Fallen Leaves - Chapter 30: Where Do Broken Hearts Go

The forest seemed quieter than usual. There was no rustling of leaves, no birds singing, not even the faintest hint of wind. The stillness had an eerie quality about it. Death seemed to permeate the air. A slight mist started to come down from the leaves of the forest. It was like the forest itself was mourning.

Cadence took in her surroundings trying to understand why she was so miserable on this hike. The forest was so beautiful and before she had gotten together with Gus, she had never really taken the time to explore the forest that lay beside Oak Stream. The forest was menacing in the mist. The fact that they kept avoiding telling Kerass about their relationship status continued to weigh heavier and heavier on her shoulders.

The sound of the stream disrupted her thoughts. It was so odd. In the entirety of her life, she could not remember a single time hiking to the actual stream that Oak Stream was named after. Granted, as the forest grew up throughout the 200-year history of the town, the settlements, or Main Street in particular, grew further and further away from the stream. It took a little over an hour to hike to the stream. There was no road that led to it, so the only way to get to it was by hiking.

The stream roared beside them as they sat down on a giant rock that both touched the land and the stream. She smiled at him, but his gaze didn’t maintain, instead it drifted down to the raging water.

Cadence asked him what was wrong, but he just shook his head at her.

“I know, Cadence.”

“You know what?” she asked baffled.

“London. I stayed in the same hotel you were at when you were there two summers ago. Similar friends mingled, although oddly enough we never exchanged pleasantries.”

Cadence stopped Gus in his tracks. “Where is this going exactly?” she asked filled with apprehension.

“I know about your father.”

Cadence gasped.

“I know what he did to you,” Gus said gentler than she had ever heard him speak.

Their phones beeped simultaneously signifying a text message . Through nonverbals their gaze told each other it was fine to look. What Cadence read made her mouth drop: Kerass’ mom passed away.

Gus and Cadence stared at each other and in that instance she knew that this conversation that they so desperately needed to have would have to be put on hold like nearly everything else in their lives.



The ring tone went off startling Kerass back to reality. He was lying on the couch. Leaning over, he grabbed his cell, acknowledging that Jay was calling. He ignored it, which he knew in the moment would later come to bite him but he just couldn’t deal with Jay’s extravagant showcase of tears and sympathy. It truly made Kerass sick.

At least the guys in the Christian group had given him some semblance of space. They saw him in school individually either in between classes in the halls, or in the parking lot after school had ended. They all hugged him, told him they loved him, and that if he ever needed to talk to not be afraid to pick up the phone or to grab them in person. He thanked them genuinely, but internally he knew he would never dialog with them about this. He couldn’t even dialog with himself about this, so how could he even begin to attempt to dialog with them, good guys, but buddies he had met less than a month ago. They all promised him that they’d show up for the funeral as well. He told them it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t be able to truly acknowledge anyone’s presence there anyways because whether he showed it externally or not, he’d be a mess. Jeremy had been the only one to reply something else other than pleasantries to that. He had replied, “Listen, man, if this causes you to go over the edge, to I don’t know, have a crisis of faith, please talk with one of the brothers. Emotions aren’t meant to bristle inside.” Kerass was dumbfounded in how to respond to that, so he just nodded his head before he walked away.

Jay, on the other hand, had called him every day that week, but this morning was different. The funeral was in 5 hours and he simply didn’t want to deal with anyone today. Where do broken hearts go? he asked himself. They walk straight into the funeral service.

The doorbell rang. Kerass didn’t budge. He couldn’t move. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. The doorbell rang a second time. It was immediately followed by a knock on the door. One leg slid to the floor, the other followed suit. Slowly, Kerass rose up one vertebrae at a time. When he opened the door, Lyra stood before him with two lines of smeared mascara rolling down her face. Not a word was spoken. It was evident to him that she simply wanted to be with him in his time of need, in his time of mourning. She had been the only one so far to understand that the silence was what he wanted. The quiet helped him cope.

They sat on the couch in silence, clutching each other, and openly weeping together.



The men’s room inside Kerass’s father’s church was bigger than Jay had expected, spacious even. Kerass was washing his hands for the third time since Jay had entered the restroom. Forehead perspiring, or was it simply that he kept running water across his forehead? Whatever the case, Kerass looked like a wreck, understandably so, but concernedly he wasn’t crying. He had never looked so dead inside.

The fluorescent lights flashed off of something silver in Kerass’s hand. Jay couldn’t believe it. Kerass had taken off his cross necklace. He had worn that necklace every day since 6th grade. It was almost like he was unclad without it. Kerass spun it around his fingers. It nicked another man walking into the restroom. Jay had to bite his tongue from laughing. Immediately following that he felt horrible for almost laughing before a funeral, the funeral of his best friend’s mother no less.

Kerass never even noticed, or acknowledged at the very least, that Jay was even in the same bathroom. Looking over his shoulder, Kerass stealthily and slowly slipped the silver cross necklace into the trash.

Jay bit his tongue shouting an expletive in his mind. He had called Kerass all week, but when it came to confronting him in person, he froze. In spite of himself, he couldn’t help but notice before he left the restroom that Kerass, wearing a suit, was in long sleeves again. He wondered how many times Kerass had cut himself since his mother flatlined. The number was most likely in the hundreds…if not the thousands.



The funeral opened with the hymn Be Thou My Vision. Kerass sat in the front row alone as his father sat beside the podium. Mr. Baganz put his hand on Kerass’s shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. Kerass put his hand on top of Mr. Baganz's, acknowledging it and silently thanking him for his comfort and care.

Kerass knew the lyrics by heart, but there was something different about this time. This time he actually paid attention to what the lyrics were saying. In the middle of the fourth verse, he saw the words ‘thou and thou only, first in my heart’. He couldn’t do it. He simply could not open his mouth to speak along. God hadn’t been Kerass’s first for a while. His mother had taken that place ever since the accident before high school had even begun. God had taken away his first from him, more specifically his father had, the pastor of this church. Any sense of comfort from the Lord had disappeared when the plug was pulled. For the rest of the hymn, he remained silent. Kerass cursed and spat at God in his mind. He imagined punching his father in front of the congregation. The only reason he didn’t do so was out of respect for the memory of his mother.

His father stepped up to the podium, putting a fist to his chest twice to clear his throat before he welcomed everyone, thanking them for showing up to the funeral of his dearly beloved wife. Kerass was already bitter toward his father even before he opened his mouth to speak. Didn’t anybody find it odd that he was officiating the funeral of his wife? Shouldn’t he be crying up a river? Nope, instead he disturbingly smiled. “The love of my life is with our Lord Jesus in heaven now.”

Perhaps no one else was disturbed by his almost sinister smile, but Kerass knew better. His father took this funeral to tell the story that was the foundation of the Christian faith, the story of the death of Jesus Christ, the son of God, on a cross, and his resurrection from the dead 3 days later. Kerass used to love the story of the cross and resurrection as a child, but now it irked him more than anything. He was too familiar with it and he couldn’t stand that every opportunity his father got, he gave the same message over and over and over again.

The most horrid thing, some would even claim it macabre, and rightly so, was that he knew his father didn’t really believe it. Kerass had had a conversation with his father the night after the plug was pulled. His father had said that he would lose his job as a pastor and every cent of income if the congregation found out that he instigated his wife’s passing. As far as anyone in the congregation, or even his high school friends knew, it was a fault in the equipment, an act of God, not a doctor forcing the plug out of the outlet. His father had said that everything, the entire reason this death even happened, would be for naught if the congregation knew. Kerass spited his father. He was truly sick and demented, a monster in the truest sense of the word. If only the people sitting behind him knew, if only they knew the truth…but that would never happen. His father would take this secret to the grave, that part was undeniable. There was nothing more important to his father than being a pastor, even if he was completely and utterly hypocritical preaching from the pulpit.

Kerass tuned out his father’s sermon. He had learned to do so ever since he was 3 years old and was scolded to keep quiet during the service. In his mind, kids should be kids, and he couldn’t stand that other parents followed his father like a lighthouse beam on the sea. His father had royally screwed him up and he could see it in the eyes of the children, they all started to hate church and that more than likely would never stop.

The final hymn before the procession out of the sanctuary was When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. Again, emphasizing Jesus over his mother, whose actual funeral it was. Really no words had been spoken about her. Kerass was stunned by how quickly the memory of her voice, her laugh was already fading.

He would never do this again. He would never step into his father’s house again. He needed to leave. All the people trying to comfort him, hug him, invading his personal bubble, the fakeness of the congregation disturbed him to his very core. Kerass swore to himself that he would never go to another church service ever again and if there was one thing he knew he could count on, it was the promises he made to himself. He didn’t know where he would go, or if he would even stay in Oak Stream. He stood up during the final verse and started walking out of the building. He could sense Mr. Baganz’s, Cadence’s, and Jay’s eyes turning and following him down the isle. The last words he heard before the front doors shut behind him were: ‘love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all’.

End of Year 3

Fallen Leaves - Chapter 29: Happily

The police officer looked straight into Julia’s eyes. Julia breathed deeply demanding her body not to cry. She just wanted this to be over. First her car ran out of gas and now this? It was too much.

“Is everything ok, miss?”

Julia shook her head unable to help herself as she started to cry, audibly gasping for breath.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“I, I’ve, I’ve run out of gas,” Julia said fumbling with her words.

“Oh, well that’s something we can easily fix, now can’t we?”

Julia nodded.

“You in school around here?” the officer asked.

“Yes and no,” Julia answered. She continued to explain that she was a senior but she attended Oak Stream High.

“Oak Stream?” the officer asked bewildered. “What, isn’t that about a 13 hour drive from here?”

Julia said nothing.

“Well, let’s get you some gas.”

Phew! Julia let out a sigh of relief internally. Perhaps things would be all right after all. Julia respected the officer for not prying as to why she had driven so far away from home. It seemed odd to have had such a brief conversation and feel like your life had meaning and purpose once again. That wasn’t the officer’s intention, she was sure of that, but she had honestly never thought about women police officers before. She wasn’t anything like what she was expecting. She was kind and helpful. Julia had always envisioned police officers as harsh, intimidating, maybe even a little bit cruel. This was different.

They didn’t exchange any more words together other than pleasantries, a thank you from Julia, and a good luck wish from the police officer. Nothing needed to be said. She knew it was time to return home and face her problems. It would certainly be difficult and she was sure that Kerass and Jay were worried about her, but it was all going to be fine, she tried to convince herself. As she drove home, she started envisioning herself in a uniform. It looked good on her. It seemed right in her mind. The time had definitely come for her high school career to end.



Kerass clicked his tongue twice before he knocked on Cadence’s door. He tapped his leg in anticipation as the door opened slightly. Lyra stood in the door.

“I’m pet sitting,” she quickly explained.

“She’s still not back?” Kerass asked dumbfounded. It was a rhetorical question, but Lyra nonverbally responded by shaking her head anyway.

“We were supposed to study together, for the SATs, you see…” Kerass trailed, but he knew ultimately that it was meaningless.

“Well, why can’t we study together?”

Kerass was taken aback. It seemed so obvious. He was surprised by how oblivious he was to the whole thing.

Lyra continued to explain they all needed some extra help in prepping for the SATs. “That’s why I’m spending time here. I brought a study book and all.”

“That’s a great idea actually.”

“Come on in,” Lyra said beaming. “Any friend of Cadence is a dear friend of mine.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Kerass added uneasy. He remembered saying something to the same extent to Cadence about Lyra before the play had begun. Now on the opposing end, hearing it out loud about himself, it seemed really awkward and it just didn’t settle well with Kerass.

“Who was at the door, Lyra?” Cadence’s mom called out from the kitchen.

“Mrs. Harris!?” Kerass uttered floored.

“Kerass!” Cadence’s mom yelled with excitement. “It’s lovely to see you.”

Kerass stammered trying to be polite. He couldn’t remember exactly when he had met Mrs. Harris or if they had ever met in person period. He knew what she looked like through photos and the like, but Mrs. Harris acted as if Cadence and Kerass had grown up together from the age of 3 or something. It was slightly uncomfortable, but Kerass thought he handled it with class.

“Wait, where’s Cadence?”

“Oh, didn’t she tell you?” Mrs. Harris responded. “She’s helping out on a farm with Gus for the weekend.”

Kerass stared at Lyra trying to understand. It only took 3 seconds, but in his mind it felt like 10 minutes. Cadence told him that she would be out of town. Gus told him that he had to help out at his boss’ brother’s farm. No wonder he wanted a friendship like Cadence had with Gus. They were dating each other. How had he missed this before? He cursed himself internally for being so blind. The moment he thought it, the more obvious it became in his mind. He exhaled trying to let it go and move on.

“That’s great,” Kerass replied half-heartedly. “Sorry, we really need to study now.”

“Yeah,” Lyra dragged the word out.

“Well, I’ll let you two be. Make sure you say goodbye before you leave!”

“Sure,” Kerass added in a throaty whisper.

It doesn’t matter…Kerass tried to convince himself. Internally a piece of his heart shattered. He hadn’t wanted to be Cadence’s friend. He had been lying to himself. Truthfully, he wanted to be her boyfriend and well, that wasn’t going to happen anymore. He asked himself whether he could still be Cadence’s friend. He didn’t know, truly. He had to wait to see how he would react once he saw them in the open together. For now, he was going to keep it all to himself.

“You ready?” Lyra asked him disturbing his thoughts.

“What? Sorry, yeah, totally.”

He would happily study with Lyra. Studying with her would be a much-needed break. It would be interesting to say the least. They hadn’t exchanged a word together before she answered the door, but she already felt very comfortable around him. It was a little odd, but what could he do? She seemed fine, plus he needed a study partner desperately, but he feared his mind would be elsewhere. It was already drifting away. One thing was certain: he wouldn’t retain any of the information he and Lyra were studying that afternoon.



Jay pulled into the school parking lot at 6 a.m. It was way too early for a Saturday, but that’s what happened when you took the SATs. The system always tried to screw you. He took that back in his mind. That was way too harsh and spiteful. It wasn’t true. He just didn’t want to be up this early on the weekend.

Jeremy unbuckled his seat belt thanking Jay for the ride.

“Sure, no problem,” Jay said. He put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder sitting him back down. “I want to talk about something.”

“Before the SATs man?”

“I think Kerass is cutting himself.”

Jeremy’s face changed ever so slightly. A pensive gaze into the distance struck his face in that moment. As quickly as his face changed, he was back and said, “That’s quite the accusation. Do you have any proof?”

“Well, no. It’s really only speculation.”

“Jay, what is the matter with you?”

Taken aback, Jay remained silent. He recognized later that his drilling of Kerass in front of the other guys, and the entire stands for that matter, wasn’t the best way of going about it. He needed to do that in private, he knew that, but it was just so obvious that there was something that was going on with Kerass. The others had only just met Kerass. How could they possibly know what was up with him? They couldn’t. The fact that Kerass was lying was of severe concern.

“You don’t know him like I do,” Jay retorted.

“You’re just full of opinions, aren’t you?”

Jay was on the verge to throw sass back at him, but Jeremy continued to speak before Jay could budge a word in edgewise.

“Even if it were true, which I have serious doubts about, it’s none of your damn business.”

Commanding himself not to react was very difficult. Jay had almost audibly gasped. This was the first time Jeremy had cursed, albeit a very small one, in front of Jay.

“I’m sorry, I’m…tired, I guess,” Jeremy said in a mock apology that Jay didn’t believe for a single second. “So what if he’s cutting himself? Don’t confront him on it. Let him come to you about it.”

Jeremy walked out of the car leaving Jay shaken.



“It’s been a week,” Cadence told Gus in the car ride to the school.

“We’re gonna be late if we hit another red light,” Gus replied.

Cadence scoffed. He was avoiding the question again. When should they share about their relationship with Kerass? It was a delicate situation and needed to be treated with the utmost care.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Say that you’ll talk to him,” Cadence inferred.

“Oh no,” Gus said shaking his head. “You were the one who wanted to share with him in the first place.”

“Of course,” Cadence began. She continued saying that Kerass’s friendship was extremely important to her and that honesty in that friendship was the crux, the core of the foundation. “He deserves to know.”

“You know what I think.”

“We’re not freshmen anymore!” Cadence nearly screamed at him.

“Let me remind you I didn’t know either of you during freshmen year. I was in London freshmen year actually, but you’re right. We’re all a lot more mature than freshmen year, thank God,” Gus said whispering the last two words. “The timing is totally off though. He’s still really beat up over the loss of the football team.”

“If you love me, you’ll tell him,” Cadence jibed.

“Now who’s to say we’re not freshmen?”

Cadence cracked a smile. “I was only kidding…sort of.”

As they pulled into the school parking lot, Cadence asked him one last time “So, are you gonna talk to him or not?”



Kerass stood at the foot of his mother’s bed in the hospital holding his breath. Every part of him moaned with remorse and sadness. It was his fault. It was all his fault. The first tear fell, but was quickly joined by a river that didn’t stop. It felt like he would be crying forever. He felt like he would never feel happiness again. It was impossible.

His father had pulled him aside that morning, right before he drove to take the SATs, and sat him down at the kitchen table. They didn’t have the money anymore. They could no longer pay for his mother’s treatment at the hospital, not without draining his college funds. Kerass had been completely willing to drain the funds, even begged his father to do so. His father told him that he refused to let Kerass throw his life away. The following words would be etched in Kerass’s mind forever, he would make certain of that. “She’s not going to wake up, Kerass. She’s never going to wake up.”

It wasn’t true what they said, Kerass noted. He had read in novels and the like that there was a glow over someone as they passed on, a beauty in death. No, there wasn’t. It was a complete lie. His mother had possibly never looked more frail, more ugly.

His father nodded to the doctor. The plug was pulled. The heartbeat remained for another 15 seconds. Kerass couldn’t even look at her face, he stared at the heart rate monitor.

Thump thump…

Thump thump…

Thump……

Thump………………

Thump……………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Fallen Leaves - Chapter 28: Midnight Memories

Cadence honked her car horn to grab Gus’s attention. He must have been so deep in thought that he just didn’t notice.

“I was ignoring you because this part is very delicate, would you give me 2 minutes?” Gus explained without glancing her direction.

Granted, it was a little bit rude, but so what? She turned the engine off. This would give her a minute to think. She had driven 200 miles to be here at the farm with him. She felt no remorse withholding this relationship from Kerass, absolutely none at all. Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about Kerass, which made her feel bad when she was supposed to be focused on just having alone time with Gus. She heard a tap at the window bringing her back to the present.

“Seems like I’m not the only one who was living inside their head,” Gus said sniggering. With a straight face, he continued saying, “I had no idea you were going to drive all this way just for me.”

Cadence was so touched that she didn’t know what to say. She wanted to say something sappy in response, but it all just seemed so corny in her mind. Why did she still feel a bit of embarrassment around Gus telling him how she really felt?

“Thank you, honestly,” Gus said.

“What is there to do around here?” she asked trying to avoid sounding like some clingy girlfriend. She’d made that mistake her sophomore year and it backfired like crazy having gone the entire year single.

“Well you could help out with the manual labor…”

Cadence raised one eyebrow at him, which got a chuckle out of Gus making her feel better about herself instantaneously.

“Or you could talk to me while I do all of that stuff, keep me company, you know?”

Cadence smiled, but when she looked, she saw that there were four other men working. She wanted some one-on-one time with him away from Oak Stream. She already felt like she had unintentionally dragged the spirit of Kerass along on what was supposed to be a romantic getaway.

“Is there anything, you know, that we could do one-on-one?”

“Oh!” Gus replied startled. “I was so focused on the work, I almost completely forgot. It’s hell week here, you know.” He gave a low whistle. “For some alone time, well, you gotta wait ‘til midnight. Trust me when I say that midnight memories here are extraordinary.”



The heat shimmered off the blacktop. The temperature inside the car read 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The drive took well over an hour. It was now or never.

“You ready?” Jeremy asked.

Jay nodded unbuckling his seatbelt. All of his buddies from the Oak Stream High Christian group got out of the van with him. Kerass had come along. It took some convincing, but he came round. Kerass had wanted some alone time with Jay, and Jay totally respected that and wanted the same thing, but this wasn’t the proper time to do that. The buds from the Christian group had become true friends to him. They were all there to support him primarily and their school secondarily.

The event program that was handed out to him made it official in his mind. It was the state competition for marching band and he wasn’t a part of the final performance. He held his breath and exhaled slowly.



Kerass stood to the side of the concessions stand waiting for his slice of pizza. He had no idea this was going to take all day. Last year when he watched Jay perform it only took the morning, but because they were watching everybody this year, it was going to take all day, forever in his mind. Jay had apparently become a huge fan of marching band in general and whispered praise or snide comments depending on how well he thought they were doing. None of it mattered to Kerass. He wouldn’t have minded sleeping all day, but the sun was so bright and the stands were so uncomfortable that it was an impossibility.

Jeremy walked over standing by him while he continued to wait for what seemed like 10 minutes for his pizza slice.

“Kerass, right?”

Kerass nodded.

“Great. I can be bad at names sometimes, so I’m glad I got yours right.”

“Props, bud,” Kerass said laden with sarcasm. Fortunately Jeremy laughed.

“I know,” Jeremy began. He continued saying that it was an awkward thing to say. “Anyways, Jay’s talked a lot about you. I feel like I already know you.”

“Yeah, Jay’s really important to me.”

“So…” Jeremy exhaled. He told Kerass that the other guys really bonded with him in the car.

This was news to Kerass who thought that it was just mindless chatter.

Jeremy continued saying that seeing as Kerass was a fellow believer, a Christian, “it just makes sense, right? Do you think you’ll come out to our club meetings?”

“I can make time for it I guess. You guys are chill enough anyways.”

Jeremy slapped Kerass’ back twice. It was more forceful than Kerass was anticipating. He may indeed get a bruise from this. It was fine though. The guys were trying, even if it was an odd way of going about it.



When Kerass sat back down next to Jay, Jay noticed something extremely odd. In the sweltering heat of 85 degrees, Kerass was wearing a hoodie. Why? Why was he wearing a hoodie?

“Aren’t you steaming up?” Jay asked.

Kerass shrugged his shoulders. “The wind’s a bit chilly is all…” he mumbled monotone.

“Yeah, but there’s no wind.” Jay pointed out. He proceeded to tell him that he was perspiring. “Why are you lying to me? This isn’t you.”

“This isn’t the proper place, Jay,” Jeremy gently scolded.

“Just drop it,” Kerass sternly begged him.

“No!” Jay yelled, which now disturbed those seated around the group who glared in response at him.

“Jay!” Jeremy condescended in a breathy whisper. “Drop. It.”

“This isn’t over, not by a long shot,” Jay added conceding.

Oak Stream’s marching band came onto the field. Jay watched with anticipation silently critiquing every missed note, step, and flag twirl. Each piece got a little more intense. The show began with a ballad and ended with a march that was played at double the intended speed. When the performance ended, Jay didn’t clap. He was completely unaware of his surroundings. He couldn’t tell if that was their best or their worst performance of the season. Ultimately it didn’t matter.

The day continued on with more junk food, lots of other marching bands performing, and lots of talking and bonding. It was amazing to see how quickly Kerass had become comfortable with Jeremy and the others. This warmed Jay’s heart a good deal. Finally, as the afternoon came to a close and the sun began to set they started to announce the rankings. Jay wanted a 3, at the very least. Something equal to what they had performed the previous year, if not better. There was no number one band in the state. It was solely based on how well each individual band did, which made marching band all the more fun because there was no ultimate winner. Oak Stream’s marching band got a 2, an excellent for their performance, an entire level better than the previous year. Jay was so shocked and thrilled that he jumped up screaming, jumping, and clapping his hands. Jay watched as Mr. Martin mouthed something to the band. They all stood up and shouted, “This is for you Jay!”

Mr. Martin added, “You’ll always be a part of Oak Stream’s marching band.”

Jay was so stunned that he couldn’t help it. He started to cry. Sure it was embarrassing to do so in front of the guys, but he couldn’t hold it back. The tears flowed effortlessly down his face.



The seconds on the clock inside the car continued to rise. There were 25 seconds left to midnight. She was delighted, if not a little bit surprised, that Gus had taken the midnight time frame so literally. She understood overall. In what now remained 10 seconds, he would be off the clock and then the fun would really begin.

The clock read 12:00 a.m. Gus looked over at Cadence and smiled tilting his head towards the door. They got out of the car. They were in the middle of a field. It had taken them 10 minutes on a dirt road to get to the field. Off in the distance, Cadence could see a dirt and gravel path through a gap in the trees. Cadence looked up at the stars. The night sky looked brighter than ever before seeing as she was so far away from Oak Stream, which while being a small town, still covered the night sky from it’s radiance.

An engine turned on. Gus drove an ATV right beside her holding out a helmet. She took it from him and snapped the buckle shut. Throwing her leg over the side, she got on and put her arms around his waist. Her heart started pounding before they even began to move forward. The ATV headlights turned on, which made the sky harder to see, but showed that there were 2 or 3 deer in the trees in the distance.

The ATV lurched forward in the field. Cadence let out a gasp. She looked at the speedometer as the speed continued to rise past 25, 35, 45 miles per hour. She started to scream in shock and delight as Gus did figure 8’s throughout the field. Before she knew it, the ATV had already climbed to 75 miles per hour. Her screams turned into laughter. She couldn’t stop laughing. Tears of euphoric joy came down in buckets as she laughed without a breath.

Then just as suddenly Gus hit the brakes. Cadence’s laughter stopped as she gasped for breath, trying to still her ever-beating heart. Although she hated to admit it, her heartbeat rose in the stillness. She was closer to Gus and words failed her when she tried to think of why she loved him, but inexplicably, she had grown to be nervous, an excited nervous around him.

Gus slowly moved the ATV forward going 15 miles per hour down the gravel and dirt path in the forest. The wind picked up. Gus turned the headlights off. Cadence looked at the deer. Their heads were touching each other as they ate the grass to the side. She couldn’t tell if they were fighting or in love. She didn’t know why she thought of the animals loving each other and why it would even matter, but in that moment, it did.

The light reflected from the moon cast shadows from the leaves painting Cadence’s face in light and darkness. Gus stopped the ATV in the middle of the circle turning the ATV back around toward the field. He led her off the vehicle. She put her arms around his neck. He bent his head down, their lips met. Crickets were chirping, an owl hooted, but the sounds did not disturb their bliss.

Cadence inhaled about to say something, but Gus put his index finger up to her lips.

“It’s nobody’s business but ours,” Gus said.



Julia had made a mistake. She wanted to turn back around so desperately, but like an utter fool, she had neglected to check the gas gauge. Now she was running on empty. She had been running on empty for 10 miles. Now her car sputtered to a stop. She hit the dashboard in an attempt to take her frustration out on the vehicle.

Just then, a car pulled up behind her. The red and blue lights turned on. The police officer walked slowly over to her vehicle and tapped the window with the butt of her flashlight. She rolled down her window putting her hands on the steering wheel. She held her breath as the officer opened up her mouth to speak.