Moving BackwardsA Story by Tiffani Bryant A young girl riddled with problems and insecurities is healed by a boy she never expected to find. “I’m not here to fight”, she whispered into the dark. She was silently praying for some kind of truce, a ceasefire to this war they’d been waging for what felt like forever. He blew out the breath he’d been holding and looked at the woman he’d planned on sharing the rest of his life with. With tears in his eyes, all he could do was walk away. “I’m not here to fight”, she whispered into the dark. She
was silently praying for some kind of truce, a ceasefire to this war they’d
been waging for what felt like forever. He blew out the breath he’d been
holding and looked at the girl he’d planned on sharing the rest of his life
with. With tears in his eyes, all he could do was walk away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All her
life, Emily had been the good girl.
Straight As, never drank a drop or smoked a joint. Never crossed that line
with a boy. She had plans. She was going to graduate high school, go to the
school of her dreams and get an English degree, go to law school and become a
kick-a*s prosecutor. That was the plan and there could be no interferences. She
couldn’t afford a slip up, because a slip up could cost her everything. But
like all dreams, obstacles occur. People come into your life and change you so
quick it will make your head spin. Things happen that shatter your world to
pieces so small you’ll be pulling slivers out of your hands until you’re Throughout
her life, people have failed Emily time and again. Emily had a cold exterior to
protect a heart aching for love. She found solace not in people, but in love
stories; books, movies, plays, anything where a happy ending was found for the
young girl in love with a Marine, for the widow who’s tired of being alone, for
the high school sweethearts. Emily
filled her head with these fairy tales and romances fashioned out of thin air
and wrapped them around her like a coat. They were her shelter, her stronghold,
her strength. On her eighth birthday, Emily’s
father promised he’d get her the Easy Bake oven her mother said she couldn’t
have. On Emily’s eighth birthday her father was shot and killed by a teenager
with a gun who was too eager to pull the trigger. In six seconds, Emily’s world
came crashing down around her. She no longer had the man who would drop all his
weekend plans and take her to the beach. She lost the man who taught her how to
tie her shoes with rabbit ears and the man who taught her to choke up on the
bat when she’s about to swing. All she had left was the mother too wrapped up
in a socialite world to even see her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AUGUST “Emily!...EMILY!” Emily
unwillingly opened her eyes before her mother resorted to barging in and
snatching the covers off her to wake her. She rolled over to look at the clock;
it said 6:12. Emily groaned and hid under the covers because today was the ten
year anniversary of her father’s death and all she wanted to do was hide in her
room and cry. Another five minutes passed and a bang on the door rang in Emily’s
ears; it was time to wake up. Emily rose out of bed and looked at herself in
the mirror: she wasn’t your average beautiful, but she was still a sight to
see. She had olive skin with thick black hair that shone like the stars when it
caught the light just right, and eyes as green as ivy. Emily knew today was
going to be rough so she got dressed in her dad’s old flannel shirt and a pair
of worn out jeans. She combed her hair and brushed her teeth, and went
downstairs to face the monster that was her mother. “Emily, dear, you really should put
on some blush and eyeliner. It’ll bring your eyes out and make you beautiful!” There she goes again, Emily thought to
herself, always with the self-help tips
on how to improve herself. Emily really could care less about how she
looked because there was a not a boy in her school who Emily wanted to look
twice at. She suffered through her scone and coffee before heading off to
school in her father’s 1967 black Chevy Impala. She slung her backpack in the
trunk and drove off to her own personal hell. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Emily’s lived in Lenox,
Massachusetts her entire life. She took her first steps at Kennedy Park. Lenox
Memorial had been her school for forever, and she was happy as hell to finally
be starting her senior year. Walking in through the doors, she was enveloped in
a smokescreen of Chanel No. 5. Fighting her way through the crowd of
adolescents, she made her way to the locker that had been her home for the past
three years. She dropped her bag on the floor and began to open the combination
lock, when she was overcome with the strong stench of something she couldn’t
quite put her finger on. Out of nowhere, a huge bang erupted a centimeter away
from her. Some freshman had gotten shoved into a locker. She rolled her eyes
and continued with what she was doing when she heard a thud, coming from some
boy’s fist colliding with the freshman’s face. When the boy kneeled to the
floor and started crying, she was filled with such an intense anger that she
hadn’t felt since she was a little girl; she whirled around and gave the bully a
good smack across the face. “You ever touch him again and I’ll be sure to make
you regret it.” That being said, Emily picked up her bag, pulled the boy off the
ground and slammed her locker. Giving the teen bully as awful a look as she
could muster, she stormed off with the freshman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sitting in the courtyard outside,
Emily asked, “What’s your name?” “Gage…thanks for saving me back
there, I guess.” “You guess? I prevented you from
getting your a*s kicked into next week. I deserve a free pedicure.” Gage turned
a deep shade of red and looked into his lap. Emily felt guilty for making the
kid feel worse than he already did. “Well I’m Emily and I won’t be
forcing you into paying for my pedicure. Where you from?” “Buffalo.” “As in Buffalo, New York?” “One and the same.” Emily wistfully looked up at the
sky and wondered what New York was like. She’d seen pictures on blogs, but
she’s always wanted to see the real thing. To taste the city air and ride the
subway. Lenox was too clean for her. She looked Gage up and down, and figured
she’d take the kid under her wing. It was already tough enough being a freshman,
let alone changing to an entirely new state. “Well, Gage, lucky for you I’ve
lived here my whole life. I know a couple of freshman who you’ll fit right in
with. Follow me and I’ll introduce you.” “Um..thanks.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Emily and Gage walked back into the
school and headed to the library. She led him into one of the study rooms, a
room with glass windows and a table with chairs where two guys were sitting
listening to music. “Charlie, Nate. How goes it?” “Em, what’s up! Haven’t seen you in
a minute.” Charlie, Nate, and Emily all exchanged hugs. Emily sat down with
them and gestured to Gage to take a seat. “So…what’s the latest?” “Em, you’re gonna love it. Beastie
Boys original vinyl, accompanied with a signed sleeve by none other than your
beloved Ad-Rock.” “I knew I always liked you, Nate.
I’ll get your money and pay you tomorrow.” Emily slipped the record into her
bag. “Now, onto business. I’d like to introduce you two to my new friend Gage.” Charlie and Nate looked Gage up and
down. Emily could tell they were wondering about the purple bruise beginning to
form on Gage’s temple. Emily began to explain, “So I was
at my locker when all of a sudden I see this kid get sucker punched by some
overzealous idiot. Can you believe it? So ready to get out of here.” Emily
rolled her eyes. “Man, the dudes here are brutal.
Your best bet is to hang with us because we lay low and give the people what
they want.” Nate explained. “And what exactly is that?” Emily
could tell Gage thought they meant drugs or something crazy like that. Laughing, Emily began to straighten
him out “Nothing like what you’re thinking; the people here have a more…refined
taste of music…which is only available on vinyl. Charlie and Nate provide the
vinyl so people leave them alone. Stick with them and you’re golden.” Gage looked relieved and then broke
out into a grin. “Sounds good, man. Hey, do you have any Elvis? My mom loves
him.” Emily, Charlie, and Nate exchanged
looks before submitting to their laughter. Nate told Gage he’d work on it. “Well guys, I’ll leave you to get
to know each other because I have class. I bid you adieu.” “Later,
Em!” said Charlie and Nate. “Thanks,
Emily.” Gage shyly said. “What
are friends for?” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Emily strolled into her second period class and took a seat in the back. She had Foster this period and he was her favorite teacher. She waited for class to begin when the jerk who shoved Gage walked in and sat in front of her. There was that smell again. He turned around, looked her up and down, and said “Aren’t you the girl who slapped me?” Emily was speechless. She’d never seen him at school before today. She was glad she was sitting because she was sure she would have gone weak in the knees if she had talked to him while standing. Regaining her composure, she rolled her eyes and looked to the front of the class. Catching her gaze again, he said “Allow me to properly introduce myself. Name’s Brayton.” She swallowed her breath and forced herself to look at him. He had blue eyes like oceans and hair the color of the leaves in the fall. His smile was crooked, but in a cute way. “I’m Emily.” She
spent the whole period drawing his name in her notebook. Doodling hearts and
stick people holding hands, she wondered what was happening to her. I don’t like this feeling…butterflies? Who
is this person with feelings and a heart? I need to get myself in check. The
bell rang and pulled Emily from her thoughts. Brayton turned around and Emily
slammed her notebook shut before he could see what she’d done. Giving her a
strange look, he said “See you later, Emmy.” Right then and there Emily knew
her life would no longer be the picnic she was used to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Driving
home, Emily was lost in her thoughts. Where
does this guy get off, calling me Emmy like we’re best friends? Brayton was
unlike anyone Emily had ever met. He didn’t dress like a typical Lenox guy: he
wore band t-shirts with Slayer on them instead of the Ralph Lauren polos. He
had jeans that had holes in the knees, and not the kind of holes that come out
of a factory. Then there was that smell; what was it? Emily shook herself from
her thoughts as the light turned green when she saw Gage walking on the
sidewalk. She pulled up to the curb and figured she’d offer him a ride. “Gage!
Need a ride?” “What
the " oh hey, Emily! Yeah, sure. That’d be awesome.” Gage climbed into her car and gave her directions to his
house. “This
is a sweet ride.” Gage was awestruck by the Impala. Emily
smiled and said “Thanks, it was my dad’s. His prized possession.” Pulling
into Gage’s driveway, Emily was shocked at the house before her. It was a ranch
style house with land that went on for miles. It had a wraparound porch with
gorgeous apples trees lining the driveway. Emily gave Gage a look of sheer
shock. He laughed. “Thanks
for the lift, Emily. I’d offer you in but my mom doesn’t like unannounced guests.
See you tomorrow?” “No
worries. Bye, Gage.” Emily
pulled out of the drive and laughed; her mom would freak out when she told her
about Gage’s house. Emily was willing to place a bet on the likelihood that her
and Gage’s moms would be best friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pulling
into her driveway, Emily saw her mom’s Mercedes which was weird because her mom
was never home before eight o’clock. Walking into the house, she heard sobbing.
Ah, that explains it. As hard as her
mom tries to make everyone think she’s okay, she isn’t. She’s pushing the edge
of grief related insanity. Emily went upstairs and gave her mom a good long
hug. As much as her mother drives her crazy, she only wants the best for her.
Emily got a Valium out of her mom’s prescription bottle and gave it to her with
a cup of water. She tucked her mom into bed and went into her own room. Emily
sprawled out on her bed and let today sink into her head. Ten years, she thought to herself. Ten years, and I’m still here. I hope you’re proud of me, Daddy. © 2013 Tiffani BryantAuthor's Note
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