Ripple Effect

I was laying on my bed at 11:30, trying to go to sleep like any sane person. The problem was, I had forgotten that Alec wasn't sane.

 

My phone started going off at 11:32.

 

I snatched it up before the noise could disturb my parents. "Hello?" I said irritably.

 

"Hello yourself."

 

"Alec." I sighed. I'd almost managed to make myself forget that he was going to call.

 

"Jerry."

 

"What do you want?"

 

Now it was his turn to sigh, "Will you please take a walk with me?"

 

"Alec, it's almost midnight."

 

"Yeah, well back in the day we used to go skinny dipping at 2 am, didn't we?" I groaned at the memory. Micheal was there for that.

 

"No, Alec."

 

"Please, Jerry? I just want to fix our friendship. We didn't used to be this way. I'm sorry for everything Micheal did to you, but I'm not him. Give me a chance, please Jerry." I never could say no to him for very long.

 

"Fine." I sighed my resignation.

 

"Excellent." I swear I could hear the smile in his voice. I couldn't help but smile too. I've really missed Alec. The only reason why I stopped speaking to him was because he was a connection to Micheal. But I never wanted things to turn out this way. "I'm outside your house," he said and hung up.

 

I jumped up and looked out the window. Sure enough there he was, looking up at me. My window was the only one that faced the street and our house was only one floor. He lifted his hand and waved. I pulled the curtains shut.

 

I threw on a hoodie and put jeans on instead of my pajama pants.

I snuck through the house and out the front door.

 

Alec was still standing in the same spot as before. I walked towards him and, like last time, as soon as i was within grabbing distance he proceeded to do so. He hugged me hard to his chest. "I've missed you so much, Jer." I looked up into his dark green eyes illuminated by the streetlight a few feet away. It was then that I realized how much I really did miss him.

 

"I've missed you too," I said tentatively. He hugged me tighter for a second and let me go.

 

I think earlier that day we were both too shocked to really take in the changes in each other. It had only been 3 or 4 months since the last time I had seen him but he had changed so much. His style used to be kind of wangster like gold chains and baggy pants. She used to always tease him about it. But now he looked kind of skater/emo. And it worked for him. He wore black skinny jeans a dark green V-neck with nothing on it and dark blue vans and a green beanie. His hair was over his eyes, but not in that obsessive way that emo guys have it but it was kind of messily put over his eyes. His hair was black but It had always been that way.

 

"You're so skinny." He told me, but of course I already knew that. I was still recovering from bulimia and sometimes I had relapses when I was feeling low. I knew I wasn't fat, but Micheal had conditioned me to believe I was. I looked away from Alec, unable to look him in the eyes.

 

"You look good." I told him trying to change the subject.

 

"Thanks." He smiled at me. His smile used to be like the sun in the middle of a snow storm.

 

"So, what happened to the gold chains and baggy pants?" I teased.

 

He shrugged his shoulders but didn't answer. Instead he took my hand and I stiffened at the contact, but he ignored it and led me away.

 

We walked to this park down the street and sat in the swings. We just sat in silence for a while.

 

"So, what have you been doing since you left Sweet Home?" he asked me.

I didn't want to tell him that I'd spent all my time in therapy, school, and throwing up. So instead all I said was, "Pretty much just going to school and stuff."

 

"Me too" was all he said. We sat in silence for a little while longer. It was kind of awkward. It never used to be awkward with us before. It made me sad that there was such a rift between us.

 

Suddenly, he turned to me and said, "Jer, I know he hurt you, and you'll never know how sorry I am. I'm disgusted that I was ever friends with that miserable excuse for a human. I know nothing could ever make up for everything he did to you but I'll damn well try." He stood up and came to stand in front of my swing. Even though physical contact makes me nervous, I didn't mind when he held my face in his hands.

 

"When I think of all you went through, right in front of my face and I never noticed a thing, I want to kick my own a*s." He lightly brushed his lips over my forehead. "Jerilynn, you've been my best friend for a long time, and I hate that I wasn't there for you when it counted, but now, even though Micheal's not around anymore, I'm gonna be there for you whether you like it or not."

 

"None of it was your fault, Alec." I told him.

 

"I know, but he was my friend and you are my friend, so I'm assuming responsibility. Deal with it."

 

After that he went back to his swing and we sat in silence for a while. Then out of nowhere, he got up and pushed my swing like we were little kids again.

 

"What are you doing?!" I exclaimed in alarm when suddenly the ground was whooshing away from my feet.

 

"Pushing you on the swing, silly." He said like it was the most natural thing in the world.

 

We pushed each other on the swing for a while, then we talked a little more until I was yawning every other word. Then he walked me back to my house.

 

He hugged me again, and I let him and tried my best not to stiffen up and to hug him back.

 

I went inside and dropped into my bed, still fully clothed and went straight to sleep.