See You Soon - A Novella | ✓

Jimmy

"I wish I could fly."

Jimmy turned to look at her. She hadn't said anything in hours, sitting up here on the highest hill overlooking town.

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

"Just thinking. This is my favorite spot in the world right now. Makes me wish I could grow wings and fly over this tiny town. Maybe keep going. Looking at other tiny towns and maybe find a new favorite spot."

Jimmy knew her hopes and dreams. Hell, he knew almost everything about this beautiful, unobtainable girl.

Wait a second. She was no girl anymore. They grew up together, right across the street from each other. He knew better than anyone she was now a woman. He was no peeping-tom, now, come on, but he had seen firsthand the way she had grown up. To say it had been easy in this small town nestled in the western hills of Pennsylvania would be a lie, but they both had turned out OK.

"And you wouldn't miss it?" Jimmy asked with a tiny hope that she would say what he wanted to hear.

For the first time since climbing up this hill a few hours ago, she looked at him. Damn her and her bright blue eyes. The brightness of the summer day dimming, turning the blue sky opalescent, had nothing on the brilliance of her eyes.

"Jimmy, you wouldn't, either," she said, dashing that hope.

Oh, yes, he would. Especially this spot with her. No point in telling her that though. She would never see him as anything other than a friend. That's just how it had always been for the twenty years they had known each other.

Besides, God knows he could never lose her in his life. If things went south because he pursued her, he wouldn't be able to live without her.

"No, I guess I wouldn't," he lied. Oh, well.

"Not too much longer and I will fly away from here, and I will not look back," she said with passion.

OK, that hurt.

"Well, geez. Thanks," Jimmy said, not able to hide the sting.

She turned her body to face him, looking him full in the face.

"You could come with me, Jimmy. And before you say no, again, just listen. You and I both know you want to get out as bad as I do. Come with me to New York. There is a ton of stuff for you to do there."

She stared him straight in the face throughout her little rant that he had heard at least ten times since she had landed a job as a columnist in the New York Times newspaper.

He was so proud of her. Straight out of high school to a rundown community college to get an associate's degree in creative writing to her dream job in New York. She was doing what they always talked about; living her dreams of getting out of Small Town, Pennsylvania, USA.

But what she refused to see and understand was his duty to stay here. He had to.

"Supporting my family is number one right now. You know that. I can't leave them here with nothing. I won't leave until Cara can take care of herself."

Cara was his twelve year old sister. Since his father passed away, right after he turned twenty, he became the sole care giver. Lord knows his mother couldn't handle losing his father, let alone finish raising Cara until she could take care of herself.

Jimmy watched her face fall as she turned away from him, looking back at the town.

"Don't do it," Jimmy said to her. He knew what was about to come.

She looked back over at him, again. "Don't do what?" she sternly asked.

"You know what."

Too late. Jimmy watched as her lower lip started to quiver, not out of sadness. No, she would never let him see her cry. Her lip quivered again, and he could see her biting it from the inside to try and stop the inevitable.

"Don't bite your lip, either. Listen, we will still see each other. I'll visit when I can, and you better do the same. Plus, there is always Skype," Jimmy gave it one last attempt to try and make her laugh; to try to stop what he saw was building in her.

She took a deep breath, turned away from him again, whispering something unintelligible under her breath.

"When are you leaving, again?" he asked trying to take her mind off the current topic of him going with her.

When she turned back to respond, he could see it.

The pout.

Oh, shit, she was pissed.

Through gritted teeth she said, "In a week. Please change the subject. Now."

He had been on the bad end of the pout more times than he could count. He knew it was dangerous territory and anything could set her off.

He decided to try and take her mind off of New York by bringing up their past. "Remember the day it rained while we were up here and we decided to run back home so we wouldn't get soaked." He couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "Miss clumsy over here lost her footing and landed face first in the mud."

"You were dying laughing," she said, the pout fading slightly. "Until I threw mud at you."

The smug look she gave him made his heart squeeze. She was gorgeous.

"Well, your little laughing fit lasted about as long as mine. Your face when I was running toward you to tackle you was awesome!" Jimmy said, hoping the pout would fade completely now.

That day had been one of his favorites. When he tackled her, she was laying beneath him, their body heat coming through their soaked clothes. God, it felt so good.

Jimmy was still laughing to himself, remembering the feeling of her body on his. When he looked up at her, the pout was in full force.

What the hell? Jimmy said to himself. Wasn't she just laughing?

Jimmy sat in silence for a moment, thinking about her weird mood. He didn't want her mad at him, but it was best to let her say what was on her mind or the pout would never go away, and, most likely, she wouldn't talk the rest of the day.

Here goes nothing. "Just tell me one thing. Why do you want to go to New York so badly?"

She retracted herself from him as if he slapped her. The bottom lip that made the pout jutted out even more, and he knew he was in for it. Her eyes turned dark, a storm brewing. She inhaled a long breath, filling her lungs.

He knew it all too well. She was going in for the kill. He braced himself for what she was about to say, knowing it was going to sting again.

"James Ryan Addler, you know exactly why I want out, and you pretending that you don't is complete bull shit. You want out as bad as I do, but the difference is, I am not letting anything hold me back from doing it. If you want to end up like your father stuck in this tiny town, in that mine shaft, waiting to die, whether by a blast or just natural causes, be my guest, but do not expect for one second for me to be around to watch. How you could possibly want that life, want to stay here, is beyond me. There is nothing here for us, no room to grow and be free. Please, come with me."

Before she even said the last sentence, he was up and moving away from her. He knew what she was going to say, and he knew pushing her would bring the yelling rant of how she couldn't believe he was going to stay. But he never would've guessed she would bring his father into it, talking about his father was too far.

"Jimmy, wait! Please, wait," she yelled after him, but he was already twenty yards away from her.

He didn't want to hear her apologize, didn't want to hear any explanation she had to give about what she said. She already said it, damage was done.