Promises We Meant to Make

Charleswood, Ohio was the epitome of a boring city; poor weather, relatively small population, and a lack of places to go to find entertainment. But even a city as dull as Charleswood couldn't stop young Henry Thomas from finding inspiration. Henry had always been very advanced for his age. He was speaking before his first birthday, reading ‘chapter books’ before the first grade, and writing his own stories by the age of ten.

His advancement made it hard to fit in at first, but once he hit a growth spurt in the eighth grade, all of his problems diminished. He was muscular enough to play football, though he was never a great player, and he excelled in every honors class he'd ever taken, making him the perfect candidate for every girl at Charleswood High to fall in love with.

Amongst the multitude of girls was Alina Abbot, a pretty girl three years his junior. If Alina's older brother Eric hadn't been Henry's best friend, he never would have given the pretty yet awkward and too skinny girl the time of day, but Alina liked to tag along with the guys every chance she got. It was painfully obvious that the young, blonde girl had a crush on Henry, but Henry would never acknowledge it, hoping that one day she would leave him alone.

Unfortunately for Henry, that day never came.

It was the summer of their junior year, Henry and Eric set out for another notorious high school party at Ronny Morris’s house. It was going to be huge. The entire junior class was celebrating their final year of high school. The boys knew from the beginning that they were going to get drunk, maybe a little stoned, and hopefully hook up with a cheerleader, or better yet, a dancer. (They were just as flexible, with a little less drama).

Henry and Eric walked into Ronny Morris’s house and were immediately hit with the blasting of loud music and the stench of alcohol and pot. The boys shared a smile and began searching for the kitchen which was undoubtedly where the alcohol was. Almost immediately, the boys made their way to the keg, where they were greeted by Sarah Pilch, a gorgeous cheerleader with long, athletic legs and a reputation that she tended to take a stereotypic liking to football players. And telling by the way she walked, it seemed she’d already been drinking for a while.

After a few drinks, her reputation proved true. She was hanging all over both guys, daring them to get her drunk enough to do something stupid. And it was just like Eric to take advantage of such an amazing opportunity.

Sarah downed another shot of vodka and bit into a lime. “Yumm,” she moaned.

“The vodka or the lime?” Eric asked, sliding closer to her. Henry could tell Eric was a little nervous, and chuckled at how awkward he looked, but Sarah didn’t know Eric as well as Henry did.

She wrapped her arms around Eric’s neck. “Both, wanna taste?”

Before Eric has a chance to speak, Sarah was shoving her tongue down his throat.

Henry laughed at the shock on Eric’s face and took another sip of his beer. “Wow,” he commented sarcastically. While Henry witnessed that rumors about Sarah were true, he wondered what other gossip he heard in school was.

Sarah pulled away from Eric. “I have to pee,” she announced before turning on her heel and heading toward the bathroom.

Eric looked at Henry with wide eyes. “Holy shit, man! You gotta let me get at that!” he begged, knowing Sarah would probably prefer to hook up with the barley obtainable golden boy, Henry Thomas.

Henry waved his hand at him. “Knock yourself out. God knows where that’s been.”

Henry and Eric parted ways, mostly because Eric was on a mission. Henry had time to find a girl for himself.

Even with the intent of finding company for later in the evening, Henry ended up hanging out with the guys. He pretended to be interested in the conversation they were having. Was it football? Or maybe basketball? Someone asked him why he didn’t give hoops a try, since he was only second string. Basketball.

A flash of golden blonde hair caught his eye. Henry excused himself from his friends, and went off to find whoever it was. He was starting to feel a little more than a buzz, and the pretty blonde hair had entranced him. Being roughly six foot three, it was relatively easy for Henry to spot the girl with the pretty hair over the crowd. She was more than casually dressed in a short, red dress and black heels. As Henry walked closer, all he could think was that there was a very high possibility that this girl may be ugly. Henry knew it was superficial, but there was no point in looking for depth if he knew he’d get scared away by the surface. The girl with the pretty hair turned around and faced him.

Henry gasped at the sight of little Alina.

Alina caught Henry’s shocked expression and quickly hurried away, praying Henry wouldn’t tell Eric she was there, even though she knew he would.

Henry rubbed his eyes and looked again, but Alina was gone. He made his way to the kitchen to find Eric, hoping he could catch him there instead of having to find him and Sarah in a bedroom upstairs somewhere.

He barley noticed Eric brush past him. Eric’s eyes were bloodshot and he wobbled a little as he walked. He was being pulled to the door by Sarah, more than willingly.

Henry grabbed him by the shoulder to intercept. “Dude, your kid sister is here.”

Eric looked at Sarah, then back to Henry. “I’m a little busy, if ya know what I mean,” he slurred.

“But she’s your little sister.” Henry pressed. “You’re just going to leave her here with these horny man-whores?”

Sarah was growing impatient and pulled on Eric’s hand with a smirk. Eric grinned drunkenly, then winked at Henry. “No, man. I’m gonna leave her with you. An if you let anythin’ happen, I know who to kill.” And like that, Eric and Sarah left.

“But I don’t even know where she--” The door slammed shut, and Henry let out a sigh. He didn’t know what to do with his friend’s little sister. He didn’t feel comfortable driving home in his condition, and he found Alina to be a little creepy when Eric wasn’t around.

Slowly, Henry made his way around the house, searching for the sleek blonde hair or little red dress. He thought he found her at least twice, before the real Alina approached him herself.

The small girl huffed. She looked different than she usually did. She didn’t seem so small in the tight dress and all of her eye makeup. Henry rolled his eyes when he smelled the pot on her clothes.

Alina tried to gain some confidence, or at least a little composure. “You can’t tell Eric,” she ordered. “He’ll tell my ma and I’ll get in big trouble.”

Henry noticed the awkward distance between them. Shockingly, he was a tad intimidated by the small girl. “Too late, he knows. And he told me to watch you. Now, I don’t feel like babysitting tonight, so I’m taking you home.” He grabbed her wrist, and she pulled away from him.

“No, I’m not a child. Besides, I saw you drinking earlier. I’m not getting in a car with you,” she started to yell, and a few people turned to stare.

Henry crossed his arms across his chest. “Try to find someone here who didn’t have a beer or two tonight. Now don’t make a scene. We’re leaving.” The words felt weird coming from his mouth. It made him feel oddly bad to talk to Alina like that. Usually, he tried to be polite, while making it clear that he wasn’t going to humor her crush.

Alina hung her head, defeated. When she met Henry’s eyes, she saw a hint of what she thought may be sympathy.

Henry opened the door for her, and then was hit with the cool air from outside. The temperature had drastically dropped since he and Eric arrived just a couple hours before. He reached into his right jacket pocket to get his keys, but they weren’t there.

“Hey, Henry? Where’d you park?” Alina asked, scanning the street for his old, used Camaro.

Henry indicated to where he parked while checking his other pocket with his free hand.

“Your car isn’t there.” Alina said, looking at him quizzically.

Henry ran his hand through his shaggy hair. “Shit! I bet your asshole brother took it. Now I’ll have to clean the fucking seats.”

Alina tilted her head, and her golden hair fell over her shoulder.

“Never mind. Do you mind walking?” Henry asked, already strolling down the walkway.

Alina brushed her hands over her goose bump adorned arms. She was freezing in her tiny dress, but as she watched Henry walking away without her, she realized she didn’t care. She had to jog to catch up with him, for his legs were much longer than hers, and he took longer strides. “Of course not,” she almost whispered.

They walked in silence for at least ten minutes. Henry would occasionally look down at Alina, wondering why she wasn’t blabbering like she usually did.

Henry finally decided to break the silence. “So...” he started hesitantly, “Did you have fun at the party?”

Alina shot him a glare with her icy blue eyes. “Are you serious right now? You ruined my night!”

Henry shrugged. “Wrong question. Sorry.”

Alina watched her feet as they walked further. Why she agreed to walking when she lived at least forty-five minutes away by foot was beyond her, but she looked at Henry curiously. This was the first time he’d tried to start a conversation with her, and she’d just ruined it. She thought of things she’d wanted to talk to him about before. “Is it true that you’re a writer?”

Henry was shocked by the question. Aside from his English teachers, no one knew Henry still wrote. “I guess, if you count people who write shit as writers.”

Alina studied his face. He looked more vulnerable than she’d seen him before. “What do you write?” she asked.

Henry thought about his answer. Sometimes he didn’t know what he was writing. What would start as a short story would turn into a poem. If he tried to write a poem, it would end up being song lyrics. “Everything, really. I’m not too picky, but I want to write a novel some day.” He shook his head. He’d never told anyone that before.

Alina looked at him with more interest. “Do you think you’ll make a living out of writing? Be a journalist or something?” she inquired.

“No, no,” he replied quickly. “I’d never want to be a journalist. Their jobs are either dull or dangerous. Besides, I prefer fiction. I get to control what happens. I'm never startled by my own endings, and it's like having your own little world.”

Alina nodded. The two continued talking for the next thirty minutes of the walk home. For the first time, Henry felt like Alina might not be as strange or childish as he’d thought for all the years he’d known her and Eric. Alina was more than happy to listen to Henry. She felt as if something she’d wanted for so long was finally happening, only it felt completely natural.

Even after they’d reached Alina’s front yard, they kept talking. Alina’s parents weren’t home, and she wasn’t in any kind of rush to cut the conversation short, so they sat on her front steps. They talked for another hour, but it seemed like just minutes. They discussed books, politics, and even sports, and by the end of the night, they’d wondered why they’d never considered being friends.

Alina checked her cell phone and noticed it was past midnight. They both rose as they said goodnight. Alina turned and smiled before she opened her front door. As the door closed, Henry realized that little Alina wasn’t really a child at all.