When the Darkness Comes

Chapter 9

It had been a confusing two weeks since Emma kissed me. I avoided her in the halls and even stopped going to my locker. I was being a coward and I knew it, but as much as I enjoyed the kiss I still wanted to get to know her as a friend first. She called and texted me every day, cute good morning and night texts as well as pleading voice mails. I could hear it in her voice how torn up she was but I didn't give into calling her back. I felt horrible for doing it but my confusion over shadowed my guilt. Nick, of course, was the first to see something was up, for about three days he asked me what was wrong that's when he gave up and asked Maria what was wrong. He talked to me in the impala after hunts, telling me that he couln't help if I didn't talk to him. It became my friends mission to get me to open up after I skipped English the past two days in a row just to avoid seeing her.

"Come to the park tonight, or I'll gag and dump you in the trunk to get you there," Nick said to me after our math class that Friday his blue eyes full of concern.

"Fine, doesn't mean I'll talk," I replied walking out the school doors all my books still in hand. I looked across the lot at my truck and stopped in my tracks, there sitting on my tailgate was Emma. I turned back around going into the school. I lost myself in the crowd of students going to my locker for the first time in days. I dumped all my school books inside and closed it. I walked slowly hoping the longer I took the more likely Emma would give up and go home, if not I was prepared to walk home. I looked over at my Chevy to see her still sitting there waiting as though she had all the time in the world. I turned up my hood and started my walk home only turning the wrong way and heading to the park hours before my friends would show up. I climbed the tall oak, Nick broke his arm falling out of when we were ten. My Dad had nailed in a latter for us to climb as he knew I feared heights and planes but something about trees offered a feeling of being safe. I sat against the tree on the thickest branch I could find and watched the sky. I felt the soft wind blow, my mind clear of everything allowing me to think. Hours flew by and I still didn't know what to do. I looked at the parking lot in time to see the impala pull in my wrist burning a bit. Nick, Raven, and Marie got out and looked around.

"Jenny? Where are you? Come on I know your hear, hunter's mark, remember?" Nick called out hands cupped around his mouth.

"Up here! What took so long?! I've been here hours," I called back waving to them.

"Did you even go home?" Raven asked shocked looking up into the tree. I shook my head moving so I could climb down.

"Where's your truck?" Marie asked her head cocked as my feet hit the ground.

"Still at school. I walked here," I shrugged.

Nick shook his head, "You left your truck at school and walked, just to avoid talking to her? Come on Jen that's low. What's going on?"

"I don't know."

"Talk to us chica, it could help," Marie prompted. We all sat at one of the picnic benches. Nick and I sitting on the table feet on the bench with Raven and Marie sat between us.

"Well... I don't know M, She is a nice girl and all its just, I don't know, I don't want to jump into a relationship with her but I do at the same time, you know?... And I wanted to do things right this time, get to know her, be friends and she went and fucked that up by kissing me. Now I don't know what to say to her or how to act around her. Like where do we stand?" I sigh my friend's eyes on me and heads nodding.

"Talk to her, ask her where you two stand. Jen, she's beating herself up over this and you haven't given her anything to try and reassure her," Nick said putting a hand on my shoulder. He gave me his big brother smirk that seemed to always say I love you and you can do it at the same time.