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He walks over to the ice cream stand and I quickly catch up to him. He’s telling the guy what flavors we’d like.
“What is it?” I ask him.
“It’s called Crazy Banana.” He lists all the different ingredients included in this ice cream flavor. “I think you’re going to love it.”
“Sounds cool. Is it your favorite?”
“One of my favorites. Bri loved it.” He thanks the guy as he accepts the ice creams and pays for them. After handing one to me, he says, “When we were little, she took me to an ice cream shop and we’d have a game where we’d try different flavors. My parents and I moved here two years ago and when Bri came to visit, we went to this park. She remembered our game and told me to close my eyes. She ordered Crazy Banana and we both fell in love with it.”
I glance down at the yellowish-colored ice cream. “Well, let’s see how amazing this Crazy Banana is.” I take a lick and my eyes grow wide. “This is delicious! Your sister had good taste.”
He smiles. “She did.”
We sit on a nearby bench as we devour our ice creams. I’m in such a peaceful place right now mentally that I don’t let whatever happened at school get to me. I know it’ll all come crashing down on me soon, but right now, I just want to enjoy my ice cream and the guy sitting next to me.
We chat about neutral things, like memories of the park, and he tells me more about Bri. Shows me pictures of her. I’m getting a sense of who she was, the kind of person who loved life and loved adventure. It hurts so much that she was taken from this world so soon.
After we’re done with our ice creams, we collect our garbage and throw them out in the nearby bin. Then we just sit there, shoulders nearly touching, gazing at the scenery and the few people around us.
“Thanks for taking me away from school,” I tell him. “I probably would have been eaten alive in the hallway.”
He grits his teeth, again seeming to get so worked up over what happened.
“Are you okay?” I ask him.
He nods. “Fine. I just…Willow…” His eyes are filled with anguish and pain, and it looks like he wants to say something. But he shakes his head with a sigh. Shoving whatever he was feeling away, his eyes turn back to normal, though they still hold some pain. “I know you said in the car that you want to delete your app, but I don’t think you should give up on it. I think we can fix it.”
I lift a brow. “We?”
“Yes.We. I want to help you.”
I look away from him. “There’s nothing to fix. It’s a mess.”
“I don’t believe that. I believe anything could be fixed as long as we put our heads together and try.”
Puffing out my cheeks, I say, “I can’t even wrap my head around this right now.”
“I know. Let’s sit here for a bit, then go to my house and brainstorm. If you’re ready and willing.”
I watch him for a few seconds. “Why are you being so helpful?”
“Because I…” He shifts in his seat, glancing away. “I want to help you.” His eyes meet mine again and they’re filled with raw emotion. “I care if my friend is hurting.”
That makes my heart do this weird thump thing. No one, other than my friends and family, has been this nice to me. Most people only are when they want something from me. But not Colt. I can’t imagine what he’s gaining from this…if anything at all.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll try.”
“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll go.”
I nod slowly. “Your house?”
“We can go to yours if you want. Doesn’t really matter to me.”
“Not a good idea. My dad’s home and I think he’ll kill me if I ditched school. Well…he’ll probably be okay with it, but my mom would kill me and then him for not killing me.”
He laughs. “You’re really funny, Willow.”
The way he says it makes it seem like he hasn’t laughed in a long time. Maybe since his sister’s death.
