Open Your Eyes

Evan had finally gone home after a couple hours of catching up and I had nothing to do. I know that unpacking was probably my best option at the moment but I wanted someone to talk to. I had been pacing around my room since Evan had left and I was so bored out of my mind that I thought it might explode.

I decided that I would call Elizabeth while I packed so that I could have the best of both worlds. I hadn't been answering her texts lately and I figured that I owed her a phone call. It wasn't just her though; I hadn't been answering anyone's texts. Especially not Jerimiah's. I really hoped that the last night I saw him would be the last night that I ever saw him.

Jerimiah was my boyfriend in Prince Edward Island. Was being the key word in that sentence. He had been my boyfriend up until the night I ran into him at a party holding another girl's hand. It wasn't just any girl's hand though; it was Stacy Whiteman's hand. The girl that had been his previous girlfriend, the girl he swore to me he was over. I know it was just hand holding and if it were any other girl I probably wouldn't have cared as much, but it wasn't any other girl; it was Stacy.

I shoved myself between them when I saw them which caught Jerimiah off guard. He chased after me but I never stopped for him. I just got in my car and left. I think the worst part was the fact that it was supposed to be my going away party. My going away party and he brought her. I guess that was how he wanted to be remembered. I didn't understand why he continued to text me though, I was starting to get annoyed.

I picked up my phone and called Elizabeth. I closed my door so that I could have her on speaker phone without my mom overhearing us. I left my phone on the bed and walked over to my boxes, ready to make this room my own again. It was going to look so different from when I was younger. I was sort of excited.

'So, have you seen him yet?" Elizabeth said as soon as she picked up the phone. I knew who she was talking about but I pretended that I didn't. "You know! That boy?" It was just like Elizabeth to come right out and ask me. She hated beating around the bush which I liked because it saved time. I could also rely on her to tell me the truth even when it's bad or not something I want to hear.

"Honestly, I don't even know how you remember me telling you about him. I told you years ago." I said laughing. "Why are you so hell bent on the two of us anyways? We were six." I started unpacking the boxes with all of my clothes in them. I wanted to get my closet done first because it was the fastest and easiest thing to do.

"Still. I think it would have been cute to have seen him again." She said and I could tell by the softness in her voice that she was painting her nails. She always seemed so relaxed while painting them which always made me laugh when I was with her. Elizabeth was all sorts of weird, but I loved her.

"Yeah, probably." I said shrugging my shoulders despite the fact that she couldn't see me. "I often question why I never ran away with him that day. Life would have been easier if I had." The thought made me sad. Part of me always wondered what if. What if I had gone with Evan that day? Where would I be now? I doubt we would have made it that far though.

"You wouldn't have me though and I need you too." She said jokingly but I could tell that she meant it. We helped each other out, life would be weird without her in it. I knew that I probably should have admitted to seeing Evan today but part of me wanted to keep it my secret. There was something about him and how we had reunited that I wanted to keep close to me.

"I doubt he would have gone through with it anyways." I said. "Running away, I mean." We probably would have been away for a couple of hours before Evan chickened out and we decided to head back. We would have made it back in time for dinner and my mom wouldn't have even noticed I had disappeared. Evan used to chicken out of things all the time. One time he told me that he was going to catch a gardener snake, completely harmless, but as soon as he got within a foot of it he ran away screaming. I'll always remember the look of panic and excitement that shot through him while he ran. It always made me laugh when I thought about it.

"I think you underestimate the ability you have that makes guys fall at your feet, Brooke. I bet he would have ran in a heartbeat if you said go." Clearly she was dilusional. Guys never really payed attention to me, they never even looked at me. The only guy who had noticed me at all was Jerimiah and look where that's gotten me. Hurt and betrayed.

"Why would Jerimiah cheat on me then?" I asked, testing her. I heard her sigh on the other end and I sank to the floor. I was leaning againt my bed now, placing my clothes on hangers, and folding the ones I wanted to put in my dresser. I ran a hand through my hair and let out a big breath as I thought about the whole situation. I knew I would probably have more messages from him once I got off the phone. Something that I was not looking forward too.

"You don't know he did for sure," She said, hopeful. "They were just holding-"

"I know, holding hands! No big deal." I said cutting her off. "Except that it was my going away party and it was with his ex girlfriend. He brought her to his current girlfriend's party. There was definitely something going on." I felt a weight on my shoulders and then suddenly the tension was gone. It felt like I was getting the most amazing massage and I tilted my head back enjoying the feeling. My body was acting weird, but I wasn't about to question it for making me feel better.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "you deserve better." I sniffled but held back my tears. I wasn't about to cry over some stupid guy who wasn't worth it. I decided that being single was probably better for me anyways. Even if Jerimiah and I had stayed together, I doubt it would have survived the distance. Maybe he did me a favour.

"I miss you already!" I said whining, "school and everything will be horrible without you." Summer just started and I was already dreading the end of it. One more year to go and then I'm out of high school forever. It seemed scary to think that I would be graduating with strangers and not my friends from my old school. I was going to have the worst year of my life.

"I know. Senior year without you will be hell." I could just imagine it now. I would go to school, make hardly any friends because the older you are the harder it gets. I would pass all of my classes, well maybe not math but possibly, and then at the end of the year I would be completely miserable. I don't even know what school I'll even be going to. It will probably be horrible.

"I guess we're just going to have to make the most of it." I said quietly. "But hey, I'm going to go now. I'll talk to you later." We both said goodbye and then hung up. I knew she understood why I had to go. This year was going to be worse for me and thinking about it made me worry even more. I guess that I should probably just stop thinking about it all together until summer is actually over but I can't help it. It's just there in my head, lurking.

I figured that I should probably go and look for a job some time this week so that I could have some extra spending money. I remember seeing a "Now Hiring" sign hanging on a restaurant door on the drive here. It wasn't too far of a walk; maybe ten minutes. My mom was bound to start pestering me on it sooner or later so I might as well get right on it.

I finished up with my clothes and hung some of them up in the closet and placed the others in my dresser. As soon as I put my last shirt in my dresser a piece of paper fell out of it. I bent over and picked up finding it extremely odd that I didn't noticed a piece of paper in my shirt before. I unfolded it and read it once over. Then, I read it again and again. You're wrong. I just stared at it wondering what it meant.