I walked out through the school entrance, and beside me, I heard a soft scratch against the ground. It was Meredith, sitting by the wall with her head bowed. She twirled her hair backward and noticed me standing next to her.
"Jaze, I'm sorry about last night," she said, her eyebrows furrowed, a glint of regret and guilt in her eyes. Why was she sitting there?
"Please, get up," I said, extending my hand.
"Not until you forgive me." Her voice was sincere and apologetic. I smiled and looked at her warmly. I had never held a grudge against her, but deep down, I knew I should never have hoped we would be together.
"I forgive you. Hold my hand." She took my hand and stood up, relief washing over her face. I noticed her teeth—white, with a peculiar canine tooth that resembled my mother's, strangely sharp and slightly pointed. Her eyes were scarlet red, and the evening sky was beginning to darken. We walked toward her house, and I could sense she wanted to speak, but every time she parted her lips, she tilted her head forward and bit her lip slightly. I needed to tell her how I felt.
"Meredith, I..." She cut me off with a stutter, as though she wanted to speak first.
"Go ahead," she replied with a smile. I wanted to be as honest as possible.
"Meredith, we should stop seeing each other." She stopped halfway. I looked down at her legs, and for a moment, it seemed like her shadow flickered. She locked eyes with me, flustered.
"Jaze, what are you saying? I thought you..." She reached out her hand, covered by her usual gloves, to touch my face, but I tilted my head backward and darted my eyes away from her.
"When I look at you, just your presence is enough to give me a sense of peace, and for a while, I was happy. You made me happy. But I can't come between you and Jack. I don't want to be that kind of guy."
"You don't understand. Jack, he's..."
"Meredith, you don't need to explain... I'll get going. Bye."
I muttered, then began walking in the direction of my house. I couldn't help but start running. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and in a moment of pain and sorrow, I felt a surge of power in my body. My feet felt light, and I could smell the distinct scent in the atmosphere. My senses heightened so much that I could see people walking in the street at a slow pace. What was happening? Was I hallucinating, or was it the cancer? I stopped by the side of the road, breathing rapidly and crying. I placed my hands on my chest, then on my knees, wiping my tears and facing downwards. Slowly, I could hear the rumble of thunder up ahead. I saw a kid playing outside with his mother and skittered over to where they stood.
"Excuse me, it's going to rain soon. You should take your kid inside," I said, wiping my tears away.
"Hey, aren't you Derrick's son? Are you alright?" The woman, who looked to be in her 30s, held onto her son as if protecting him from an impending danger.Ever since Mom died, some of the neighbors felt unsafe being around my father and me for reasons I couldn't figure out. I couldn't help but feel hollow inside, tears streaming down my face.
"Ma'am, get your son inside; it will rain soon," I said through sobs. I hurried inside and shut the door. A few minutes later, I could hear the slow dripping of rain, followed by a loud clash of thunder.
I took a shower and lay on my bed, patting Scar on the back as she curled up on my stomach, hiding her face. She hated thunderstorms. I heard something tapping on the window. I peered forward, but it was blurry. I put on my glasses, which lay on the bed, and moved toward the window. The raindrops covered the glass from the outside. I squinted my eyes and suddenly saw a hand on the window.
"Meredith?" I gasped, furrowing my eyebrows, shocked to see her standing outside on the roof, holding onto her shoulders.
"Good heavens, what are you doing?" I opened the door, and she jumped in, soaking wet. Her dress was a mess, and I could tell she had been crying. I hugged her tightly, my own tears welling up. I couldn't bear to see her cry. I could feel her chest heaving against mine as she sobbed, her face resting against my arm.
I slowly pulled away from her and stared into her eyes.
"Jaze, I'm not Jack's girlfriend. We're not together. Please believe me," she said between sobs. I held her by the shoulders, careful not to touch her skin.
"First, take a shower, and I'll... um, get you a dress." I pointed to the bathroom door, which was about seven meters from where we stood.
"Go ahead. I'll go get the dress and towel," I said, rushing to the door.
"Hey, boy!"
"Dad! Long time no see. What brings you here?" I exclaimed, gasping as my left hand banged against the edge of the door.
"Well, can't I come see my son?"
"Umm, now's not the right time, Dad. Can we talk some other time? I've got a lot of homework to do..." I tightened my grip on the door as I stood in the center.
"I get it, son. Fine, we'll talk later. Don't forget to turn off the lights."
"Sure, Dad. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, son. I... um, heard a weird sound in your room. Are you sure everything's alright? Anything broken?" Dad tilted his head, glancing into my room.
"Everything's fine, Dad. Okay, I'll close the door now. Bye." I responded and gently closed the door. I could hear him sigh outside, and with a soft thud of his footsteps, he went down the stairs.