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VIII

ETHAN

It was a bad decision to come and see Gabriel, ever since he showed up to my stupid French class as an Exchange student and was added to my work group my life became complicated.

It all stared one afternoon, I was at Starbucks writing this paper for one of my class and it was due that same afternoon, I was so behind and freaking out. I hadn't finished the night before because Olive and I had this tradition every since we move into the city to go to this park we found, it has a big fake lake and just by the side there is this wood bench where you could see appreciate the sunset, every time we are homesick or just have to get out mind of our problems around us, we go to this place .. its more than a tradition, more than a routine its like a religion, we take our bikes, she takes her camera and sketchbook, I take my journal and my books, we make the whole ride, first going to the old and abandoned playground, where every time she add something to the drawing she first started when we find it, it's at this bench I thought it was beautiful when she started and now I just think it just need to be in a museum, then we take the long path through the pine trees, she loved to get to the middle of the path and lay there, look up and every time she asked me if I feel small, and every time I say yes and she smile, its an insider we have, see Olive its really short even for her age and I'm so much taller than her, ever since I met her I kept teasing her about it since, so one time we got into an argument one thing let to another and she scream "you don't know what is like to be short OK?" .. so the day we found this path, when we got to the middle she made me lay down and look up and so I did, pine trees already are tall but being on the floor they look just so much taller and so she say, this is how it feel to be short .. and so I said well now that I know just remember that I'm your pine tree looking down on you, always.

You see, I really love Olive. Before she came around, I was in this dark place I didn't understand why it hurt to be me, I hated myself, everyone always made fun of me, and I had try to take my life away about 4 times already, then I met Olive and she was just this sunshine in my darkness, she made me laugh really laugh, she see life as an adventure and she taught me to never be afraid, I remember when I saw her cry she the first time she seemed so fragile, she was so broken, it was the first time I wanted to punch a guy, her ex-boyfriend to be honest. Then when she was finally getting herself together again, then she confess to love me and it was the first time I heard someone say that to me, I pushed her away and I know I hurt her, then the accident happen and she let me be there for her, actually it was as if I was the only person she let being there for her. So I decided to never leave her side, she already had gone through so much and she was this fragile thing, I need to take care of her just like she had taken care of me even when she didn't even realized.

But then Gabriel got into the picture, that afternoon at Starbucks when he came into the store and order a caramel frappruccino, looked around and saw me looking at him every since he enter the door, he smile at me, he pay and took his order, open the door to leave but hold it for a few second more just staring at me and smiling, it was an invitation and right there I closed my laptop, grab my stuff and accept it.