She's A Fighter

Chapter 10-Reminiscing

I stepped out of the car and closed the door. I walked onto the sidewalk, a smile still lingering on my face. I couldn't help it. This park, was special to me. Still is. After all these years, I can't believe I forgot about the one place where I felt safe. When I was here I felt like I had nothing to worry about, I was just a carefree little kid, running around with her best friend. 

Jason stood next to me but I didn't look at him, my eyes glued to the park. I walked forward, going towards the swings. That was my favorite in the park. After that it was the slide. Man I haven't been on a slide in so long, it felt like forever. I walked onto the sand and touched the swing, memories flooding my head. I could feel Jason somewhere behind me. 

"Do you remember when I fell off the swing, and right before I hit the ground, you caught me," My smile got bigger. "I had the biggest rush of adrenaline running through me and I didn't know if I should cry or if I should be happy that you caught me. So i just laughed." And there was something else I wanted to tell him-like how that kiss we had was the best- but I wasn't sure If i should. I know I was only eight when this happened but, I felt safe. But we were kids then, full of emotions. 

Now it was different. I shook my head, trying not to ruin my mood. 

Jason chuckled and walked over to the swing next to me. We sat down. "Yeah I remember. I was playing with your brother and for some reason I looked over at you, and I don't know, i kind of knew or got this feeling like you were about to fall. And i remember feeling like I didn't want that to happen, so I ran before you actually fell back, and then I caught you." Jason smiled. 

I pushed my feet on the ground and started to swing slowly back and forth. "I never did thank you for that did I?" I asked, smiling at Jason. 

He shook his head. "No, you were too busy laughing. Then you ran to Jazz." 

"Oh. Well thanks." I said, looking at the sand. 

"It was no biggy. I'll always be there to catch you when you fall." Jason said, his tone serious.

I turned my head towards him but he was looking straight ahead, his face serious. I don't know why, but I felt something inside of me jump at his words. I couldn't explain it but it felt...nice. Like the wind blowing, his words were calming. We sat in silence for a moment and my eyes shifted to the slides and I smiled again and soon, started laughing lightly. 

"That's a beautiful sound." Jason said. 

I stopped abruptly and turned to him, ignoring his comment. "Do you remember that saturday on the slides? When we were playing with the kids from our block." 

He smiled. "How could I forget?" 

Heat rose to my cheeks and I turned away from him, looking at the slides again. That was probably the best day of my life when I was younger. We played spin the bottle on the bouncing bridge with everyone and when it landed on me and Jason well, let's just say we kept good on our promise. We walked to the top of the slides and slid down together while we kissed. Weird I know, but I thought it was cute. And like I said, that was my first real best kiss ever. I know some girls and guys like to forget about those embarrassing moments from their childhood but I wouldn't. 

My eyes wondered over to a tree near the slides. I squinted to try and focus my vision on what was on the tree. 

"What is that?" I asked, getting up. 

I walked forward, my eyes on the tree. I heard Jason shuffle behind me. 

"What's what?" He asked. 

We were already on the sidewalk, out of the sand and walking to the tree where something was carved in it. 

"That on the tree." I mumbled.