“Morning, Mom. You’re not going to work with dad today?” “No. I’m home today. Well actually I’m just heading out to the spa. I had a massage scheduled for today in about an hour in a half, and it’s in the city, so I’ll be leaving here shortly. You were out late last night. Did Kim and you have a good time?” “Yeah! It was great, Mom. It was really nice to be out with a girlfriend. It feels like it’s been awhile since I’ve had a close girlfriend, so it’s nice to have her around outside of school.” I don’t want to mention Ethan. My mom doesn’t have many rules about boys, but if I tell her Ethan ended up meeting up with us she would probably have too many questions that I wouldn’t want to answer. For now, I’ll stick with just Kim and me going out. “I’m glad to hear you had fun. I better get going though so I’m not late to my appointment. Who knows if there will be any traffic? It is a weekday. Be good today, honey, and just enjoy yourself. Call me if you need anything. This weekend we will do something, you and your father and me.” She kisses me on my forehead, grabs her purse off the counter, and heads out the door with her coffee in hand. I’m glad that I don’t have to chat with her today. I really feel like getting out in the sun and just going for a short walk down by the creek, by myself this time though so as not to create any more issues or drama in my life. Summer is so beautiful here. Not like in the big city where there are too many buildings and not enough nature. Walking down behind my parent’s house I take the time to notice the nature living and growing around me. It is the end of June, and the weather is beautiful. The grass is green and the flowers and bushes are blooming. The world around me is filled with color. I enjoy being able to take the time to appreciate what the earth has to give and its natural beauty. Out here, you can feel just how peaceful the world can be. The sound of the water running in the creek helps me to clear my mind as I listen to the sounds of it rippling through the rocks. The thoughts of Ethan don’t take long to creep back on me. Sitting on the hill that is just above the creek reminds me of the first dream I had of Ethan. I’m so happy that everything seems to be working out with him now. Just as I close my eyes and lay back to start daydreaming about Ethan, I feel a presence behind me. I sit up abruptly and turn around to see Derrick standing there. Feeling shocked with a little bit of disappointment, I still can’t help but get excited when I look at him. I can’t decide if he just spoiled my perfect moment or made it better. “Hey, what are you doing here?” I don’t mean to sound upset but as soon as the words came out of my mouth there’s a bit of anger in them. He’s invading my space right now when all I want to do is be alone and even though his presence does bring me some pleasure I decide I would rather be alone reminiscing about Ethan. “I’m sorry, Lindsay. I went to your house, and when no one answered I thought I would check to see if you were down here. I really need to talk to you.”
