Today is Friday and nothing has really happened between Ian and I. He asked me for my number so we keep in touch but that's pretty much it. He problem wants to hang out this weekend but my depression is getting worse. I can feel it. I don't want to go to school at all, getting out of bed is impossible for me to do. Simple tasks like getting ready or doing chores are terrible because my whole body aches for my bed and to be left alone. I'm not going.
3 hours later
My phone buzzes rapidly and I wake up. Ian is calling me, I don't want to pick up so I leave it until it stops.
1 hour later
It's buzzing again, Ian is calling me again. This time I pick up.
"Hello?"
"Carmen? Are you alright? You're not at school, is everything okay"
"Uh... yeah everything is... great" I sigh
"I'll come over after school, our teacher told us what our project is"
"Okay see you soon"
"Bye"
I hang up and go to my closet, this time not to draw. Just sit in the dark and hear the music flow out of my record player. I sit for 3 hours doing nothing. I feel like crying and sitting here forever, then I hear a knock on my window. It's Ian. I collect myself and go to the window.
"Hey Carmen" he says while stepping in
"Hey" I say looking at him then going to close to my closet door.
Ian and I sit on the floor, I against my bed and Ian right in front of me.
"Okay so about the project, it's actually really weird. She wanted us to do something very different, it has nothing to do with science. She wants us to pick a partner, which is you and I and go on as many adventures as possible. We have 3 months to do whatever we want and learn about the other person. Oh! And we have to keep a journal"
He hands me a brown leather book with a bunch of blank pages inside.
"Date every page and write everyday"
"Okay. Cool"
"So how are you doing, you don't look sick or anything"
"Um it just wasn't a good morning for me" I look at the ground
"Hey....Carmen." He touches my chin and lifts up my head
"Tomorrow I'll pick the adventure and you have to do it, then later on you pick the next and we go back and forth. Unless the other person doesn't feel like it. Okay?"
I look into his eyes, his big striking blue eyes. I never noticed how beautiful they were. Even though he sits there with a blank face, his eyes just say a thousand words.
"Get some sleep okay, tomorrow we start"
He gets up opens the window and leaves, I sit on the floor with a blank expression. Where is he going to take me? Some please where he'll abandon me and I'll have to walk home alone. I sigh and decide to bed early, I feel like the energy was drained out of me even though I did absolutely nothing today. I take more pills and begin to fall asleep.
I hear rocks hitting my window. Another rock. Another. And another. I get up and see that Ian is standing outside on the lawn with a truck parked behind him and a duffle bag hanging on his shoulder. I open the window and I'm greeted with a pebble to the head.
"Oh my gosh Carmen I'm so sorry!" He says with a chuckle
"Today's the day so get ready, and wear something warm!"
I get ready and hop outside and get in the truck. The ride is about an hour and we hit our destination.
"So for today we're going on a canoe ride and we're going to get to know each other a little bit. I also brought snacks" Ian says with a cheeky smile
We get into the canoe and float on the water.
"So let's start off with me. Hi my name is Ian Beckett I'm 17 years old, I grew up here in Arizona and I love pancakes, art, music, and surprise adventures."
I giggle and decide on what to say
"Hello my name is Carmen Smith, I also grew up in Arizona and I love art, museums, they can be either weird or just plain simple art, record players, and great views."
"Alright that's great! Now we can eat our snacks and get into more detailed stuff"
Ian grabs a bunch of snacks out from a bag and opens everything. There's warm soup since it's cold out. Oranges, grapes, candy, sandwiches, strawberries and a lot more.
"Okay so I'll start with the details, my mom and dad aren't really fighting. My dad left when I was 6 and my mom is really sick. She has a caregiver but I don't like seeing her struggle with breathing and doing things."
"O- oh, I'm sorry to hear that Ian"
"It's okay.... not really it really isn't. I didn't know when she will like you know go but I hope it's not soon."
Ian continues to eat his sandwich and I eat fruit. We float farther away from shore and all you can hear is the water flowing and the trees blowing.
"Okay so what about you?"
I pause, holy shit what am I going to say? That I'm a crazy psychopath and that he'll get weirded out if I say something wrong.
"If you don't want to tell me that fine, I don't want you to if you don't feel comfortable." He looks at me then takes a bite of his sandwich
I sigh and look at him
"Thanks"
