BRUISES

| Seventeen |

Truthfully, I haven't laughed in a really long time. As we all lay down on the grass, stare up at the sky and talk about our days. The men or women we slept with, our jobs or the careers most are still searching for and our aspirations.

Penny is finishing graduate school after taking a gap year. She is deciding to do something with an art history degree. She currently lives with her boyfriend in an apartment in the town next to Port Jeff. Vivi still lives at home and didn't finish college.

Her abuela is sick and she needs to help her mama take care of the family when she's working a second job. Jules is still indecisive with what she wants to do. Her relapsing and going back to rehab caused a delay in her life.

As for Clarry, she talks about her exciting career as a nurse in Virginia. I don't say much because they already know what is going on with me. They've all taken the hint that I dislike the conversation. Em is quiet at first but she explores on her desire to go back to graduate school for communications.

"Who even studies communications anymore?" Clarry jokes and we all laugh. A smile is still lingering on my lips as I watch a plane fly over us in the clouds.

For late April, it's warm and sunny. There's clouds passing by but it doesn't bring cold winds. A pair of jeans and a sweater is warm enough.

"That's a deer." I say, raising my arm up in the air and pointing at the cloud above me.

The girls fall on their backs and follow the moving clouds in silence.

"Oh! That's a car!" Jules points at another and although I don't see a car—I still agree with her.

"A bird?" Vivi questions another. A small one that is slowly falling apart and drifting away.

"Ruby," Em mutters and we all turn our heads to her. Her face is blank but she's staring up at the sky. "It's a ruby."

I watch as all of their soft, adolescent faces turn up to the sky. When I follow suit, there is a thick, dark cloud mastering the same shape of a ruby. The only thing missing is the crimson color.

Soon, my imagination focuses on the blood that seeped from Rubies wrists. The tub filled with water and the remains of what pumps her heart. My stomach churns with disgust as I sit up and run my hand through my hair.

Suddenly, a shadow casts over our bodies and the sounds of the turf crunching. I turn to see who it is and the girls tilt their heads back to get a better look.

"Now this is something I don't see at five o'clock in the afternoon." He says and the girls sit up as well.

"Ian?" Jules calls out and we watch as a group of guys walk onto the field with backpacks and a pair of cleats in their hands.

"What are you all doing here?" He asks and when the group gets closer, they are all from my high school graduating class. 

"We can say the same." Penny smiles, tilting her head to the side.

Ian stands over Jules, a long smile on his lips. Slowly, we all greet each other and it's weird to familiarize ourselves with them. It feels as though history is repeating itself. Once you hit an age, you don't expect to find yourself returning back home and interacting with people you thought you'd never see again.

They all played on the football team together and won the championship from their hard work.

I cross my legs and feel the warm sun beating on my bare chest. Danny, one of the guys watch me as I tilt my head back and close my eyes. He wasn't much my type in high school but I notice adulthood is treating him well.