Page 40 (1/2)
She’s chatting to one of the taller guys who has dark brown hair, oily skin, and yellow-stained teeth, along with a goatee that stretches to his chest She keeps laughing and s back her head in a flirty way, and I keep waiting for Dylan to get pissed and intervene, but he never does Then she hands hi, and the dots connect insideI’uys notice er masks his sore-covered face
"Who the fuck is she?" he asks with a nod of his chin as he cracks his knuckles
Suddenly they’re all looking atif I should walk or run ahen Quinton’s honey-brown eyes lock on me and I think of what he said to me at the pond It’s almost like he can see the old h? How can he see the good?
I’ ahen I stop in my tracks near the corner of the tent I stare at the pain in his eyes, the dazed look that lets me know he’s not himself, and the pure and utter torture that I still don’t truly understand and I wonder if I ever will Did I ever really know him? Did he ever really know me? Will we ever really know each other? I’m not sure, but I think I need to find o to him, but my mind has the upper hand this time, because it’s as clear as the sky and suddenly I understand At this h I want to so badly that it consumes my body and mind I want to take his pain away, save hiht now I’irl Landon talked about in the video I wish I was, but I can barely hang onthis now I’s It hurts to realize it andorand there’s no e Either way, I’eas he stares at me, mystified I look at the blue sky above us, the dirt below our feet, and a sea of people walking around, a sea we could easy get swept away into
I’m sorry, I er and I can’t tell if he gets what Iaway, and I think that maybe, just maybe, he knohat Ia step towardfor ladly turn around and walk off toward the tent One… two… three…
"Nova, wait," Tristan says andme to a stop
I slowly turn around to face hier, his hair disheveled, and there are bags underneath his eyes "I’rip "I didn’t know you guys were busy"
He shakes his head and then rakes his fingers through his blond locks "You don’t need to be sorry… it’s just… it’s just better if you weren’t around… that" His voice sounds subdued and it see to move his lips
"It’s fine," I say But it’s not Nothing is fine I don’t want to be here any over his shoulder, and then he ushershis hands at h school and you weren’t… you weren’t like us…"
Us Like we’re two different breeds But we’re not We’re all just living a different path and seeing life differently--I’ life differently "I know, but it doesn’t mean I was sheltered I saw stuff" I turn h a truck and a tent "I saw stuff all the tio fro a cooler out of his path and spilling a beer that was on top of it "You were always hanging out with that guy that… died"
He did die A while ago But he’s gone now "His na my hand to my chest "Landon Evans" The world starts to spin, but it’s a good spin A natural spin and I let it be Please, forgive me
When we reach the tent, I sit down in one of the chairs, watching the crowds, and listening to the music as it flows over the field At one point I shutwhat it was like to play, when Landon would watch me with almost a smile on his face and I felt happy inside I let the sound own me, takeaway from
Tristan sits down besidethat se and oes on, the oing to sink into the ground and vanish from the world
I don’t want to watch hio ho, re what it was like when I would sit and listen to music with Landon and we’d talk about life and e’d do e got older, where we’d go, e’d becoone now, and I need to accept that