Trust Falls

*****

****

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the pain when I hit the floor.

Something crashed into me and I screamed, feeling it tangle around my waist before we hit the floor.

A groan and breathing near my ear.

"I've never run so fast in my life."

I swallowed. No pain. Well, nothing too bad.

"You can get up now Iqra."

I opened my eyes, picking myself up from the ground.

"Off! You're sitting on me!"

I squacked and slid off Yousuf, tumbling to the side. "I-I'm sorry." I straightened my shirt and looked at him. His face was flushed, eyes closed as his chest rose and fell quickly. "You okay?"
"Tch. I'm fine. What about you?"
I looked around. "I'm alive."

Someone ran up and I turned to see Zeenath with her hands on her hips. "Good! Because you won't be when I'm done with you!" She tugged a hand through her hair, the clips falling out and clattering on the floor. "Look what happened to you! Your hands! Your face!"

I stood up, wiping away the blood. "Look.."
She fell down on her knees, holding my hand. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Me too." I blinked and looked back at Yousuf. He smiled at me as a whirlwind of people carried me away to get my wounds looked at. They checked him too, to make sure I didn't break his bones.

I shrunk back inside myself, letting them do as they pleased to the wounds on my hands. The cut on my right hand was deep. Could leave a light scar. Slowly the blood disappeared, replaced with white cloth and tape.

The stains on my clothes disappeared, and the scratches on my skin as I stood in the shower, letting the water run over me.

A couple days passed in the same numb way, sleepless nights as I lied awake, lost in my own thoughts.

"Have a moment?"

I raised an eyebrow and squinted up from my spot on the old tree stump as Yousuf swung himself down on the grass.

"Yeah."

We stayed silent for a couple minutes.

"Why didn't you just let it fall?"

I blinked at him, tilting my head. "Why didn't you just let me fall?"

He stared at me for a second and chuckled. Nodding slowly, he turned his face forward again. I studied the sunlight dancing through his hair, turning it golden in some places. His forearms were on his knees again, his mouth twitched.

"It's not polite to stare."
I stayed silent.

"Thanks."
He grinned and turned towards me. "Aye, thanks to you too. You know I'm staying here for college, right?"
I shook my head. "Too bad. Was looking forward to getting rid of you for another four years."
He bit his lip and winked, smiling. "You don't mean that."

I smirked.

He pulled his phone out and his smile faltered a bit as he clicked his tongue. "I gotta go. Mom needs me to take the groceries out of the car." Standing up, he paused for a second.

"...You on for a day at the park Saturday?" His eyes widened. "A-as friends, of course. With Kendra and Tommy and shit. You know."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Yeah."
"Okay, I'll see you then." He turned and ran up to the fence, hoisting his body up and over the side.

I watched the fence for a bit, hearing the door open and close.

I pulled out my phone and looked at my text messages. The unanswered one from Taylor.

Hey. What's up?

I sent the message and slid the phone back in my pocket.

I've been thinking. Thinking hard.

There are some friends you'll never forget. But you can't keep holding on to people who've forgotten you at your worst. I'm not the same person as I was when she left, and she isn't going to be either. But I'll live.

People come and go but I can't keep stopping my life for them. I am my own person and it's about time I started acting like it.

I smiled as I got up, stretching. Thinking of what's happened this summer and the tender skin on my hands.

But the people that stay?

Yeah, they're treasures. 

***********************

A/N:

That's it! The book is finally finished! 

*Crickets chirp* 

I'm so sorry for making you wait a good two months. TT_TT This entire thing got out of hand. I'll be editing this book eventually, but I'm looking forward to your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted! 

(Don't go yet though. I have one last chapter to update.) 

~October