August 10th, 2012

“I don’t want this anymore,” I told Cody. “I want you to hate me.”

Cody stopped walking. He looked up into the forest’s trees. “I won’t ever hate you.”

“I don’t love you.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Andrew fucked me.”

Cody didn’t say anything. He looked over into a tree stump that was nearby and sat on it. Cody looked up again.

“He fucked me all night long. I loved it. He actually came, unlike you. You only come with Emily, right?”

“I knew that. Andrew told me.”

“What?! When?”

“Right after.”

“What, why?”

“Because he’s a dick, he wanted this to happen.”

“Then it’s over.”

Cody stood up, “No. I forgive you.”

“Why?!”

“Because you’re lost.”

“I’m not.”

Cody walked up to me while I still tried to process his words. I couldn’t believe Andrew would do such a thing after I told him I wouldn’t tell Cody. I guess Andrew’s a dick after all. “Look at where we’re standing, Elizabeth.”

In the tall grass.

No.

A migraine came by rushing through causing me to wince. It only lasted for a short while but when I came too, my nose was running. Cody frowned when I wiped my nose. I looked past his shoulder and we weren’t in the forest. We weren’t even in Darkwood.

It was the Seattle Skate Park. Andrew was talking to Emily in the distance. The sun was dusking. I was imagining things.

“How can you forgive me? Why don’t you go find some other girl who’s not going to hurt you? Why don’t you go to Emily?” Cody stayed silent. The tree stump he was sitting on was actually a bench. People around us started to leave as it grew darker and darker. This was the time where we usually left too. “I’m fucked up, Cody.”

“Then let me help you.”

My nose was still running but I let it slide. I thought I was crying and I just hadn’t noticed the water from my eyes yet. “Why are you so nice? After everything, I put you through? How can you forgive me after I fucked Andrew.”

“Things happen. I know it didn’t mean anything.”

“But you love Emily…”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Then why don’t you come when we have sex?”

“I don’t know…”

A familiar face showed up to the park, one I haven’t seen in years. It’s my brother, Matthew. He was skinnier than I remembered and looked like a corpse. My mother was right.

I cut Cody short to run up to him. He recognized me instantly and for a brief moment, I knew it was all going back to normal. That went away when he hugged me. He smelled and felt weak like he hadn’t eaten in days.

Emily and Andrew walked up to me to make sure I was alright. Cody stood in his place.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too!”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m good. Uh, these are my friends,” I looked back to Emily and Andrew, “This is my brother, Matt.” I wiped my nose again because it started to get into my lips. It wasn’t running at all, it was blood.