Loneliness and I had grown quite close over the years. We shared a bond that I had never shared with anyone else. When everything in life was spiraling out of control, loneliness was the one thing I could always count on.
Loneliness was my best fri...
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"Thank God we finally made it! I was beginning to think my bestie-gal wasn't gonna make it to her 17th birthday party!" Clary said, pushing a few thick branches out of her way to reveal the object that cast an orange glow through the woods. Of course I knew what it was, and of course I knew what was happening. Clary was terrible at keeping secrets, but I pretended to be surprised anyways.
At first, I thought it was a different reoccurring nightmare. One that resulted in the loss of my innocence, and my mother. I had I known what tonight would lead to, I would've gladly missed my own 17th birthday. But, then again, I was 17. I had plenty of time to make bad decisions.
Tonight was one of the worst.
"So are you enjoying your birthday so far, Emmy?" Dax Shelton asked me as we leaned against his beat up red Ford, drinking 32oz Miller High Life's. Why not drink the Champagne of Beers for my party? It only seemed appropriate.
"So far, so good! I can't complain much, are you enjoying yourself?" I asked him.
From an outside perspective, this wouldn't seem like a nightmare. Just a fond memory of the younger days. That was because my worst nightmare had just sauntered towards me from the woods, a young blonde following very shortly behind him.
"Oh! Emmy, you have to meet my friend, Greyson!" Dax said enthusiastically. He had never had many friends, and I knew he was proud to show off the few friends he could call his own. Dax and I had grown up in church together, when my parents fell off the wagon, Dax had quit attending church also. Something to do with a family dispute? Who knows for sure, we were never really close.
Suddenly, my eyes snapped towards Greyson, and it felt like I was finally breathing in clean air for the first time three years. He was tall, with broad shoulders that were draped in wing shaped tattoos. He had curly brown hair that hung just below his stretched ears. He was pale, mysterious, and he looked like trouble.
And trouble seemed to enjoy my company almost as much as loneliness did.
Greyson and I talked for most of the night. He told me happy birthday, complimented my new dress, pushed my hair out of my face and smiled at me with a set of teeth that were so perfect behind his blush pink lips. "So, Emmy June, was your birthday everything you wanted it to be? What can I do to make it better for you? I didn't exactly get you a gift." He said sheepishly, kicking the dirt with his shoes. I smiled and felt my cheeks growing red. They were sore from smiling so much that night, and I was probably a little flushed from all the beer I drank.
I racked my brain for something that I really wanted, and I could almost see the light switch go off in my head.
"I want a kiss... and a date." I said, beaming up at him confidently. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe I was just feeling exceptionally brave, but whatever the reason, I hated myself deeply for it now.
