Dark Rider

It took a good while for the graduation class to get their diploma and leave the stage set up for the event, Kassie stood waiting by the large willow tree that sat off to the side, away from everyone else. She felt peaceful there, she was alone and it was quiet. The only sound that she could hear was the wind whipping the willow’s vines around, making a sweet sound and the small chatter from the group far away was barely a whisper away from her spot. “I’m officially out of high school now,” A.J. ran to Kassie and jumped up and down three times to show his excitement.

“I’m very proud of you,” she said softly as she reached up and hugged his broad chest, standing on the tip of her toes she proudly kissed his cheek and stood back to look at him in his graduation gown. “You look so handsome too.”

“Tiffany told me I looked handsome in a young Robert Downey Jr. sort of way,” he boasted as he placed his hands on his hips and stood with his chest poked out. “I was going to go over and see James and his parents right quick, you want to come with me?”

“No thank you,” she replied with a soft tone, shaking her head but she held her hand out and waved him to go on alone and have fun. James was his best friend since the beginning of High School, where Tiffany was his girlfriend of three years. Kassie liked them both, but she didn’t want to leave her spot under the willow, she’d rather be unsociable at the moment. “Tell them all I said hi for me.”

“I will,” A.J. nodded his head with a disappointed frown, he loved that Kassie was back and active as she had always been, not as quick reflexed but she was nearly the same. But her mind—wasn’t the same, she was too bashful to be considered his Kassie, and it bothered him severely to see her everyday and yet know it wasn’t completely her. “Stay here okay, I don’t want to have to track you down. I’ll be right back.”

“Alright,” Kassie smiled as she watched him run off towards the crowd, his chocolate brown hair swaying in the wind. Kassie settled contently against the tree trunk, feeling the soft breeze swaying her hair around as well as her skirt, like waves against the ocean surface. She closed her eyes and relaxed to the point she could easily fall asleep when out of nowhere a gust of wind which had been peaceful before was violent against her skin. It woke her from her doze with a gasp as her eyes popped open and stared straight ahead. All at once, scenes of a life she had no memory of flashed before her eyes. Visions filled her mind, pictures of beautiful places, faces and things that suddenly felt so dear to her, so fast it raced until she was reeling in her place at the foot of the willow. “Oh,” she whispered as her hand reached forward and cupped her head in distress. She remembered—she remembered every single thing that had happened before and after the accident. The accident. She knew what had happened, it wasn’t because of some car accident or whatever, and her own father was the reason. He punched her and she fell on something. The reason she broke her jaw and neck, the whole reason of her coma was because of the man who was supposed to love her and make sure nothing or no one ever hurt her. But he had, and she was nearly killed because of it. Suddenly the thought occurred to her, the reason she wasn’t dead. Rider, Dark Rider. She had remembered that the last memory of that time was when she was slipping in and out of consciousness, Rider had been softly promising she would be okay and that he would be there for her. But she hadn’t seen him—until now. Standing in the crowd far away with all the graduate students that celebrated with they’re family and one another, was Rider. She gasped and pushed herself up to stand and with that she took off running, her destination set on the black haired angel with the devil’s eyes. Kassie realized as she sprinted across the lawn that she had never in her life ran quite so hard, even in the heels she wore. She was wheezing and gasping for just a bit of oxygen when she reached the large group of standing obstacles. “Rider? Rider—where are you?” she searched around to find someone that looked even a little like him but she didn’t see anyone barely as beautiful—but she did see A.J. however and she ran to him, turned him to her and ignored the worried and confused looks that James and Tiffany sent her. “I remember.”

That was all it took for A.J. to grab his chest and gasp in shocked surprise, he had wanted her to remember who she really was for six long and frustrating years. He thought it never would have come. “You—you remember?” A.J. questioned as he stepped forward and grabbed Kassie’s shoulders. “What all do you remember, Kassie? Tell me.”

“We were running from my dad, he found us and knocked me out. Rider was fighting Vega—I remember everything, just some things are blurrier than others,” Kassie explained as she stared A.J. in his light baby blue eyes. She loved those eyes so much and she felt so guilty and upset for not saying so like she would have for six years to long. “I missed you so much, baby blue boy.”

Tears clearly misted up those blue orbs as A.J. smiled and pulled her into a hug; to him it felt real again, not strained as usual. She was Kassie again, his Kassie. “I missed you more than you will ever know,” he murmured as he kissed her cheek and pulled away from the hug a few minutes later. “So you know Tiffany and James—what’s your damage?”

Kassie giggled in happiness as she straightened up and nodded at them. “I love Tiffany and James, even if they are weirder than the average humans,” Kassie teased as her smile stayed plastered to her lips, she was in bliss until she remembered why she ran through the crowd like a mad dog. “Rider! I seen Rider!”

A.J.’s ecstatic smile faded into confusion as he gazed at his cousin. “What about Rider?”

“He was here, A.J., he was in the crowd,” Kassie explained as she looked around A.J. and his friends who watched in curiosity at her and him. “Don’t look at me like I’m insane! A.J. I’m serious! I think he’s why I remember.”

“I don’t think your crazy, Kassie! It’s just, Rider hasn’t been back since the accident,” A.J. glanced at his friends before he turned to Kassie, who looked ready to break down and bawl. “I just think your exhausted from the memory reload— you need to go lay down for a while and rest—“

“No! I don’t need to go lie down, I seen him, I didn’t have any delusions from the damn memory reload!” Kassie shouted her explanation, she felt like a cornered rat, with all the people and A.J. not believing her. She felt—alone.

“I—“

“Now, A.J. didn’t I say when everything went down to take care of your cousin. That included listening to her,” the all too familiar velvet tone sounded from behind A.J.’s group of friends. “Now I can’t trust you—“he walked through the group and stood domineering in front, his classic suit and tie combo was brilliant on him, sheer black and gold. “I guess I’m just going to have to stay and take over, your fired bud.”

“Rider,” A.J. whispered in shock and stepped forward to embrace his long lost friend in a brotherly hug. “What are you doing here, man?”

“Had to see the young remake of Dennis the Menace graduate High School, I thought you would have dropped out the way you were going. I’m proud of you—good job kid,” Rider grinned as he pulled away and glanced at Kassie, lovingly from being separated for so long. “I’m really glad that you’re safe, you had me worried for a long while.”

Stunned in silence, Kassie’s only way of showing she was indeed still alive and paying attention was her stumbling steps forward and her falling (almost quite literally) into Rider’s waiting and comforting arms. She felt him hug her tight to him as she did to him. He had missed her where she had missed him too. Though he had six years to worry and miss her, she had just remembered him and six years of sadness, worry and longing rushed into her like a wave of excitement crashing against her ribcage. “Oh, Rider.”

“I missed you pumpkin,” he whispered against her hair, he kissed it softly and hugged her tightly before he pulled away and smiled down at her.

“Are you staying with me now?” Kassie asked weakly as she gazed into Rider’s eyes, searching for truth in his eyes as well as an answer.

“Do you want me to stay with you? It’s all up to you if I stay,” Rider softly replied, she looked from his eyes to his mouth and chuckled.

“Of course I want you to stay,” her fingertips traced the shaded area around his lips; he had the five O’clock shadow thing going for him. “But…”

“But what?” Rider asked, feeling worried because after every ‘but’ was a bad reason.

“But won’t you get in trouble for staying on Earth with us, won’t you be needed?” Kassie questioned him; worried he would get in trouble and never get to go to Heaven again.

“Kassie, I’m not an angel anymore. I’m human again,” Rider smiled as he patted his chest with his left hand and grabbed Kassie’s hand with his right, placing it on his chest, over his heart. Where his heart beat rhythmically, she gawked. “I won’t get into trouble.”

Ecstatically, Kassie pulled her hand away from Rider’s chest and leaped into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. She kissed his cheek and giggled when he sat her back on the ground. “I’m so happy for you! How did this happen?” she questioned in amazement as she patted his chest.

“Amazingly, the big guy told me that I wasn’t dead. Well, not physically at least. When I was beaten, I was found nearly dead from blood loss and a bunch of other reasons. About every bone was broken, organs split and things like that and they put me on life support since my heart stopped or something afterwards, the nurses told me when I woke up but I kind of rushed out in a hurry to get here. I have been in a coma state for twelve years, can you believe it? I could barely walk, it took me forever to stand,” Rider paused and ran his hand down his legs as if looking and feeling for problems. “The big man said I earned it, being alive again.”