Let The Walls Break Down

We were in the van, coming back from Wal Mart and we could hear Jack in the very back flipping the shampoo bottle open and closing it repeatedly.

“We’re going to put him into a mental institute,” Alex said, turning back towards me. I laughed and I saw Rian out of the corner of my eye ‘stretching’ and putting his arm around me. About time, this kid. I put my head on his shoulder and I felt his tension leave.

“Aww!” I heard in unison from Maria and Jack in the backseat, and Alex turned around to join in on the festivities. Rian just held me tighter.

-Two Weeks Later-

You would think that Rian and I were an item now; an item on isle 6 for $12.99. But we weren’t. We were always together, though. Tonight was their last night in town and they left my house about an hour ago, waiting for them to return for their goodbyes in the morning.
I pulled my quilt over my shoulders and I heard a noise coming from outside, like a generator. I went to my window to see what jackass had a generator on at 11:30 at night. In the midst of my hunt for the idiot, I saw Rian in the street in front of my house, looking up at my window as I opened it up.

“What are you doing?” I said whispering and yelling at the same time.

“Can I come up?”

I nodded and motioned for him to use the gutter. Once he got up here, he walked past me and sat on my computer chair.

“What are you doing here?” I asked again, sitting on the edge of my bed.

“I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could. Where are your parents?”

“I don’t know…downstairs?”

“Can I sleep in here?”

“Sure. Do you want a blanket or a pillow?”

“Nah, I’ll be good.”

I got into my bed again as he lied on the ground, still wearing his jacket. After a couple of minutes, I was facing the opposite direction he was in and I felt pressure on the bed behind me and I felt him laying next to me and he put his arm around me. I put my hand on top of his and he put his chin on my shoulder. “Good night,” he said.

“Good night.”

****

I got out of bed quietly to go to the bathroom and to survey the area for parentals. When I came back into my room, Rian looked so adorable. I guess during the night he had taken off his jacket and had on a gray v-neck. And we weren’t even together. I lied next to him again and gently rested my arm across his stomach as he shifted and nestled his head somewhere under mine. And that five o’clock shadow!

Soon after he had woken up and climbed out of my window again, I went downstairs and outside to join him and to wait for Alex, Jack and Maria to show up.

When they got here, Jack had his arm draped around Maria and she was holding him around his waist and Alex swiftly walked towards me and engulfed my head in his arms. “BFF’s forever,” he whispered into my ear as I laughed softly and nodded.

Jack prowled over to me like a creep and picked me up in his hug. I didn’t know how. His arms were lankier than mine. “Well, I don’t know you that well yet, but Maria seems to like you, so I like you.” He looked me intimately in the eye and flipped his hair seductively. Something is wrong with that kid.

And next was Rian. He had been standing awkwardly behind me, so I turned around and he had a goofy grin on his face and his hands were in his pockets. “I think I’ll miss you most of all, Tin Man,” I smiled and he returned it. He put his arms around me and I did the same and he kissed the top of my head. He started to walk away as Alex and Jack weren’t sure where to look – at me, at him, or in the space between us – but they were waiting for something to happen. And it did. Before Rian reached the van, he turned around and walked towards me again, he placed his hands on my neck, and he kissed me for what seemed like a lifetime.

As I opened my eyes, I saw Maria and Alex on both sides of us with a camera, taking pictures. “Really?!” I somewhat screamed.

“Documented forever!” Maria taunted.

“Proof – there’s no denying it!” Alex mocked in the same tone as Maria.

I started to laugh and Rian hugged me once more before Jack and Maria started making out and they all got on the van. And they were gone.

Rian and I were talking constantly; we never ran out of things to talk about. Maria, however, was in the fits. She cared for Jack so much, and she always knew he couldn’t stay long, but somehow forgot that and missed him terribly. I couldn’t stand her.

But after the first month after they left, I kept hearing from Rian less and less until one day the texts finally ceased. I didn’t know why – I didn’t think I had done anything to upset him, and he never seemed bored when we talked late at night. Whenever Rian stopped texting me, I started getting texts from Alex. I know he wasn’t trying to make a move on me – he had Lisa after all – it was a more friendly matter. And I couldn’t help but to think something was up.

‘Alex, what happened to Rian?’

‘Oh. Nothing.’

‘Why did he stop texting me?’

‘He’s having a problem with family right now.’

‘Alex, don’t you dare lie to me.’

And that was all I ever heard about the subject. If I had ever brought it up again, he would just stop responding until I brought up another. I wanted to know what was going on in Baltimore.

****

Maria and I graduated in June, and we’re about to start college. She’s going to the University of Wisconsin, but I opted to take online courses.

And one day, out of the blue, I got a call from my closest cousin, Patrick.