Indigo Skies | A Short Story [COMPLETE]

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A/N Hey hey! Thanks for checking out my short story. Hope you like it! When I publish the entire story, I will be adding an author's note to the end so don't forget to check that out. It's very important!!

Even though indigo was a severely underrated color of the rainbow, it was one of my favorites. It was the color of perfectly ripened black grapes, the strange little rocks I found around the MiddleStone lake at summer camp when I was twelve, and the sky right before day turned into night.

And, when my life was a mess, those indigo skies were what made me remember that I was still breathing. I was still alive. And that had to count for something, right?

And as I walked down the cracked sidewalk of downtown Kingsford, I peered up into the darkening sky and felt that tiny rush of hope once again all this time later. The sky was indigo which meant I was okay. I was finally okay.

A hand slipped over my shoulder blades, pulling me away from my own mind. It was just a breeze of a touch, but it sent heat burning through my spine. Stiffening, I squeezed my eyes shut instinctually, preparing for the blow that always came right after.

"Braylin?" Jonah asked gently. "Oh." He quickly pulled his hand away from my back, realizing one moment too late what he had done. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

I swallowed, taking a moment to recompose myself. It's okay. It's just Jonah. My dad's gone and everything's okay, I told myself.

Shaking my head, I turned to my left slightly, looking up into Jonah's eyes that were just a shade brighter blue than the evening sky. They were the one thing that most people instantly noticed about him. Well, that in combination with his thick, ginger curls that overflowed onto his forehead. Apparently, blue eyes and red hair was a rare combination and that made him stand out. "It's fine, Jo." I gave him a convincing smile, trying to reassure him. "I'm fine."

He stared at me skeptically for a moment before, I guess, deciding to believe me. "What did you think of the movie?" he asked, changing the subject thankfully. We continued our walk to his car which he had parked way down the street from the old-style movie theater. It had been a full house, the premier of the newest action spy movie being all the rage. But we had gone to see a cute kiddie movie about a talking monkey who lived in New York. You know, because that's what seventeen year old teenagers watched when they went to the theater.

A street lamp up ahead flickered on, the electricity making it buzz until it glowed a warm yellow. "I think it was even better than the talking rabbit who lived in Chicago."

Jonah gave his iconic little snort-laugh, his large framed glasses catching on the lamp light with a glare. Inhaling to catch his breath, he said, "I don't know. Fancy City Bunny is one of my favorites."

"But Awesome City Monkey had a hot air balloon fight scene," I retorted jokingly, "and that gives it an edge."

Jonah's contagious laugh lifted from his mouth once again and I couldn't help but join in. He always was able to make me smile just by being his happy self.

Jonah was one of those people that made unhappy people either optimistic or annoyed. His glasses were big, but his heart was bigger, and that was why we were best friends. He may have been a dork, but he was the nicest dork I knew and without him, I wouldn't be here right now.

We fell into a comfortable silence as we continued down the sidewalk toward the end of the street. The summer night was warm but with the sun gone, I was able to feel a slight breeze ruffling the ends of my thick dirty blond waves. The wind danced across my back and around my cheekbones and pulled a smile to my face. Tonight was so quiet but these were the nights that I loved the most.