The Space Between Us(3)

"Ok, maybe I'll see you in the morning."

"Ok, see ya later." He turned and walked down the porch and I closed the door.



The next morning I waited in the front family room, peeking out of the  window, until I saw Asher pass my house. As he walked by, I saw him look  over towards my door. I could tell he was contemplating waiting for me  or just continuing on his way. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw  him continue walking. After the way he saved me yesterday, the cookies,  and the way he seemed to be too nice, I just couldn't bring myself to  walk to school with him. I didn't want him feeling like he was obligated  to be nice to me. I didn't want anyone feeling like they were obligated  to me in any way. At that moment, I mostly just wanted to blend into  the background and forget everything that had happened to me.

I kept my head down at school, sat with my drawing pad during lunch and  recess, trying to let my pencil occupy my thoughts instead of the fact  that even though I was lonely, I didn't want to befriend anyone. I  walked across the field on my way home when Reeve came running up behind  me.

"Charlie!" I turned to see her and she had a big smile on her face. "Hey, do you want to go to The Range with me today?"

"Uh," I hesitated. "I didn't get a chance to ask my dad yesterday. He's  expecting me home." I said as I gestured towards the alley.

"Ok, well, let's walk to your house and ask your dad then." She started  walking with a determined gait. We walked to my house together and there  was not even one moment for me to get a word in. She talked the entire  time, filling me in on all the kids in our class, what had happened on  the latest episode of the television show she was watching, and how she  had gotten a great deal on a new pair of jeans at a trendy store in the  next town over. Her rate of speech was baffling and also comforting  because I didn't have to say anything.                       
       
           



       

We went into my house and I called my dad, who agreed I could go with  Reeve as long as I was home for dinner. He sounded excited and relieved  that I had made a friend, and he probably would have let me leave the  country with her if he thought it would have made me happy. I put my  book bag on the counter and we left, walking back the way we had came.  Halfway across the field Reeve caught me off guard by asking me a  question.

"So, what does your dad do?" The silence that came when she paused for  my answer was strange. I appreciated her incessant talking.

"He works in construction."

"Like, building houses and stuff?"

"Yeah, mostly. Offices. Anything really."

"That's cool. What does your mom do?"

And there it was. The moment I dreaded with every person I encountered - having to talk about my mom.

"Nothing. She died." Reeve stopped walking and her mouth gaped open. I  couldn't look her in the eye, so I stared at the ground, hoping she'd  recover quickly and continue talking about unimportant, distracting  things like she had the entire way up until now.

"She died?" I nodded my head, not saying a word. "How?"

"Cancer."

"I can't imagine not having a mom," Reeve said quietly as she started walking slowly.

"Me either."



The Range was actually a pretty cool place; there was nothing like it  back home that I had ever seen. It was part coffee shop and cafe, part  arcade, part pseudo-library where the no talking rules were lifted.  There were board games, video games, books, a few computers to use the  internet, couches, bean bag chairs, there was even a hammock in the  corner of the reading area. There were mostly younger kids there,  sixteen and under, it looked like. Obviously, once kids got their  driver's license they found cooler places to hang out.

Reeve led me to where the counter was and we both ordered a soda. Reeve  then headed towards a table where a few girls sat. I hesitated, nervous  about sitting with a bunch of girls I didn't know. I missed Lucy  immediately. Reeve sat down and motioned to the chair next to her. I sat  down and tried to smile without looking like I was in pain.

"Guys, this is Charlie. She just moved here," Reeve said excitedly. I gave a small wave to match my small smile.

"Hey, Charlie. Where'd you move from?" A blonde girl across the table asked.

"A town about five hours from here. Bridgeport."

"Never heard of it. I'm Celia, by the way," the blonde girl responded.

"It's a small town," I said quietly. The girls continued to talk amongst  themselves, and every once in a while Reeve would try to involve me in  the conversation. I appreciated her attempt at making me feel  comfortable, but I was still the new kid and it had always been hard for  me to open up to new people. Especially now. The more I talked with  these girls, the more they would want to know about me, and the more I  would have to tell them. No thanks. I'd rather keep it all inside if I  could.

"How long have you been growing your hair out?" Celia asked at one  point. I absentmindedly reached for my hair which, if left down, hung  well past my hips. It was thick, long, black, and very straight.

"Besides small trims, I've never cut it. My mom would never let me." I  felt my own heart speed up at the mention of my mom, hoping the girls  wouldn't ask me anything else that would make me talk about her any  more. Reeve caught my eye and must have noticed my unease.

"Isn't it pretty? Rachel, weren't you going to ask your mom if you could  dye yours blonde? Summer's coming and blonde would be a really good  color on you. Is anyone doing anything fun for summer vacation?" And  just like that, with words spilling out of her mouth, words meant to  save me a little bit of discomfort, I thought maybe I had made a true  friend. All the girls took turns talking about their plans for summer  and I, for the first time in weeks, had a genuine smile on my face.

After we were there for a little over an hour I noticed a few boys walk  in, Asher being one of them. Reeve immediately looked over to the group  of four boys and turned to whisper to the girls at the table.

"Asher saved Charlie from Ryan yesterday at recess. He was bullying her and Asher made him stop."

"Shut. Up." Celia looked at me with interest. I shrugged.

"He didn't save me. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"She keeps saying that," Reeve said with a confused look on her face.  "Charlie, if Asher made Ryan leave you alone, it's a big deal. He's so  cute."

I laughed - a true laugh.

"And you keep saying that. What does that mean anyway? How is he cute?" I looked over at him and he looked like any other boy.                       
       
           



       

"I don't know. It's his eyes I think. And those cute dark freckles he has. Who has freckles like that? No one."

I took a closer look at him. Ok, Reeve was right about the freckles.  They were unique anyway. Not the usual light brown color of freckles,  but a dark brown. And they looked bigger than normal freckles, too.  Instead of a lot of small ones, he had fewer larger ones. It was  distinctive.

"Reeve, you're boy crazy," Celia said. Reeve just smiled. Asher walked  past us and nodded at the girls at the table. Then his eyes turned to  me.

"Hey Charlie."

"Hey Asher," I responded, desperately wanting him to walk away.

"I didn't see you on the way to school today. Should I wait for you tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Reeve practically shouted. Asher looked at her briefly, then back to me.

"Should I wait?" My earlier appreciation for Reeve having saved me from  talking about my mom quickly dissolved and was replaced with irritation  for putting me in this, almost worse, situation. How could I say no now?

"Uh, yeah, sorry about this morning. I was running late." He smiled widely, a dimple appearing on his left cheek.

"No problem. I'll see you in the morning." He walked back to where his friends waited.

"He wants to walk to school with you?" Reeve asked, eyes almost bugging out of her head.

"I'm sure his mom is making him; she made him bring over cookies yesterday afternoon."

"Oh my gosh. He's so cute," Reeve repeated. Luckily the conversation moved on to something else.



The next morning, like I knew he would, Asher waited for me at the bottom of my driveway.

"Hey Charlie," he said with a smile as I approached.

"Hey," I said, looking at the ground for a moment to gain some courage.  "Listen, you don't have to walk to school with me. I know your mom is  probably making you walk with me. It's fine." I paused, waiting for him  to respond. The seconds it took for him to speak were very heavy and  filled with my rapid heartbeat.