Earth's poetry flowed across the paper of the sky in the form of sunsets. Hues from flame to heather rolled across the skyscape in rolling verses.
Flourishes of romantic red, fiery orange, blazing gold, broken blur, curious green, playful pink, and purple, purple was a color of few words, but had a lasting impact. The colors stretched their glow on the rain-kissed, obsidian streets. Clouds, those tender white blushes — those turning pages that promised the sun hinted their edges into the canvas of colors.
Garfield adjusts Rachel's helmet on her head.
He asks, "Does the helmet fit okay?"
"It's a little tight." Rachel says.
"Here, let me fix it," He takes off the helmet and adjusts.
"Promise me you'll give me a glance of your pretty face in the rear view mirror," Garfield's smile had a slight tease, as he put the helmet on her head.
She pokes fun at him. "Anything for you."
"All good now?"
"Yes. Thank you, Gar."
"My pleasure," Garfield puts on his helmet and motorcycle gloves.
He helps Rachel on, then sits in front of her. Garfield got Rachel a pair of dark purple motorcycle gloves, and a leather jacket her size, just as Garfield had his own jacket and gloves.
Rachel wore dark jeans, combat boots, and a dark tank top with Apple Bottoms affixed on the chest area, in glitter lettering. Garfield was wearing a black graphic tee with Ice Cube on the front. Attached to his black jeans were layered keychains, and his feet sported black platform boots of his own.
Garfield questions, "Are you ready, Rae?"
"Yeahhh… I'm ready."
"Doesn't sound like it. Are you nervous?"
Rachel pauses, then replies. "A little bit."
"Don't be nervous. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I stand on that."
"I trust you." Rachel gently wraps her arms around Garfield's waist, and draws her body closer to his.
"That's my girl. Hold on tight."
The engine revs, and the motorcycle, a black Harley-Davidson, begins its course through the city. The local area became hazes of buildings with pops of color. The trees stood as smeared grass stains throughout the landscape. Though, it was still clear that buildings were buildings, trees were trees.
Garfield stopped a red light, talking to his neighbor. A car next to them was blasting music, so they had to project their voices. The motorcycle hums patiently as it waits for the light.
"Usually I drive like the devil when I'm by myself, but now I have someone to protect,"
Rachel smiled softly under her helmet, hugging Garfield a little tighter.
He questions, "How are you holding up?"
Rachel pronounces, "I'm with you, so I'm feeling better than ever. This is something to get used to, but I think I'm finding a liking to it."
The light switches green. Rachel can tell his teeth are spread ear to ear under the helmet.
He says before the engine is roaring again. "You're precious,"
After several minutes Garfield zips through an intersection. He merges left onto a highway, and everything that was already fast, became faster. The hazes and smears were now blurs and smudges.
Garfield managed the acceleration, traction, and angle lean perfectly. He was a natural. Large volumes of air were rushing by, and the couple was smelling everything. Grass, trees, exhaust, any nearby body of water. Their senses were heightened. The microclimate and nuances of the weather were felt in intricate intensity. Their ears absorbed frequencies of buzzes, rumbles, drones, zips, and whizzes.
Rachel's fear climaxed into exhilaration. She laughed, enjoying the thrill of adrenaline dashing through her body. She felt liberated and empowered. Garfield makes a swift lane change, and Rachel reaches her hands towards the sky. The only person she trusted on the road was Garfield, and it was a comforting place to be, despite the amount of reassurance it took her to get there. The sunset melted in their souls, leaving a love that only today would bring; and a warm, full promise for tomorrow.
The ride on the highway was about twenty minutes. Garfield pulled into a gas station not too far off the exit. He pulls into the station that is closest to the entrance of a 7-Eleven.
"So," He takes off his helmet, and has on his radiant smile. "How'd you like the ride?"
Rachel takes off her helmet. "It was intimidating, but," She smiles. "I remembered that I'm not alone. I'd love to do it with you again."
"I'm glad to hear it, Rae," Garfield makes a transaction for 92 gas for his vehicle. He then rolls it to a curb, right off the corner of the store. "Let's get something to munch on."
Garfield opens the door to 7-Eleven, allowing Rachel to walk in front of him. Garfield gets two bags of Skinny Pop and Pink Lemonade, and Rachel gets a 7-Select Cookie Dough Pint. The pair take a string of selfies in a visual metallizer, then leave the store. They sit right on the curb, next to Garfield's motorcycle. Scatters of people pulled into the station to get gas and go to the mart, but the couple remained in their own world, off to the side of the attraction. The polychromatic sunset was dissolving into deeper blankets of darkness.
A few minutes into meaningful chews, Rachel speaks.
"Gar…"
Garfield drops a bit of popcorn on the floor and swears adorably.
"What's up, Rae?"
Rachel's eyes gain emotion. That's when he knew it was serious. She had it all in her eyes.
"I have some things to tell you, and I think it's only fair that you know."
His attention is undivided. "Talk to me."
"Well," Rachel takes a deep breath before beginning. "It's about Ace."
"Your boyfriend."
"We'll just leave it at "Ace" for now, but yes, him. We have some history, it's a lot to unpack. We started dating in high school, which is a while out from now. All was well and sweet, your typical high school love story. Ace and I always walked to school together in the mornings, and hung out after the day was done," She pauses to take a spoonful of ice cream. "He proposed to me for prom, he told all his boys about me. He came over to my house for dinner and family gatherings, and vice versa. We were tight. I loved him. He loved me. Then we broke up for several months, got back together. But it wasn't the same after that rift. Ace changed," Rachel paused.
Garfield soothingly massaged her back.
"He changed, it was like… Someone took that sweet, loving man I knew and replaced him with the complete opposite. Ace was cold and distant when we got back together about two years ago. I didn't think much of it, because people change, you know? Life happens."
Garfield agreed, sipping his drink. "Right, right."
"So, I didn't pay much mind to it. Ace and I still went out, we talked and reminisced, we made memories. Then, it started getting worse. He started saying he wasn't available to go out with me, but when he wanted to have my company, I'd have to be available. He wasn't where he said he was. He started lying to me, using me, talking to me in any kind of way, and then he'd buy his way out or promise not to treat me like that again."
"Oh, my God."
"Yup, and then it got even worse. Ace was either angry or drunk anytime we interacted. He started keeping tabs on me, keeping track of my every location. It was when I moved to Jump City, I've been dealing with the ninth circle of his hell. He started checking my phone, taking my money, calling me names, always screaming at me, slamming things. He'd buy, say he's sorry, says he loves me with his whole heart. We'd break up and make up. Well, at least I try to break up with him. I keep going back, no matter how horribly Ace treats me."
Garfield reasons. "It's because deep down, you and Ace had a life together. High school is an important core for some people, and it can be hard to let go of a connection that is meaningful to you."
"Exactly. Something in me believes that this is all a bad dream that I'll wake up from, and that one day, Ace will go back to how he used to be. Kind. Caring. Gentle. I wonder if he treated me nicely just to get to treat me badly… I don't know."
"It must be extremely difficult to go through all you have, Rae. Ace, and I don't want to project any bias or anything here, but," Garfield shakes his head, taking off his gloves. "Ace is deceptive, self-centered, and emotionally abusive. He isn't healthy for you. I know you care for him, but it seems to me that he doesn't care for you at all. For someone to sit there and tell you that they love you, and to make apologies without change, is straight manipulation. No one treats someone they truly cherish like that. History means nothing if now isn't better. You have to release what isn't meant for you, so you can accept what is." Garfield smoothed his hand through Rachel's scarlet hair, and down her back again. He could feel the tension in her body, but he realized she was eased in his touch.
"I got so accustomed to the toxicity. I downplayed my experience because there wasn't any physical violence involved. I've felt like there was no need to start fresh. Especially because Ace was my first boyfriend. I don't open myself up to people often, and at the time, Ace was the person I was able to do that with. He earned my selectivity. Now, to see that my trust has been used to his advantage it's…"
"Hard to trust again. I know. You don't want history to repeat itself. You think you don't deserve good things, and when they come, you question their authenticity. I also think you've been feeling pressure to never give up on Ace, because society glamorizes the "sticking to the end" mindset. This isn't just a rough patch, Rae. Ace is hurting you, and a good partner would never do that,"
Rachel slips her arm in Garfield's, and one of her tears wet his jacket.
"You're not a bad person for leaving him. What you've been through and how Ace has treated you does not define your worth or capacity to need and deserve proper love and care," A tear glided down his cheek. "I wish I could erase all of this for you, but I can't. I hate seeing you like this, I really do."
Rachel speaks in a fragile monotone."You being here for me is more than enough. Thank you for always caring for me, since the moment I first moved here."
"That's what I'm here for. I'm proud of you for telling me all of this, I know it is by no means easy. I'm also super proud of you for holding on to your softness, and not allowing your experience to close off the human parts of you,"
Garfield pecks a tender kiss on her forehead, then lifts her face to his.
The path her tears created on her face were clear amongst the film of pink in her cheeks.
"I…" Rachel looks Garfield in the eyes, then he smiles gently. Her stomach crinkled, and she was flustered.
"I think I'm ready to kiss you again."
"Are you sure? I can wait. Kinda." He smirks with a playful wink.
Rachel laughs. "Of course I'm sure," She situates her hand on the side of Garfield's cheek, and connects their lips. A million thoughts of tender, loving, care were condensed into their moment. Garfield held Rachel delicately as he deepened the kiss. He tracks his touch from her cheek, down to her waist. Their emotions had great volume, allowing Garfield and Rachel to fuse with their pure and vulnerable selves, and to transcend the darkness pulling at them inside. The way he kissed her wasn't like in the movies. He was awake, connected, and original. Careful. Intricate. Protective.
The way he kissed her, told her he wanted more of her.