Sebastian Bear (complete)

FIVE

FIVE

Nolan: Please answer the phone

Nolan: Please Madeline. I don't want to leave like this.

Nolan: Can I still bring you to graduation tomorrow?

Madeline: No

Nolan: Madeline I'm sorry.

Madeline turned her phone off after that. She couldn't stand to read any more last-ditch efforts to make himself feel better after telling her how he really felt. She relived the night of the party over and over again in her head. The jeep, the smell of summer, cool air blowing in through an open window, the kiss. Oh, the kiss. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those embarrassing thoughts. How could she have been so stupid? She had been a burden a charity case. She couldn't breathe.

She wasn't proud of it but she took two sleep aids that night. She curled up in bed and let the heavyweight of fatigue drag her down. She was still crying as she fell into a deep sleep.

Again she found herself on the edge of Monument Hill. The wind whipped around her, icy shards ripping through her cheeks. Her fingers dug into the earth. He was there, the faceless man at the top of the hill, shrouded by snow clouds, only his calloused fingers visible in front of her panicked face. "Madsy!" His voice, familiar and strong made its way through the storm and into her ears. She took his hand, struggling to keep her weight up long enough to grasp his hand. He pulled her to the top. For the first time in the dozen or so times, she'd had that dream, she made it to the top of the hill. They were above the storm. She felt the warmth of the sunshine glide over her arms. She looked down at the mess of snow clouds forming below her feet. She had made it. He had helped her. "It's good to see you, Madsy"

She turned to look at the faceless man, just making out a pair of bright purple eyes before she woke with a start.

"Madeline!" Ethan was jumping on the bed beside her, his curls falling into his deep brown eyes. He giggled profusely, the dinosaur on his pajama top stained with chocolate milk. "Wake up its graduation day!" Ethan was too young to notice the red-rimmed eyes decorated by a pair of dark gray bags. He paid no attention to the way her smile never fully reached past her lips.

"I'll be down in a minute little man." She nodded, encouraging him to go back to the kitchen. He took the hint, bouncing off the bed and out the room.

Madeline Hunter sat all alone in a sea full of people, the plastic legs of her folding chair sinking slightly into the waterlogged ground. The principle was on stage, announcing the upcoming speech by Gerry Hynes, Parkview's youngest ever valedictorian. She tried to focus, a patchy fog taking over her mind, filling her head with silly memories that meant nothing to anyone but her. Nolan Sinclair was somewhere in the distance, seated next to the other nameless faces Madeline had avoided the last four years.

The speech started off talking of late nights studying and a future they would all inevitably have to face. Madeline tuned out, her eyes glazing over the young girls' words. She absentmindedly played with the thin blue fabric of her graduation robes. Her shoes were pinching her feet, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. A thousand conversations replayed with Nolan in her mind, friendly hugs, and kisses against the dirty blonde waves falling at her temples. She closed her eyes to them, physically shaking the sticky sweet memories from her brain.

"It's been great Parkview! Cheers to the rest of our lives!" The crowd went wild. Madeline came back to reality, her eyes settling on the stage once more. After that came the slew of names, another reason for our girl to take another painful walk down memory lane. Nolan's face decorated every fleeting thought. Car rides and colorful strolls through their small towns only park. She had laughed as Nolan had dove headfirst in a pile of multicolored leaves. She had loved him then, more than she ever should have.