Counting Down

Prolouge

"The day was sunny. The park was full of people running, jumping, yelling, and just having a good time. The first day of summer is the best day of the year. But alas all good things must come to an end. I was waiting for my parents to come pick me up from the last day of school. All my friends were at home getting ready for my birthday party, but I was by myself drawing on the concrete with chalk. It was about four o'clock when the police came."

"And what did the police tell you?"

"They told me that mommy and daddy got into an accident."

"Did they say anything else?"

"No." yes they did, they told me that mommy did a bad thing, mommy was really sad so she wanted to go to heaven and that she wanted to take daddy with her.

"Did you know what caused the accident?"

"my mom," I hesitate. "my mom was very sick in the head."

"yes she really was," The doc stops talking. "That's all the time we have today Fallon. I will see you tomorrow same time."

I walk out to the parking lot I don't feel like going home today, so I abandon my car and head to the park. I sit under an old dead tree that once held the sweet pink blossoms of apples every spring. The park has been empty for quite some time. They say its cursed with a crazy widow bringing sorrow to everyone who sets foot on her place of marriage. No one believed it until the day my parents died on my Sixteenth birthday last year. It's June now, "my birthday and the death of my parents will be in a week" I say aloud to myself. I take a swig of the water I had in my hand.

"wow that's terrible." I hear someone behind me say. I spit the water out onto the ground a whirl around to see a boy. He had dark thick hair, and baby blue eyes. I get up and look at him with a burning hatred.

"are you stupid or something!" I yell, "don't sneak up on someone like that and for the love of god don't listen in on personal conversations!" He looks at me in disbelief.

"your the one who walked up an sat right next to me!" He yells and points at the spot where a bag of art supplies and a sketchbook lies. I didn't even notice that he was there.

"how long have you been there?"

"an hour before you got here."

My eyes glaze over and I sit down. I stare into the creek in front of me at my reflection. Long blond hair, blue\green eyes, and a piercing on the right side of my lip. I take another sip of my water as the boy sits next to me. "what's your name?" He asked.

I wait a few seconds. Should I really talk to this guy? I don't know him and he looks older so what do I do?

"Fallon."

"that's a cool name" he replies with a smile. "I'm Achill"

"what kind of name is Achill?" I laugh.

"I know right? It's Latin I looked it up and it means 'he who embodies the grief of the people' pretty creepy right?"

"Yeah and I'm glad I'm not the only person with a weird name in fact I think ill look up my name." I pull out my phone and look up my name, "Hey my names Latin too! 'leaders daughter' I look down at my dirty red convers. Daughter the one word I hate the most is my name.

"Ironic" Achill says. I look at him with sadness he looks back at me. "wanna talk about it?" Those words pulled the trigger. I couldn't help myself, I poured out absolutely everything about the death of my parents, the whole town hating me because they think I'm cursed how my grades are terrible so I have no future. And how I'm a talentless, parentless, pointless peice of crap.

"Wow I can't believe someone can think so terribly of themselves." He looks at me in shock. I get up and dust myself off he stands too I start I turn away from him and pause at his words.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"well I just spilled my entire terrible life to you so I'm going to kill myself." I go to walk away when I'm suddenly embraced in a tight, warm hug.

"seven days." He says

"what?"

"give me seven days to make you happy. If I don't succeed by then well then you can kill yourself."

I think about it for a second. He smells nice I can't really put my finger on it but I know it's familiar. We release and look at each other.

"Deal."

"We'll meet back here everyday at four sharp. Except for the last day when we will meet at my house." I got to put the information in my phone then stop dead.

"the last day is June fifteenth."

"Yep, your birthday, and the anniversary of your parents deaths."

I look at the hole in my shoe, rethinking the situation. Pulling at the end of my suspenders I look into his eyes. Seeing my reflection like I did in the creek.

I stick out my hand. He looks at it for a moment then shakes it. Sealing our fate.