sort of TV screen as I watched the events before me play themselves out. There was every guy I had seen in the mirror before along with all my friends and my mother staring down at a gravestone. None of them were crying; in fact they were all smiling. Slowly, one by one, they walked away from the grave until only Jay was left standing right in front of it. Then he to left smirking as he went and I was finally able to see whose name was on the gravestone.
My heart dropped down into my stomach as I saw my own name on medium sized rock. I just continued to stare at it trying to understand how all my friends and even my family could do this to me.
I heard a soft voice calling me as everything slowly vanished and I was in my seat in the plane and Jay was shaking me looking incredible worried.
"Ellie? Ellie are you ok? We landed, it's time to go." He smiled as I opened my eyes. This smile was kind and friendly not like the smirk he had on in my dream.
"I'm up. I'm fine" I said, got up from my seat and yawned. It would probably best not to worry about the dream, nothing like that was ever going to happen anyway.
ALEX
I pulled my old beat up Subaru out of the airport parking lot; I had left it there when I went to Annapolis Royal. Ellie was sitting next to me and Jay and Kristen were sitting in the back, it was his time to suffer. This time she was asking what it was like in Toronto; she had never been off Nova Scotia.
"So what do you do for fun? In Annapolis we could go to the beach, but you can't do that do here can you? I-"Jay cut her off.
"Do you want me to answer the questions or do you just get a thrill off being annoying?" He huffed and glared at her.
"Fine, answer them." She crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look.
"I usually race cars illegally, steal, get high, or hit on girls. Now I don't know if I'll be doing any of that." I swear I saw him wink at Ellie through the mirror; someone stop me from throwing up.
"If you two are going to be all cutesy, I'm ditching you right here." I threatened. Ellie looked at me offended and Jay defended himself with the most thought out comeback ever.
"I don't do cutesySo, how are we planning on approaching Marco and Paige anyway? You didn't leave the queen bee on the best note and Marco hates me. They would only want to see Ellie and there's no room for me if you and motor mouth are going to be there." I noticed that besides Ellie and me, he refrained from calling Marco a nickname as well. He really must care about her if he's not calling her best friend a fag like he always does.
I hadn't thought this far through, but Ellie saved me with a sound plan.
"I'll greet Marco and Paige, distract them with the story of my adventures in Annapolis Royal, explain everything, and since Griffin left after his big job promotion, that leaves two empty rooms at the house. So Jay and I in one, and Alex, you and Kristen will have to deck it out for the other room. The other one can have the couch." We all nodded our heads but Kristen had a few questions.
"Why are you and him sharing a room?" She said as she looked at Jay with disgust. Ellie simply laughed and explained her reasoning.
"Well, I don't feel comfortable with Jay and Alex in the same room seeing as they used to date, not that I don't trust them but my track record with guys can fend for that reason, and I'm sure you would be more comfortable staying by yourself than with either of them." For the last part, I'm sure she meant to say, I don't want Jay or Alex ripping off your head in the middle of the night.
"Oh okay." She seemed quite alright with that reasoning and sat back into her seat.
"Well I guess it's a good thing we got that all squared away, cause we're here." I said and we all stared at the apartment from our seats in the car. No one moved.
"Well? Are we just going to sit here and stare at the building or are we going in?" Kristen asked impatiently.
JAY
We all sat in a row on the couch while Ellie explained everything. Paige occasionally glanced in the room at Alex; no one looked at me or Kristen. I couldn't overhear what they were saying but whenever she got to the gruesome details you could hear them both breathe in with shock.
"So you all should get adjusted for the night." Marco said as he entered the room and the others followed him wordlessly. I had placed my hat over my eyes and had fallen asleep for ten minutes and didn't even now a second had past.
"Hey hun, I love your sweater. Where in the world can I get one of those?" Paige said and addressed this to Kristen. Kristen beamed from the compliment and went into this very long tail about how her mother's brother's friend's aunt got it for her one Christmas or something like that. They babbled all the way up to one of the guest rooms and then they parted. It looked like Alex got the couch. Marco gave her a sympathetic smile and brought out a few extra blankets from a closet and he too went to his room.
Ellie had already reached the top of the stairs and was waiting for me to follow. Once we got into the room we both crashed right into bed. We were both exhausted from the events of the day.
I moved my arm cautiously over her body and placed my hand tensely on her stomach waiting for any sign that she didn't want it there. She casually placed her hand over mine as well and I relaxed.
"I love you." Those three words shocked me almost as much as they did her. Her body tensed up then relaxed.
"I love you too." I smiled and slowly began to drift off to sleep. I know knew this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
ELLIE
I could feel him fall into a rhythmic breathing pattern and I knew he was asleep. Those words had come as a shock. It was the first time they had ever been spoken to me, or at least the first time I knew the person who said it wasn't lying. Sean had said it out of pity, Jesse guilt and my parents just because they had to.
It was also the first time I knew I wasn't lying. I really did love him, and nothing was going to change that.
So after running away, and getting hurt, I finally found what I was looking for. Love.
It turned out that all that I wanted and needed was right back where I started on this unforgettable journey. I guess I just wasn't looking in the right spot.
Nowhere, was anyone happier than me at that very moment.
