Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Then and Now

Then and Now





Sky couldn't believe it. He was so excited.

Honestly, he hadn't been excited in a long while, or had he? Yes, he was at his happiest around Josie. Although, late at night he'd wake up and ask himself, "What about Dean?" Wasn't Josie still with Dean?

And then Sky got the job as the library clerk. Mostly it would be afternoons.

"I'll still be working at nights at the hotel." Sky shrugged as if maybe with his other job, he could put some money away. Wasn't like he was on the road to being a millionaire. The clerk job was part-time, but better pay.  He was trying to explain it to Josie thin lipped. He didn't want to sound too excited, but he couldn't help it.

Sky told her, down at the Campus Coffee shop, that he owed her at least a pizza or dinner. He thanked her for helping him get the new job. Actually, he couldn't remember ever having a friend quite like her. And they were friends. He had to remember. Friends.

After all, maybe she'd be off to see Dean soon. Sky heard her mention a trip to Oklahoma for some military graduation. It might be her only time to see him before they shipped him off somewhere else for school and then... Well, Sky didn't want to think about war.

Of course, the more Sky thought of his own obscure life, he supposed it was pretty much meaningless, but still it was a job. A nice job. And he could at least, for a little while, think it was a true happiness he did deserve. Mitch even let him borrow the car that night.

So it was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Going out for pizza. Celebrating. Looking to the future. Even taking a stroll in the park to eat ice cream from the nearby Dairy Queen.

It was getting late, but Sky could have stayed out all night with Josie, talking about nothing. Nothing particularly important. Just this suspended moment where every thing was right in his life. And he wasn't thinking about his little sister and how she was hit by a car and died, only a few feet away from him (which happen so long ago when he was in high school). Like he did everyday, he thought of he accident as if it happened yesterday, carrying it in his heart like a pulsing poison living in his veins .

Each time, he thought of the the tragic memory, he could hardly breathe. He wanted to imagine how he could have stopped it.  But now it wasn't such a heavy burden. He handled it better now. Some how. There were things to look forward to in his life. And he couldn't thank Josie enough. He knew it best just to go on. Because he knew if anyone who would want him to go on with his life, it would be his little sister Star.

Somehow, he felt stronger than he had in a very long time. Unfortunately, that all came crumbling when he got home that night.

There was Mitch on the floor. Blood on his face and in intense pain. Mitch was barely breathing when Sky found him.

5 comments:

  1. My prayers are with Mitch - I hope he's okay!

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have me in so much suspense right now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh poor Sky! I hope he got to Mitch in time!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So many great things happening for Sky and then to find Mitch this way...so..sad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How awful for Mitch... I hope he is okay
    .. I really hope that Sky found him in time...

    ReplyDelete