Grifter|| A Love Story||

10

Fate is a funny word. If you asked me a few years ago if it was real, I would have laughed in your face. Did fate truly exist in this world? Was there some mysterious force at work guiding you to some predetermined event?

Nah!

Don't be an idiot, man.

Fate was stupid, something dreamers believed in. And I was not a dreamer---I was a realist. If I could touch it. If I could feel it, it was real. That car I stole? That wasn't some weird destiny. It just happened to be on the side of the road and I just happened to walk by. It was a simple joy ride to the country in exchange for some cash in hand. That was concrete, solid evidence in my hand. There was no mysterious hand guiding me to that specific vintage car. Just me. Me and Lexie.

But as I grew older, I began to wonder. All the events in my life meshed together like puzzle pieces. One-piece here and ten years later another piece there. No---fate came into my life like a sandstorm, blinding me from the start.

Fate came in the form of a new next-door neighbor. She wormed her way into my heart and never left. But looking back on my life and where it had taken me. From the U.S. to the FBI, to Australia, fate was ever-present. Making a believer out of me once and for all. Fate was real because Alexis was real. She was the concrete sold evidence I needed, the last puzzle piece, but also the first.

The way her soft skin felt beneath my fingertips as she laid beside me passed out after a long journey to my arms. Fate. Fate brought us here.

I gently kissed her cheek after so long, hoping it would rouse her from her slumber. It had been six long (and I mean LONGGGGGG) weeks without her and I didn't want to waste another second of my existence without her.

Watching her deep breaths rumble through her chest brought me back to years before, when I had first laid eyes on her. I knew then, just like I knew now---she was mine.

●●●●●●●

My morning started out like any other Saturday morning. I got out of bed, brushed my teeth, grabbed an apple, grabbed my baseball gear, and headed out the door. I quickly avoided my already drunk mother, as she lay passed out on the couch. Drool edging out of her mouth and snores pouring from her throat. Her blonde hair tossed in a greasy mess with her latest conquest passed out on her stomach. It amazed me this woman could consume so much and love other people. But her love for me? Now--That was unheard of.

The only love I got was "Sebastian, you idiot!", "Sebastian, you suck the life out of me!!", or my favorite, "I wish I never had you!!" Among other words. I may have excelled at school and maintained friendships, but on the inside, I was falling to pieces.

My father split a few months after my birth claiming it was too much. Life was too much for him and he flew into the wind like a bird. Moving from one location to the next without a second glance back at the child he could have raised or the woman he could have stayed married to. Looking back, I'm not sure how we made it. If it wasn't for the government aide and the second-hand clothes from the neighbor, we wouldn't have stayed. But lucky for me, we did. We were somehow able to keep the house my parents had bought after their wedding when things were normal between them. But all in all, fate is what ultimately kept us here. If there was a God--if he did watch out for me, he gave me the best gift of all.

Alexis Campbell.

The bright October day was oddly warm, sweat beaded down our faces. The sun beat down and we all knew the change was coming. The leaves were set to fall in a matter of days and soon we'd all be forced inside to watch the white snowpack the ground through the comfort of our windows. Which was hell for me, but I was used to it by now. There were only 9 of us on the field that day, forced to split into two uneven teams of 5-4. Which sucked big balls if I was being honest. I had played baseball with these guys for many summers, losing a few here and there to moving or growing out of it.