AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Make some bad ones.”
“Bye, Summer.” I end the phone call and pick up his.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m at the lake.” No happiness or light in his voice.
“Oh. Isn’t it cold there?” There was a slight dusting of snow the day before last and it didn’t last long. However, I have to imagine the wind is icy and unrelenting.
“Can you meet me here?”
I look at my phone. It’s ten-ten. It will be dark and cold, but Jackson is asking me and whenever he asks me to do something, I jump at the chance. Always. No matter how cold I will be.
“Give me twenty minutes. Where are you?”
“Right off of the southwest access.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
After taking my nail polish off (I was doing a terrible job anyway) and dressing in multiple layers, I drive to the southwest access and turn off the engine. I pull out my phone to dial Jackson’s number, but I see a small beacon of light and get out.
I can make out the lake, a strip of dark blue ink against the black sky. The stars are so bright, glimmering like twinkles in a child’s eye. Lights from houses frame the lake, and it’s so peaceful in this spot. It’s cold, but I understand why Jackson is out here.
Shivering, I walk toward the light and see the seated outline of a person. They are hunched over on a blanket, holding a block. The lantern sits next to them, lodged into the sand.
“Jackson?” I ask, my voice small.
“Hi Sunny,” his strong voice says. He pats the blanket next to me, and I sit down, my big jacket touching the material of his sweater.
“Why are you out here?” I ask, my teeth chattering. “It’s so late. And it’s New Year’s Eve.”
“Are you cold? I have an extra blanket.”
“Sure,” I say. He wraps me in one. I wait for him to explain why he’s sitting alone in the dark, with only the wind whipping the lake waters into baby waves on the shore.
After a few minutes, he says, “Today is the anniversary of Amy’s death.”
“Wow,” I say. “Really?”
“Ten years. She’s been gone longer than we were together.”
Darkness covers his face, so I can’t search his features. Am I on the verge of hearing everything? I’m ready and unprepared, all at once.
“She loved this lake. She wanted to see it one last time. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was so stubborn. I put as many layers on her as I could, and we drove out here.”
Jackson wipes his face, his face pointed to the dark ink of the water. “She always loved New Year’s. Said it was your annual chance to start over. She made resolutions every year, and she’s still the only person I’ve ever known who stuck to them. On New Year’s Eve, she would always tell me what hers were, and ask me if I had any. I never did. The night she died, she didn’t tell me any. I know now she was trying make it to one more new year. When the clock struck midnight, I turned to kiss her, and she was gone.”
I wrap my arm around him, pulling him close. He sniffles as our foreheads touch. If there was a way to take his pain, I would.
“How did you meet?” I ask.
“High school.” He laughs from deep within him. “Amy and I were in the same classes growing up, and she was always nice to me, but we didn’t really know each other. She was quiet, kept to herself, didn’t really have friends.
“I was in my junior year, and I had no extracurricular activities for college. So I decided to join band. My friends made fun of me for weeks, but I loved it. I played the snare.”
I point to myself. “Clarinet.”
“No kidding.”
