Letter to Me

The tree is old, weak, frail, no matter how you put it, climbing the tree after being a hour late of curfew at midnight is not a good idea.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tom called from the bottom where he stood next to the trunk of the tree.

Rolling my eyes I looked down at him, tightening my grip on the branch I was hanging from, moving my foot to get a better grip on the branch it was settled on. “I've done this a million times Tom, calm down.”

“Oh yeah? How old where you the last time Red?” Tom staged whispered back hands cupped around his mouth.

“Eight.” I admitted feeling a light blush creep up on my cheeks.

“No offense, but you where smaller then.” Tom told me eyebrows raised his voice had a edge of sarcasm.

“No offense taken.” I huffed as I reached out and graved the branch that hanged next to the slanted roof, where my bedroom window was found.

“That wasn't the answer nor the reaction I was hoping for.” Tom said moving so that he was now underneath the branch, as if to catch me if I fall, as if.

“Tom as you pointed out, I am no longer eight you sure you want to stand there?” I asked him shuffling my feet side ways, as I moved towards the roof.

“Be careful your running out of branch for your feet.” Tom hissed at me, for a moment I didn't understand what he was saying I looked down at him confused, and then I felt my weight drop, my hands still around the branch I let out a sigh of relief.

It didn't last the branch was cracking, quickly I looked beside me wondering if I could swing myself so that I could take hold of the roof edge and pull myself up. Letting one hand go I swung ignoring the branch cracking and Tom's voice.

“What the hell are you doing?Your going to kill yourself, I'm sure if we just explain to your parents...”

“No.” I hissed down at him. Yeah, sure I'll tell my parent, first date he runs out of gas, second date my dad opens the door when, for lack of better words,Tom's shoving his tongue down my throat, third date I'm an hour late.

Just as my hand brushed the edge of the roof, the branch was no longer connected to the tree trunk and falling. Looking up for a fleeting second I saw a shadow move and then I was dangling in the air a strong hand wrapped around my wrist.

Walking into my classroom I had my arms full, papers, binders, files and coffee. And I almost dropped it all with the surprise I was viewing, first Brad was staring over at Sarah who looked nervous, Emily was looking straight ahead ignoring this, most surprising was that Jenny was now taking a sit next to John.

Juggling my things I raised a single eyebrow at this, did she realize was staring at her? Did he tell her his feelings?

“Need some help with that?” I looked to my side where the voice came from there stood Logan Michaels, taller then myself with black short hair and brown eyes, one of the few black residents of this small town.

“Thanks, that would be great.” I told him smiling as he helped take three of the five binders I was carrying.

Once I had everything safely on my desk, I fished out my car keys nodding towards Brad, John and Logan, I jiggled the key at them.

“Three boxes, one box each, there all in the back seat.” I said throwing the keys to Logan who was heading out the door as John and Brad weaved between the rows of chairs and desks to get to the door.

My class was small only around thirteen students, and then their was the three seasons, fishing, farming and hunting, that took a major bite out of the whole school population from both genders.

When the boys finally came back they placed the boxes on the floor in the front of the room, the boxes where full of books I had bought hopping there was something for everyone, a book they would read each time they had English for twenty minutes, today I was planning on reading for the whole class.

“Come up find yourself a book we'll be reading the whole period.” I stated smiling as I opened the boxes. When no one moved I looked up confused, “What?”

“Where not working on our letters?”George a boy who sat in the very back of the room called out.

“No, I thought...”Looking at there faces I quickly changed my words, “Who is done?”

No hands raised.

“Closed to done?”

No hands raised.

“Has anyone started?”

All hands where raised.

Aunt Daffy, was my favorite person in my whole family, she was the crazy sister out of all the five Lawrence sisters. She was the youngest my mother the oldest Debbie, Tracey, Sue all in between sisters who I saw regularly at Christmas. Aunt Daffy was different I went to her house every summer except for the summer I turned seventeen.

Her Cabin was just a few miles from her house into the woods where the lakes where calm and rapid. We used to spend the are most time up at the cabin and then come back when the supplies where running low.

She was vibrant, funny, witty, sarcastic, young and very sick. Breast cancer and the treatments made her weak and tired. The aunt I knew was slowly fading away, partly the reason I wasn't allowed to go there this summer, my parents thought it best if I didn't watch someone I loved slowly fade away.

It wasn't for the whole summer anyways, just the first while, the last week I would go up and have my last visit with aunt Daffy since she was by then to far gone to save.

So looking up and seeing David standing there my heart dropped. Because David Stone was the boy who lived next door to my aunt Daffy, he was 19 and when his parents attempted to move away when he was 18, just beginning his senior year, David protested and then made a request, he would stay with Daffy who needed someone around to help out, in exchange he could stay and finish out his last year.

When the year was over David stayed to watch out for Daffy since I wouldn't be there. So seeing David standing there his a little on the longish side light brown hair swaying in the wind, his light blue eyes on edge, I couldn't help but believe my aunt was dead before I even got a chance to say a proper good bye.

“She's dead?” Tears jumped into my eyes.

“Can we talk about this after you give me your other hand?” David asked rolling his eyes slightly. I nodded and gave him my other hand, quickly with a grunt David pulled me onto the roof.

“Thank god.” Tom sighed from the ground.

“Is she?” I asked David sitting up.

“Your such a dramatic girl, no I am not dead.” Daffy said as she opened my window the light that was now on spilled over the roof top.

“Thank god.” I found myself repeating Tom's words.