Open Your Eyes

"Wait, you and Evan had a fight?" Elizabeth said, sounding just as shocked as I was. I had called her as soon as I gotten home because I needed to rant to someone about what had happened at the tree house. I thought about the conversation between Evan and I over and over and every time I've come to the same conclusion; I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with him. I was just being honest with him about something that happened when we were six years old. We were six; give me a break.

"I guess so. I mean, I was expressing my thoughts to him like I always thought I could, you know? And he just gets mad and stomps off." I said throwing my hands up in the air. "Maybe thinking that we could get our friendship back right away was too good to be true." I could understand why he would be upset about me leaving while he was going through what he was, at the time, but it's not like him to hold a grudge. His parents were ignoring him and this kid at school had given him a black eye for sticking up for this girl, Helena, when people were throwing food at her. He was always so nice but felt like nobody appreciated it. He was going through a stage of depression at the time... maybe he still was. The thought of that brought tears to my eyes and I suddenly felt like a very selfish human being.

"Before we make assumptions, can you explain to me what happened?" I told her about the tree house and how we had picked a day to explore it. I told her about how we found that everything we had put in it was still there and that the pact we had written on the wall was one of the things that never disappeared. I told her all about the conversation and how bad I had felt afterwards but how confused I was at the same time. She didn't interrupt me once; she just waited for me to finish talking. I loved this about Elizabeth; she was an amazing listener. Well... most of the time, anyways.

"Hmm," She said clearly trying to rack her brain for an answer. Either that or she already had an answer and I wasn't going to like it. On that note; what the hell does "Hmm" mean? "I think... I think maybe there's more to it. You said he was upset because of you left when he was going through a tough time. Maybe something happened while you were gone that he holds against you because you weren't there." What could he possibly hold against me if I wasn't there for reasons that are not my fault?

"Why would he hold a grudge against me for something that was out of my control?" I asked feeling my body tense with anger. I didn't like her analysis very much seeing as she was basically calling me a horrible friend to Evan. Or at least that was how I was taking it anyways. Besides, if it's because that bully never left him alone after I left I'm pretty sure he isn't getting picked on anymore. I mean, he's gorgeous. He's already told me about half the girls he's been with. There was Mandy - the tall, brunette, with a swimmer's body. There was Noelle (Elle) - the short, blonde, with a dancer's body. Then there was Kimberly, Justine, and Lisa who were all best friends and all had different classes with him. And this was just the beginning; I could list off way more than that. I felt uneasy when I thought about all of them though. Just something about him being with all of those girls really annoyed me.

"I think that instead of discussing this with me, you should go over and talk to him about it. I honestly think that it'll blow over though; I think he's probably just going through one of his little-boy phases when it comes to you and him. Plus, you did kind of tell him that your life was better off without him in it." I had been pacing around my room squeezing a stress ball that was now turning my hand purple with how hard I was squeezing it. I chucked it at the wall with full force and listened to the loud boom it made throughout my house. I think my mom was out grocery shopping though so it didn't really matter.

"I loved that boy with every piece of my heart. I would have scaled buildings for him, I would have flown to the moon just to bring him a piece of the sand, I would have even jumped off a bridge for him if it was the only way to save his life. I would still do all of that for him if it meant that he could be in my life forever." I collapsed onto the floor and chucked the phone in front of me after putting it on speaker. I grabbed a sweater from my floor and put it on while hugging myself with my arms for comfort.

"You should tell him that, Brooke. You really-"

"No, I really shouldn't. Who am I kidding? He doesn't care about me the way he used to. I could sit here all day wishing that he did but he won't ever. I think... I think I've lost him again. I don't know if I can make this better." I felt a chill run up my spine and hugged myself tighter. Then, something fell off of my dresser. I looked over and noticed that it was my photo album, flipped open to the page of Evan on my last day before moving. I walked over and picked it up, making sure to place it neatly back on the dresser again. The album fell over again and I just stared at it, feeling an even creepier chill run up my spine.

"... and so I think that's what you should do." Elizabeth was talking but I was no longer listening to what she was saying. I kept getting bits and pieces but for the most part her words were lost in the air somewhere. I finally built up the courage to walk over and pick up the album again but this time I placed it far away from the edge so that it couldn't fall over again before walking back and sitting down on my bed. "Hello? Brooke... you there?" The album fell again.

"Elizabeth," I asked hesitantly, "do you believe in ghosts?" I sat on my bed so still that if I was placed in the window of a clothing store, I could easily be mistaken for a manikin. I used to think that ghosts weren't real. I never believed in an afterlife or even in god for that matter. I always thought that people just deteriorated into dirt after they died. Now, I wasn't so sure; about the ghost part anyways. Evan used to always tell me just the opposite though. He said that god, if you let him, would forgive you for your sins. He said that god would grant you access to the gates of heaven. He said that he also believed that if you had unfinished business that god would keep you a ghost so that you could have somewhat of a do-over. Maybe I should have listened to him; then again he was only six.

"Yes. I believe that they haunt you during your every waking hour; even your non-waking hours. I believe that they'll-"

"Elizabeth," I said sternly, "shut up. Be real with me here." I could feel the chill continue to creep its way up my spine and I almost started crying right then and there. Of course, the logical side of me kicked in and realized that my window was open. It was probably just the wind knocking the album over. The wind was pretty strong out today and my dresser was placed beside my window. I decided that I might as well just leave the thing on the floor for now until I decide to shut my window later on tonight.

"Are you okay?" She asked, all traces of sarcasm gone from her tone. I shrugged even though she couldn't see me and then glanced back over at the album quickly before concentrating on something else. "Why are you asking me about ghosts? You don't even believe in them." I shrugged her off with my hand even though I knew that she couldn't see that gesture either. I felt very strange in my room now, just like I had on the first day I moved in. It was the kind of eeriness that people often felt while being in their basement alone in the dark. That feeling that made you want to book it up the stairs as fast as you could and slam the door shut behind you. I really felt like booking it down the stairs and straight out the front door right now.

"Yeah, I was just being stupid. Anyways, I think that I'm going to head over to Evan's to apologize. I feel like it won't be able to fix the way he feels but I have to try." Thinking about seeing Evan, who was probably still angry about today's earlier events, made me extremely nervous and excited. I don't know why I was feeling those two emotions when I was about to have his door slammed in my face once he saw me standing there. Elizabeth was right, I had basically told him that my life was better off without him, but this wasn't true. I didn't mean it the way I had said it, but there was no taking my words back now.

"Good luck," She said and then we both clicked off and I sat there staring at the ceiling fidgeting with my fingers. I ran through conversations that could happen while confronting Evan about what happened in the tree house. A lot of them ended up with us patching things up, but part of me was really concerned for our friendship and thinking that maybe we really couldn't. I stood up and picked up the album off the floor and placed it on the dresser as far back as it would go. I did this because I wanted to test it. I closed the window and then walked away from it. Nothing happened though; the album stayed where it was.

"See, it was just the wind." I whispered to myself soothingly before walking to my door. "Now... if I could just think of what to say to Evan." I paced around my room thinking about a way that I could start off the conversation. Just then, my phone rang with "Jack Pine." My heart-rate sped up as I picked up the phone. Waves of excitement and horror went through me as I thought about the interview and all of the pros and cons about it.

"Hello, Brooke speaking." I said, trying to sound professional. Normally I would shout something that you could hardly understand into the phone out of boredom and laziness. This was actually important though so I wanted to be well respected. Not that Jack didn't already respect me. But there's a difference in respecting your friend's daughter and respecting that daughter as an employee.

"Hi, Brooke. I was just calling to let you know that I discussed your resume and interview with my partner and I am pleased to tell you that you are now an official member of the "Jack's: Best Food For Miles" staff." A smile so wide that my cheeks immediately started to hurt spread across my face and I instantly started thanking him. "Oh, you won't be thanking me tomorrow, missy. You start at eight a.m. sharp." I laughed even though part of that sentence scared the crap out of me and then proceeded to thank him again until we both said our goodbyes and I was left there in the quiet again debating on what I should do. My first instinct was to run over and tell Evan the news but part of me wondered if he'd even care. He had already told me I had gotten the job before so maybe he would just get irritated with me.

For some reason I didn't care about this fact. He was the first person I thought of telling and so he was going to be the first person I told. Besides, I still had to go over and apologize anyways. I might as well squeeze it in somewhere in that conversation. I walked over the door and stopped when I heard a loud thud hit the floor. I turned around slowly and right there beside my dresser sat the album on the floor with its page turned to that same picture of Evan.