In the dark

Brigh bagged my head with the blanket she has in her lap. She shoved me down, into the leather cushions of the couch we {Brigh, Rain, and I} were sitting on. Giggling, she scooted over to the end of the couch. Rain joined in on Brigh’s almost hysterical laughter.

Rob, Brigh’s grandfather, sighed and shut off the rather loud TV. The chair he was sitting on creaked as he stood up. His cowboy boots clicked on the wood floor as he walked away.

I tossed the blanket off of my head as the front door creaked open. Matt, Brigh’s cousin, shuffled in, his head thrown back as a deep laughter boomed from him. I sat up straighter, trying to seem more civilized than I felt inside.

Behind Matt, a familiar face shut the door and followed Matt. He had short and spiked dirty blond hair beneath a black bandana. His bright blue eyes looked at all three of us. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt.

I wondered why he seemed so familiar. But, then, it hit me. That was Jack. We had went to the same middle school, he in 8^th and I in 7^th. That was when we first met. I remembered we were really good friends, until he dropped out of school right before graduation.

They walked through the living room, to the patio doors. The room was quiet after Jack shut the door behind him.

“He likes you,” Brigh told me seriously, with no hint of any joking hiding in her voice.

“How do you know?” Rain chimed in, leaned past me to look at Brigh.

“I heard him talking to Matt a few nights ago while I was drawing outside. He seemed to spill about every secret he had inside him then. I heard him say he liked you.” She twisted and crossed her legs, her big brown eyes staring intently on my face.

“Right, my friend. Like he would just announce he likes someone like that!” I doubted her, even though her face made me really think that she was dead serious.

“If you don’t believe me, then fine.” Brigh shrugged.

“Turn on Shark Week now. There’s a new one on right now,” Rain tossed Brigh the remote and she clicked on the TV.

 

The show ended after a man had caught a prehistoric shark in the Caribbean.

“Let’s go and sit outside. I can hear thunder, it must be rolling in. We should catch the storm,” Brigh suggested.

“Yeah, okay.” Rain and I say at the same time. I snort and get up, throwing off the blanket.

It was a light pink outside as the sun set quickly. I could see rain clouds tumbling in over the East horizon as we walked over to the small round table underneath the tin roof. I slipped down in one of the green chairs, with my back against the patio doors. Rain and Brigh took the chairs on either side of me.

I looked over to my left where a young chicken sat in an oversized cage, pecking at the bars. Over the cage, I see Jack and Matt passing a ball between them. Jack misses it and walks towards the house to get it. My eyes, unwillingly, follow him as he does so.

“You like him!” Rain hisses quietly from my left.

I snapped my head in her direction, glaring at her deeply.

“I do not,” I said with an air of dignity, lifting my chin to show it.

Brigh snorted.

I turned my glare to her.

“Matt! I need your help!” a voice shouts from inside the house.

“Want to come?” Matt asks Jack, who is holding the ball oddly.

“I’ll be in, in a few minutes.” Jack replied, dropping the ball.

Matt nodded and trotted inside.

“Brigh, Rain! Unload the dishwasher for me please!” the same voice shouts.

They both get up, but I stay seated. I’m not help to them, so I decide to stay put.

I get a strange look from both of them as they leave. I bring my legs up and hug them to my chest, watching the clouds roll in and hide the stars.

In the quiet, I hear someone digging through their pockets. I turned slightly and saw Jack with his hand deep down in his pocket as he reached for something. He yanked it out. From where I was, it looked like a pocket watch. In fact, I believe it lit up dimly as well.

He dropped to his knees and pulled something out of the watch.

It began getting darker and the pink was fading from the sky. I silently cursed the darkness for choosing now to come.

Jack lifted his hand to his face and just then, the light over me went out and I couldn’t see.

Sighing, I stood up and walked, quietly, inside.

 

In the morning, I woke up on the couch, still at her grandma’s house. I turn over on my side and see Rain sitting on the leather couch, drawing in her sketchbook.

“Morning,” she cheerily greeted me.

“Morning,” I replied. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes, which most likely only smeared it across my face. “What are you drawing?”

“A lady cooking. I couldn’t think of anything else.” She stopped drawing and held up her picture, a smirk on her face. “How is it?”

“Good. I wish I could draw,” I admitted. I got up walked over to the couch, and plopped down next to her, looking over her shoulder as she continued.

“Yeah, well, I wish I could write like you do.”

I stick my tongue out at her. I didn’t really see what was so fantastic about my writing. Nearly everybody loved it.

“Want to go on a walk?” Rain asked, flipping her sketchbook closed.

“Yeah.” I pulled my red hair back into a bun, with a ponytail that was on my wrist.

During our little walk, I told her that I use to like Jack during middle school and a little way into high school.

“Really?”

“Yeah. We were pretty much dating. I mean, we hung out all the time. It was the kind of dating in early middle school. Where you like someone, they like you, and no one else can like him, or you. But, it wasn’t. Do you see what I mean?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. You should ask him out. He obviously still likes you. If Brigh was right, I mean.”

“No, I don’t think I want to. Or if she was right.”

Our walk was short and sweet. Once we got home, we walked into the second living room, intending to watch some TV.

Eli, Kara, and Jack were all sitting on the green couch watching a show.

“Jack!” Rain exclaims. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

My eyes widened; I knew exactly what she was doing. I quickly spun around and walked back into the other room.

Just to annoy me, I guessed, Rain brought Jack into the same room I was. Smiling, she said, “Kat likes you.”

“Rain!”

She flopped her hand at me and stared at Jack. He was nodding, with his lips pursed. “Cool,” he replied. Then left.

“You don’t tell people that!”

“Oh, well, I did.”

Frustrated, I got up, turned the TV off, and left.

Later that day, I wasn’t sure why, but I walked back down there. I took the long way and walked into their backyard, where Jack was sitting cross-legged in the grass. He had his hand up to his face again.

I walked over to him and before I could say anything he said: “Can you keep a secret?”

Confused, I said, “Why?”

“Can you keep a secret?” he repeated, lowering his hand.

“Yeah,” I mumbled as I sat down in front of him.

He looked at me, his eyes swimming with light guilt. His eyebrows were pulled up in worry. Or sadness.

Jack held out his hand to me.

Snow-like stuff was in his hand.

“Cocaine,” he whispered, pulling his hand back. “Don’t breathe a word.”

Author's Note

Tell me how it is?

Reviews

[Ronn Michael Salinas]

hahaha so that's why he spilled like that hahaha drugs...

[K.M. Lucero]

I love it. I love how you put the twist at the end with the drugs. Interested to read more.