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Novel Treatments / Ren and Amy - Revised
The wind gently rustled through the tops of the trees and the August sun blazed brightly through the branches, creating small pools of light on the greenish brown grass. A boy leaned lazily against the trunk of a large gnarly tree. Reaching up and pulling his worn out blue baseball hat farther down his forehead, he shaded his eyes from the morning sun. He stretched his long thin frame out, his tan legs emerging from the circle of shade. Raising a thin muscular arm, he scratched his head through a hole in the hat. He pulled a strand of his long sandy blonde hair behind his ear and peered out under the bill of his cap, smiling. This was his one private place. It was just a tiny bit of land near the foothills of the Rockies. It wasn’t nothing special, but he sure loved it. Whenever life got crazy, or he was too upset to think, this is where he went. His piece of peace and paradise. He sighed as a light brown horse nuzzled his shoulder. Oh yeah, he frowned.
“I know girl,” he stroked the horse’s nose. “Almost time to go.” He hated the thought of selling Sandy, his pride and joy. But since the accident last year, Ren and his older brother Jess were just making ends meet. The thought of it made the boy sigh and his eyes misted as a flash from that day crossed his mind. He felt the cars crash together. Felt glass and metal crush into his legs and arms. He heard her scream in his ear. Ren shuddered and wiped a tear from his face. “Let’s go girl.” He stood up, got on his horse for one last time and headed for home. I’m gonna be late for work, he thought as Sandy broke into a canter, late again.
“Ren! ,” A dark head emerged from the decrepit house. “Ren, where are you?”
“I’m coming! ,” The boy said, emerging from the barn, pulling on a work shirt. “Gosh, Jess,” the boy smiled as he cuffed his brother on the back of his head, “Don’t go into a tizzy.”
“Hurry up. You’re going to be late. And don’t forget, school starts tomorrow, so don’t be sleeping in,” Jess smiled a tired smile at the lanky boy. “Quit being a smart ass Renton Lee,” he said as Ren rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at the back of his big brother’s head.
“Smart ass? Me? Never! ,” Ren smiled as he sat down hastily and plowed into his meager breakfast. As soon as he was done, he pulled his shoes on and was half way to the door when he turned around to see his tan skinned brother sitting at the table absently staring at the clock. He just stood there looking at him. Jess looked well over his nineteen years. The past two years had aged him. Mom’s death, then dad left, but the straw that broke the camels back was Josiah leaving. Josiah was Jess’s only connection to their own dad. Jess was tired, of life, of this place, of everything, and Ren knew it. “Jessop James, if you don’t stop daydreaming, I really am going to be late. And if you don’t get a move on, so are you.”
“And you said you weren’t a smart ass huh? ,” Jess smiled as he charged at his baby brother. “Race you! ,” He cried as he ran for the door. There was a metallic slam and a scuffle of feet as the boys torn across the front yard to the rust-colored truck. Laughter and yells came from the cloud of dust as Jess put the truck in gear and headed for town.
Ren walked into the grocery store, tying his apron on as he walked. He caught sight of the portly man standing by the door and smiled. “By, I know I’m late. I’m sorry. Blame Jess, he drove me here.”
“Your brother is not at fault here,” the man scowled, trying hard to hide a grin. “And who is this ‘By’ you talk of? You certainly aren’t talking about me, your boss, are you?”
“Sorry, Mr. Byron, sir,” Ren smiled and saluted. “I won’t be late again.”
Byron laughed. He couldn’t stay mad at the kid. He was the spitting image of his mother. She had been a friend of Byron’s, so he felt sorry for the kid after she died and gave him a job, not that he didn’t regret it some days. Byron gently scooted the boy down the aisle, chuckling to himself, saying, “That’s better son. Now get to work. I think Amy needs help in the back.”
“Yes sir,” Ren said as he made a face at his bosses back. He walked back into the stock room, kicking the door open with his scuffed tennis shoe. He headed in the direction of the loading dock, knowing that’s where Amy was. Spotting a mirror, he gave himself a once-over. Long-ish blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, relatively attractive, even in his ragged jeans and slightly stained work shirt. Not too bad, he grinned as he walked on. “Amy? ,” He called around the corner.
“This way Renny,” her voice answered back.
He walked around the corner and there she was. Man, but she was beautiful. Every time he saw her he was rendered speechless, the sight of her took his breath away. He stood there for a minute, drinking in all the details. How her shirt fell around her waist as she knelt on the storeroom floor, how the olive skin on the back of her neck looked as a lock of shiny copper hair fell from her pony tail and grazed her shoulder. He was amazed every time he thought of how beautiful she had become over the years. He shook his head as she turned and grinned at him, her blue eyes sparkling.
“What?” she said, peering up at him with an impish grin. “Am I that hideous that you have to shudder? What is it, my short stature or my ugly mop of hair that repulses you more?” she smiled mischievously.
Redness spread up his neck. “Nah, Amy Lee..I just..Never mind,” he coughed and turned around. He turned back and smiled after he regained his composure. She always knew how to do that to him, at least in the past few months anyway. “What did ya need help with?”
“Come take this box, Renny,” she said as she tapped a large box with the toe of her shoe. She grabbed a smaller box and started out of the store room.
“Are you ready for school?” he asked as he walked over and picked up the box, never taking his eyes off her retreating form.
“Heck no,” she laughed as she kicked the door open and walked into the store. “What about you?” she asked, walking backward down the aisle.
He shook his head as he went down the aisle. “We sold Sandy.” He put the box down and sighed, looking at the floor.
“Oh Renny!” Amy dropped the can she had just taken out of her box. “Why?”
“Why? You know we need the money Amy Lee! We can’t even afford to take care of her anymore,” he picked up the can and put it on the shelf with a bang, making Amy jump. “Together me and Jess barely make enough money to keep the house. Sure, Jess gets extra money because of me, and we have the government aid stuff and the social worker helps as much as she can, but it don’t help with a horse. Now school is starting and between school, football, basketball, work, everything, we got no choice. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.” He spun around in a huff and walked off down the aisle.
Amy looked at the retreating back of the tall blonde boy and sighed. How he loved that horse. Just thinking about it made her want to cry. She would cry if she were him, having to sell the last part of the world you used to know. It’s not fair! , She yelled in her head. Why did life have to suck for some people? And why did he have to be so angry all the time? Lately, the littlest thing set him off. He wasn’t mad at her, but it felt like it. Why did life have to be so hard? “Renton Lee Monroe! You get back here this instant and help me, ” Amy yelled down the aisle with all the sternness she could muster.
He turned and smiled at her, his anger fading. “Yes, Miss Amy,” he blushed lightly. Man, she got him every time. He could be so mad, or sad and all she would have to do is say something to him and his heart would melt, his knees would jelly. If Ben were here, he would think I was nuts, he thought as he walked back to her. He just wouldn’t understand. “How’s Benny?”
“He’s fine. Daddy was supposed to pick him up from the train station this afternoon. When I talked to him last, he said he would pick me up from work when he got back. He hated not having a car all summer,” she laughed as they got cans out and started stacking them on the shelves. “Benjamin really missed you, you know,” Amy sighed.
“I know,” Ren squatted down and put some cans on the bottom shelf. “I missed him too, more than he or anyone else knew. He just didn’t seem to understand why I couldn’t leave with him,” he looked up at Amy with a sad smile.
“Maybe not, but you are best friends. I think he just wanted to get you away from here, from everything.” She paused, “Come home with us. You only wrote him once all summer. He would love to see you,” her eyes sparkled at him.
I would love to go with you, he smiled to himself. “What time is he picking you up? I get out of here at six. I can call Jess and tell him I’m going home with y’all.”
“He said he would be here by six. We can surprise him. I didn’t tell him you work here,” she laughed as she walked down the aisle.
“You’re keeping secrets now? Amy Lee! Bad girl! ,” He trotted off behind her. When he got to her, he tackled her around her waist, stopping momentarily to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and drink in her smell. She always smelled good, no matter what. Of course, he was I love with her, so he always thought she was perfect. He would have never thought a year ago that he would be in love with his best friend’s little sister. Was he in love with her? Yeah, he was, he thought with a silly grin. Ben will think I’m insane, he melted as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes. I’m insane all right.
“Damn! It’s cold out here, even for August!” Amy jumped up and down outside the store while they waited for her brother.
Ren looked at her, smiling to himself in the dark. She wasn’t even wearing a coat, for Pete’s sake. Not that he minded watching her jumping around. “It certainly is cold. But then again, you aren’t wearing a coat. I mean, you’ve lived here all your life, you should know better by now. Colorado in August is hardly ever warm.”
Amy stopped jumping and looked down at her bare arms, thin white T-shirt, and cut off shorts. She laughed, then looked up at him and gave him a childlike grin. “I guess a coat would help, wouldn’t it?”
“Come here,” he pulled her up to him and took his arm out of its sleeve, wrapping his big, old coat around her slight frame. “Share my coat. It’s big enough for three people after all.”
“I remember seeing your dad wear this when we were little kids,” Amy slipped an arm in the free sleeve and wrapped the other around Ren’s waist, sending a shudder of delight up his spine. “How is he any way?”
“Crazy as ever I suppose. I don’t know, but he’s been gone for too long. I don’t know if I even want to look for him. I don’t know how she did it all those times, or why,” he paused and sighed. Desperately wanting to change the subject, he smiled and said, “Did you know Jess has been trying to find his dad? The man left mom, his baby boy, and a two year old boy for another woman, but Jess thinks he would want to know about the accident,” Ren laid his head on top of Amy’s, pulling her a bit closer.
Amy knew not to continue this conversation. Ren and Jess hardly talked of their dad’s, let alone Josiah, their older brother and when they did, it usually ended up with yelling and crying. Amy hated to see him like that. “So how old is this coat anyway?”
“You know, I don’t know,” he smiled at her, knowing she changed the subject on purpose. “I think my dad had it when he was a kid. There is a hole on the one shoulder where grandpas’ gun accidentally went off and shot dad. There is a burn where dad dropped a match lighting his first cigarette. There’s a scorch on the arm where Josiah accidentally set himself on fire. Jessop ripped one of the elbows hopping a fence running from a girlfriend’s house. I think her dad was chasing him. There is blood on the collar from Jesses’ first fight. It’s like an heirloom, full of stories”
Amy smiled into the dark night, “You need to make your own stories for this coat. That way, when you pass it down to your sons, they’ll know part of their past.”
Ren kissed the top of her head, “I know. I will soon enough.” He pulled the coat closer around both of them, shivering not because of the cold, but at the feel of her hand on his hip. He didn’t want her to know she had that effect on him though. “Hey, isn’t that your truck?”
“Yeah. He’s here! God, I’ve missed him!” Amy pulled herself out of the coat and began to jump up and down again as the blue truck pulled up in front of them. A tall shadow emerged from the car. At first they couldn’t tell who it was, but then he walked into the head lights, revealing tanned olive skin and the same dark copper hair as Amy’s. Amy stopped jumping and just stared for a second. “Benjamin?”
“Don’t you know what your own brother looks like Amy Lee?” the gravelly voice said. “I’ve only been away one summer.”
Amy gave a yelp and ran into her brother’s arms, squeezing him as tight as she could. “I thought this summer would never end. Dad and Adrian are such sticks in the mud. My only entertainment this summer was working with this butt head,” Amy grabbed Ren’s hand and pulled him forward.
“Ren? I couldn’t tell who it was under all that hair. Come here!” Ben pulled his best friend closer to him.
“Hi Benny,” Ren sheepishly smiled at his best friend in the whole world.
“Can’t give your best friend a hug, huh?” Ben grabbed Ren in a bear hug. When he got him close enough, he whispered in his ear, “Are you dating my little sister?”
“No, just friends, Benjamin,” Ren whispered back.
Ben pulled back, looking down at Ren questioningly. “Ok. You can tell me if you are though. I wouldn’t understand why, but it’s not like I wouldn’t still be your best friend.” He looked in Ren’s eyes and made a goofy face.
Amy nudged her way into the boys prolonged hug. “What are you two talking about? You know I never liked it when you whispered to each other.”
“It’s nothing Amy lee.” Her brother kissed her on the cheek and started pulling both of them to the truck. “Lets go home.”
Amy started skipping ahead of the boys to the blue heap of metal. They all squeezed into the cab with Amy sitting in the middle. She put her arm around her brother and squeezed Ren’s thigh in the darkness, causing him to jump. He laughed to cover his surprise, quickly adding, “So Benny-boy, what have you been up to all summer?”
Ren hopped down the front steps and called good night to Amy and her family. He headed off in the direction of his own house when all of the sudden he was tackled from behind. “Aaaahhh! Get off! Who the hell..? Ben! You scared the crap out of me!” he said as he rolled over and pushed his best friend off his chest.
“I need to talk to you,” Ben said as he stood up, brushed himself off and then extended his hand to pull Ren off the ground.
“You could have just said you wanted to walk me home instead of scaring me half to death,” Ren pulled on his friend’s arm and dusted himself off. “What’s up?” He looked at Bens’ somber face and knew immediately. “Spill. You mentioned a girl in your letters. I want all the details.” Ren laughed as he swung his arm around his best friend. The flood gates opened and all the details flowed out. He had met her at the resort he had worked at. She was beautiful and perfect. “So what exactly is the problem man? She sounds great, except for the long distance thing.”
“Mmm, she is perfect,” Ben said with a happy far off smile. Then his shoulders dropped, “Her family doesn’t approve of me. See, I did a basketball program all summer for those spoiled rich kids and she was a lifeguard. She seemed like every other girl working there, except beautiful and perfect. Then her parents came to visit her and I find out her dad owned the resort. I had wondered why she wasn’t freaked out when we were told ‘the big boss’ was coming and to be at our best. Then she tells me ‘the big boss’ wanted her to give him a tour, introduce him to the staff. When they get to me she says, ‘Daddy, this is Benjamin, the boy I was telling you about.’ Then the guy comes around later as the kids are leaving for the day and asks about our relationship. So I tell him the truth, that we’re dating, that I’m in love with her and she feels the same way about me. Then the wacko grabs me by the shirt and says I‘m to stay away from her, that his daughter is not allowed to associate with ‘the help’. I mean, what am I, a hired hand? A slave?” he kicked a clod of dirt at the side of the road and looked up at the stars, his eyes shining with tears, anger, and young love. “It’s not fair! I mean, the guy don’t even know me. It’s discrimination! Who cares if I don’t have much money? Will someone with more money be able to love her better? No, and they know that. It just sucks man. She did say though that she was going to run away so we could be together. Does that seem crazy? I mean, we’re going to be 18, they can’t stop us. I know I said I would never fall in love, but I couldn’t help it. Love stinks,” he paused and sniffled for a second. “I sound crazy, don’t I?” He laughed and looked at Ren.
“Yeah, you do, but most people in love seem that way,” he stopped and hugged him. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll all work out. You know that, you just needed me to tell you,” he patted Ben on the back. “love fogs your mind sometimes, makes you blind, crazy. It just takes your best friend to talk sense into you. I’ve felt like I was crazy all summer too. That’s why I’m glad you’re back. I missed talking to you.”
“You felt crazy all summer too? Are you sure there isn’t something up with Amy?” Ben said with a quizzical raise of his eye brow after wiping a tear from his face.
“You asked if we were dating, you never asked if I liked her,” Ren laughed. “I really like her, think I might even be in love with her.”
“Renton Lee!” Ben chased him down the road. “You think you’re in love with my baby sister?” he tackled him and pinned his arms to the dirt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Hey, man, we aren’t dating, that’s what you asked!” he struggled to get out from under his bigger friend. “Who would guess you’re only seven months older? Gosh you’re heavy!” he pushed Ben off his chest. “Listen, don’t make a big deal, ok? I don’t know if she knows how much I like her, or even if she likes me like that. I mean, I have been her big brother’s best friend since birth. She might think of me as just another brother for all I know.”
Ben punched him in the shoulder as they both stood up, “That’s why you didn’t write me all summer! Of course, how could you tell your best friend in a letter you were in love with his baby sister? ,” He smiled at Ren as he saw pink, the pink that always came when he was embarrassed, creep up the back of his neck, “And you want me to ask her don’t you?” Ben laughed as Ren stammered out an inaudible reply. “Dork. Don’t worry. I won’t make a big deal of it. I’ll keep my mouth shut and I‘ll find out the dirt, ok?”
“The finding out the dirt part I believe, but keeping your mouth shut? Ha! I’ll believe it when I see it!” Ren ran the rest of the way to his house, just barely beating his larger friend. They both crashed into the screen door, making a racket. Jess poked his head out his bedroom window to see what the hubbub was, smiled at the best friends, then was heard running through the house.
“Good to see you again, Benjamin,” Jess said as he stepped out into the small pool of yellow light emitted from the porch light, extending his hand. Ben pulled Jess out on to the porch and hugged the older boy. Jess pulled away after a moment and shot them both a stern look. “School tomorrow. You both best be heading to bed.”
Both boys said in unison, “Yes sir!”, as they saluted and giggled like little kids. Jess just stared at them, “You two are funny kids. Smart asses, but funny.” Jess headed inside, leaving the boys out in the cool fall night.
“So I’ll pick you up at seven then?” Ben smiled as he stepped off the porch. Ren just nodded and laughed as he stepped inside, away from the darkness..
The rhyming best friends, Ren and Ben walked into their home room just as the last bell rang. They looked around, trying to spot two seats next to each other. They didn’t look like they would even be best friends. One was tall and muscular, with short, dark copper hair and a golden tan on his olive skin. The other was shorter, thin all over with shaggy, muddy blonde hair and green eyes. All the girls in the class watched them as they walked down the aisle to the back two seats. They weren’t really even looking at Ren, but Ben always caught their eye. They were both athletes, played basketball and football. Even though they were both good, Ben was always the star. He didn’t have a big ego though. His best friend kept him in check and their private lives, the things most of their fellow students didn’t know, kept them both grounded. The two sat down in the back and waited for the teacher to hand out their schedules. The teacher began to hand papers to students, not even trying to settle them down. She had learned after years that nothing much got done the first day, just schedules and rules. As the plain-looking teacher arrived to the two boys in the back, Ben flashed her his knee weakening smile and they both said, “Thank you ma’am.” The teacher smiled despite herself. Those boys always were charmers. Ren and Ben looked at what classes they had, grimacing at some, then switched so they could compare.
“Well hell,” Ben sneered, grabbing back his sheet from Ren and tossing Ren’s back across the aisle.
Ren looked over at his best friend and smiled. Ben thought that they only ever had gym together because “the administration” had something against them. It was really just because they caused problems together and at least in gym they were occupied. “At least we have gym together,” that’s what he told him every year. “We can give Mr. Hogan hell like we did last year,” the thought of that always lifted the mood.
Ben cackled, “We are masters at that.” The dismissal bell rang, signaling it was officially time to start the school day. Ben smiled as they stood up and headed out, “Maybe we’ll get kicked out again.”
“Hopefully,” Ren laughed as they exited the room. “See you in gym!” he yelled as they parted ways. His green eyes sparkled as he spotted Amy farther down the corridor. “Amy Lee!” he called out. She stopped and turned, a huge grin crossing her face.
As he trotted up to her, she laughed, “You know that you and Benjamin are the only two people who call me that. Amy, Ames. Amy Lee makes me feel like a kid, or a hick, or both.” They both headed off down the hall together.
“Well Benny and I are special. We are the only who have known you since you were born, so we can still legally call you that,” he flipped her pony tail. “So what classes do you have?” he grabbed the schedule out of her hand, scanning the list. “Hey, we have two classes together.”
“so we do, “ she smiled, handing back Ren’s schedule. “speaking of Benjamin, he came and talked to me last night. About you and me, what was up with us, and all that.”
“he did? What did he tell you?” he looked at her with that same anger in his eyes. “you know what? Never mind, I knew he couldn’t keep his mouth shut!” he stalked off down the hall, Amy sprinting behind, trying to keep up, yelling at him to wait.
“Hey, how are ya, old buddy, old pal?” Ren asked as he skidded through the door of the locker room after Ben. “How has the first day been treating you? Meet any new people or anything?” he slid across the floor, pulling his shirt off at the same time. He stood there looking at Ben, “say, I thought you said you were going to keep your mouth shut and get the dirt. What happened to the keeping your mouth shut part?”
“what? What are you talking about? ” Ben paused in the process of pulling on his grungy gym clothes, seeing the look on his best friends face. “I just asked if she liked you, if she ever thought about dating you. She‘s a smart girl, she probably figured it out on her own.” He sat down on the bench and began changing his shoes. “And yeah, I met some new people, but that isn‘t the point here,” he smiled. “speaking of Amy, Do you have any classes with her? I saw you talking to her after home room.”
Ren’s ears turned red wit anger and embarrassment, “she said you asked about ‘us’. I guess I didn’t let her finish. I just let my anger get the best of me. Sorry. Forgive me?“ he extended his hand to Ben, who shook it without looking up, indicating a truce. “And yeah, we have two classes together.” He kicked his shoes off, grabbing his gym shoes, “You know, I never knew she was smart. I mean, I knew she was smart, but not that smart.” He looked at his best friend, who just smiled and nodded, well aware of how smart his sister was. Ren continued to change into his gym clothes, his anger slowly dissipating, “I hope you don’t mind, but I told her if she didn’t have anyone to sit with at lunch, she could sit by us.”
“Nope, not at all. Actually, I think the two of you are cute, in a disturbing way,” Ben just barely missed the swat to the back of the head. “She likes you, you know. She blushed just about as much as you usually do when I asked. She actually told me way more than I wanted to know.”
Ren ran at his best friend, “there isn‘t any ‘two of us‘.” He stopped dead in his tracks, “Wait, she does? ” He fell on the floor, eyes closed, with a huge smile on his face. Ok, so he did love her, big deal. Maybe more than a big deal. It’s a huge deal, ok? Huge because she is his best friend’s little sister, because she liked him too, possibly loved him. He flipped over on his stomach and started laughing, the paused and looked at Ben, “what did she tell you?”
“Nothing going on between you, huh?” Ben pulled him up off the floor. “I mean, you did say last night you might be in love with her. Aren’t you the one who said not to make a big deal of this?” Ben spun his best friend around and smiled at him, “Just to let you know, normally when people don’t want to make a big deal about something, they don’t fall to the floor like a moron with a love-struck grin on their faces. Especially not in a room filled with people, most of them being friends of yours.”
“Oh shut up,” Ren grinned, the red all the way up his neck. “can you tell me what she said, or not?”
“I’m not sure kiddo,” Ben grabbed a basketball and threw it at his insanely gleeful best friend. “she didn’t say I couldn‘t tell you. Let‘s just say she mentioned things about kissing, dating, and your butt. Things I would normally listen to as a good brother, but it made me a little uncomfortable since she was talking about my best friend.”
Ren shot the ball, whiffing it in midair, “kiddo?” he caught the ball and heaved it at Ben. “ I’m only seven months younger.” he positioned himself under the net to catch Ben’s shot. “she wants to kiss me? She likes my butt? Does she think it’s cute?” he laughed as Ben shot him a disgusted look.
Ren and Ben walked out of the gym in the middle of a clump of boys. They were talking and yelling, punching each other like boys always do. Ben paused in the doorway, bending over to tie his black canvas shoes. Ren stopped just short of tripping over him. As Ben stood up, Amy walked past the knot of boys, giggling with her girlfriends. Ben waved, “Hey little sister,” he called as he pointed at Ren and made kissy faces at his baby sister. Amy grew red, pulling her friends down the hall way as they started to ask questions. Ren punched his best friend in the arm and, as he watched Amy’s figure retreat down the hall, Ben grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him down the hall, back to the group of guys.
“Who is he staring at?” One of the boys smiled, nodding in Ren’s direction, who was still watching Amy as she turned the corner. Ben smacked him to get his attention.
“None of your business,” Ren grinned, rubbing his shoulder. “you didn’t have to hit me so hard,” he glared at Ben, with the hint of a smile. All the boys laughed, saying “sure” and making catcalls as they walked into the lunch room. They made their way to a table, still snickering and making jokes as they sat down. They were silenced as a group of girls walked by, with Amy on the edge of the group as they passed around the table. As she got near the best friends, Amy detached herself and walked over to her brother.
She turned to the table, “Hi boys.” She waved at them and giggled. ’how’s my big brother?” she patted her big brother on the head. Before he could answer she kissed Ren on his cheek and smiled, “I will see you two boys later. Oh, and honey, ” she said, looking at Ren, “the next time you want to ask me something, don’t ask my brother to find out for you. ” She blew a kiss at him as she returned to her group of girls.
“Was that what was none of my business, honey?” one of the guys on the other side of the table asked. Ren just nodded, grinned sheepishly, and put his head in his hands, the bright red creeping up his neck into his cheeks. She always made him blush, and he didn’t know why. Was he hearing right when she called him honey? Heheh, yeah, she called him honey, Ren thought as he looked at his best friend.
“Honey, huh?” Ben snickered. Ren shrugged and smiled as the bell rang again. Saved by the bell, Ren sighed. The boys got up, parting ways as they poked fun at Ren while he sprinted up the stairs and down the hall, hoping Amy would still be around. There, he thought as he saw her open her locker, smiling happily to herself.
He sprinted to the end of the hall, grabbing her up as he got to her locker. She laughed and smacked at him, yelling for him to put her down. “What was that for?” she asked as he settled her feet on the ground.
“I should ask you the same thing. What was up with the kiss on the cheek?” he raised his eyebrows, smiling. He pushed a lock of copper hair behind her ear, “and when did I become ‘honey’? Now the guys think there is something going on with you and me.”
She tugged on the end of his muddy blonde hair, “We need to get you a hair cut.” Then she grabbed one of his belt loops and tugged him closer, “Who says we don’t have something going on. I seem to recall this whole summer it felt like someone was staring a hole through me. And then, my brother, your best friend, comes asking me if I like you, suspiciously after he had just come back from a long private discussion with you.”
He laughed, placing his hands on her hips, “ I don’t know who you could be talking about, or what you are talking about.” He tugged at the end of her pony tail, “Ok, so we do have something going on. According to you, are we a couple? And what was Benny going on about when he said you told him things about kissing and my butt?”
She ran her fingers through his hair and laughed, “I..told him you have a cute butt. Not really something you should tell your brother about his best friend.“ she put her head on his shoulder. “I may have told him I often daydreamed of kissing you,” she said in a muffled voice from his shoulder. “And not yet, but we have all the right components to be one.” She turned back to her locker and grabbed her books, “If we keep discussing this ‘honey’, we will be late for class.”
When she said that, a shiver went down his spine. Was he her honey? After all his months of pining after her, he thought maybe so. “Shall we go then?” he asked as he grabbed her hand and kissed it, “and maybe we can discuss those daydreams of yours later.”
“Most definitely,” she smiled as they turned and headed down the hall, him still holding on to her hand.
The final bell rang, signaling their freedom from this first day of school. Ben strode coolly out of his last class, while looking for his best friend and little sister. He smiled to himself thinking that it might be very weird having his best friend since birth practically, dating his baby sister. How could Ren even tell him about their dates or even discuss their relationship at all? He was glad, of course, that they both seemed so happy. He hadn’t seen Ren this happy in a real long time, which was good. Maybe it meant something was going right for once. Bad things always come all at the same time it seems, and the past two years sure were bad ones for his best friend. The accident, his oldest brother runs out on what is left of the family, his dad goes stark raving mad, and he has to sell his horse. Not to mention that him and Jess both had to start working full time and sell off their farm piece by piece, just to get by. Sure, they had a great social worker and lots of government help, not to mention a great lawyer, but some days it just wasn’t enough. Life sucks, you know? Ben smiled again, since he knew once his own father knew of his sisters new romance, he might blow a gasket. Where are they anyway? He thought as he rounded a corner. Ah, there’s the love birds now. “Hello, my little love birds,” he said as he flipped his sisters’ ponytail. “How was the first day?”
Amy made a face and punched her brother with all her might, “Hey bunghole.” She stood on the edge of the open locker door to ruffle his hair, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Ren, do you see any love birds around?”
Ren just smiled and shook his head, “The first day was good, little buddy.” He stood on tiptoe to make himself look taller. “Me and Amy got homework already in . . . what class?” , he looked at her with a quizzical smile.
“Psychology. He gave us some book about the social psychology of modern society and we have to read the first chapter,” she said to the boys’ blank stares. She smiled and shook her head, taking the rest of the books she needed out of her locker and shutting the door.
“Okay . . . ,” Ren looked more puzzled. “It’s a good thing that I have Amy here to guide me through the world of the brilliant. I would be totally lost,” he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Ben just made a gagging noise, putting his hand to his mouth and headed for the door, waving for them to follow. “Honestly, he is so immature,” Ren laughed, taking Amy’s hand and catching up to his best friend. He slipped his free arm around his best friends shoulder, “I promise you, dearest friend of mine, we aren’t dating, Not yet anyway. And you know we would always come to you first before committing to the next step. After all, you have been my friend forever and your opinion matters to me.”
Ben smiled at both of them as Amy squeezed her way in between them, putting a hand in Ren’s back pocket and the other arm around her brother. Ben laughed, “ I know that. But come on, I have known you since birth and never seen you in love. It’s weird, you know? And it’s my baby sister! But it is honestly ok. I just don’t want any more details than I already have though, ok?”
“Deal,” Ren and Amy chimed in together, causing them all to laugh as they trooped to the truck.
Ren walked into the falling down house as Ben and Amy pulled away. This place is a mess, he thought to himself as he put the mornings cereal bowls in the sink and took the pans from last nights dinner and began to scrub them. When he was done with the dishes, he grabbed a pile of Jess’ clothes from off the floor, throwing them over to the washing machine. He then waded through the bedroom they shared, picking up clothes and various other things as he went. He cleared a space on his bed and sat down, looking up at the ceiling, “I don’t know how you ever did it. Jess and I don’t know how to handle all the stuff that was so easy for you. I miss you.” He laid down on his bed, “I wish you were here so I could ask some advice. Why was I never in love before? There is just all this new stuff going on, and I don’t know what to do. I know you would know what to do. And I don’t even have dad to ask, not that he would even care. He always cared more about himself than his family. Bastard, I’m glad he isn’t around. Jess doesn’t understand either. He would just say that it’s ‘puppy love’ or some crap like that. I’m so confused and I can’t talk to Ben because it’s his sister I’m in love with.” He turned his face to the covers and sighed. Just then, he heard a car pull up and the metallic slam of the mailbox. Ren sprang up, hoping maybe there would be something good in the mail. He trotted out to the end of the driveway and grinned when a certain piece of mail caught his eye. Ripping it open, his smile faded as he scanned the sheet of paper. Anger boiled in him as he slammed in the front door, throwing the letter on the table. Fury was written all over his face and tears streamed down his face as he grabbed his coat and kicked open the back door, breaking into a run across the dusty landscape.
“Jess!!!” Amy yelled as she ran over to the football field. “Jess!!” she waved her hands, jumping up and down.
Jess excused himself from the knot of players and trotted across the field. “What Amy? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Amy nodded and her eyes teared up, “Ren never made it. We dropped him off after school and he said he would see me at work in an hour. Ben stopped past your house when I called and said Ren was over an hour late. No one was there. His coat was gone, dishes were drying on the counter, and the mail was on the table. Ben said there was an opened letter that looked like it was from the life insurance company. I’m worried.” She looked up at Jess with her eyes shining. “It’s not like him. In the past, he’s told someone where he might be going, even when he‘s mad. It‘s the fourth time he‘s ran away like this in the past year. But he didn‘t do it all summer,” tears started flowing down her face. “I thought he was getting better.”
Jess shook his head, gave Amy a quick hug and then trotted off back toward the group. He pulled the coach off to the side, shaking his head, pointing to Amy and shrugging. The coach patted his shoulder and pushed him gently in Amy’ direction. “Give me five minutes to change, ok Ames?” he smiled at the petite girl in front of him. He headed off toward the locker room, and then turned around, going back to Amy and hugging her hard, “We’ll find him, we always do.”
It was dark when Ren saw headlights approaching him. He pulled his knees up, tears slowly escaping. The truck turned its light off as it got closer to the boy, stopping next to the tree under which he sat. The door opened and Jess emerged.
“No,” he said to the occupants of the truck, “Let me talk to him. Just give me a minute.” He shut the door and silently walked over to his brother, sitting next to him on the cold ground. “Hey brother,” he lightly punched the younger boy, then settled in next to him. “We didn’t think we were going to find you. Then Ben remembered you used to come out here as a kid when you were upset about something. Guess you still do,” he scuffed his toe in the grass. “You had us all worried baby brother.”
“I may be younger, but not by much,” came Rens’ gravelly, tear soaked voice through the dark. “Didn’t Ma always say we were like twins? Is that because we’re less than two years apart?”
Jess laughed, “I forgot she said that. Yeah, that is why. And for other reason too.” He nudged his brother in the dark, “there are some days where it feels like we’re fifteen years apart.” Jess was silent for a long time, remembering what life used to be like. “What did the letter say Ren? Ben said he saw it open on the table.”
“It’s all bull, you know?” Ren smacked the ground. “Our whole life, her whole life was gone in the blink of an eye. And do you know what the life insurance people thought her life was worth?” Ren jumped up and kicked the tree, “two thousand dollars! That’s it! Not enough to put her in the ground, not enough for any of it!” he started pounding the tree, the ground, anything with his fists. Ben and Amy came running from the truck, hopeing to calm him down.” And you know what else? ,” Ren cried as Amy grabbed him around the waist. “They say that two thousand can cover my pain and suffering too. That life insurance doesn’t cover emotional damage. That maybe we should sue the guy who hit us, like I‘m too stupid to think of that,” Ben sat him down and the three of them grabbed hold of the distraught boy. “I watched her die! ,” He sobbed. Amy got in his lap and wrapped herself around him like she always did when they were little, sobbing right along with him.
Ben leaned against his best friend, tears streaming down his face, “In a way Renny, we all lost our mom that day. Ames here doesn’t even remember our mom, and she’s only fuzzy in my brain. Your mom was the best mom a person could have. She was worth more than her weight in gold.” Ben ruffled his best friends’ shaggy mop and wiped away tears.
Ren smiled slightly through his tears, “I know. It’s just unfair you know?” he sighed and rubbed Amy’s back. “Thanks for coming to find me. You guys are the best friends a guy could have.”
Amy sat up, wiping tears off her cheeks, “So I’m back to being one of the guys am I?” Ren just smiled at her and squeezed her tighter. She snuggled in and from the depths of his jacket said, “Anyone want ice cream? My treat.”
The three boys laughed, and after a few minutes, stood and made their way to the car, Ren carrying Amy. The blue truck rumbled to life and headed in the direction of town.
_
Amy awoke before anyone else. She stirred, but realized if she moved, she’d wake one of the boys. This wasn’t the first time she was in this predicament. She had lost count of all the times in the past few years an evening had wound up like this. Usually, it was good, they just hadn’t wanted to leave each other, they were having so much fun. Other times, things started like they did last night. Ren was really sensitive about some stuff. You couldn’t really say he was easily angered or had a violent temper. He usually ran before punches were thrown or angry words were said. He would rather punch the ground than a person, would rather hurt himself than others. And most of the time, by the time they found him, he was fine, or on the way to being fine. In the past year though, there had been quite a few more nights of looking for Ren. Last night was the worst. It had taken them five hours to find him, and only after Ben remembered where he used to go when they were kids. She had never seen him so angry before. She should have seen it coming though, the way he had been the last few days. The littlest thing could set him off. She rolled on her side and wrapped her arms around him. How she wished he had never been in that car that day. At least then he wouldn’t have the memories haunting him on a daily basis. She wished she could help him, but as her dad said, all she could do was be there for him and be his friend. She hadn’t known when school got out this summer that she would have to take over the full responsibility all summer. Jess was working full time, and Ben was a thousand miles away. She also hadn’t known that she would grow so fond of him. Granted, they had been friends since childhood, he was her big brothers’ best friend, he was like a third brother to her. She’d had a large crush on him before the accident, but death throws you all out of perspective. After his mother had died, they all just concentrated on living and eventually getting on with their lives. Like they had said last night, she was like a mother to her and Ben, to the whole Baxter family actually, and losing someone like that can really throw you for a loop. Amy herself had always thought of her as ‘Mom’, and she didn’t realize until she was older that she wasn’t her mom. She was just always there. There were so many things that she did for so many people. She had practically raised Ben and Amy, cleaned their house for years after their own mom died, and protected all of them from the bad things in life. When she died, it was like the world halted with a crash, and then it moved in slow motion. During the past two years, the four people laying on this bed became more of a family than most people ever had. She just wished she could talk to her again. She had so many things to ask. She was sure they all felt this way. She closed her eyes and tears slowly leaked out of her eyes. After a few minutes, she felt a hand brush the tears from her face and kiss her cheek. She didn’t even have to open her eyes to know who it was. Even though he was her brothers’ best friend, he had become her best friend. It had sort of always been that way. Even when they were kids, he was the one she went to when she was upset, the one she told things she didn‘t even tell Ben. The world had always felt right when she was in his arms. Maybe that meant they had been destined for each other. Who knew? She opened her eyes and smiled at the green eyes looking at her. He pulled her closer.
‘Why are you crying?’ he whispered into her ear, kissing her face.
‘I was thinking of your mom. How she was like my own mom too. How there are so many things I would ask her if she was here. How I miss her. I miss her more than my own mom. I never knew my mom. I don’t even remember her. Is it wrong to miss your mom more than my own?’ she snuggled into him. He just lay there for a long time, holding her tight and breathing his hot breath on her shoulder.
‘No, it isn’t wrong,’ he answered from the depths of her hair. ‘It makes me feel better, knowing other people are missing her as much as I am. And I’m sorry I worried you so much last night. I need to work on talking to people and not just running away. If I don’t, I’ll end up just like my dad. I know how much he hurt mom, running away whenever things got hard. I don’t ever want to do that to you.’ He paused and sniffed a little, burying his head deeper. ‘You’re my girl after all. You’ve always been my girl.’
‘I was just thinking the same thing’ she said as she pulled back. Without even thinking about it, or even thinking about the other people sleeping in the same bed as them, she grabbed ahold of him and kissed him long and hard. It was weird, but it felt like at that moment, two hearts became one. They were the only two in the room, in the world, right at that moment. First kisses were like that. Sparks flew between the two of them, the room spun, the air seemed sweeter, and the world was brand-new. Amy pulled back after what seemed like forever, and only then because she was running out of air. They both breathed in deep and smiled at each other. “in all my daydreams about kissing you, I never would have thought our first kiss would be while we were lying in between our brothers,” she laughed, kissing him again gently. “but at least all the other ones won’t be in this bed, at least not with these other two in it.”
__
They all ran down the halls, rushing to their classes. The principal had heard from Mr. Byron about Ren running away again last night, so they had all gotten permission to be a little late. He sighed as he saw them all scoot past, just barely making the second bell. The start of a new school year.
When lunch came around again, Ren and Bens’ friends were surprised to find girls at their table. Since last nights’ episode, Amy was a little reluctant to leave Ren’s side. So she decided to combine their groups, which was a shock to both groups. Amy’s friends varied, from smart girls from her advanced placement classes, and girls she knew from sports. Ren and Bens’ friends were mostly the same group they had traveled in since elementary school, made up of mostly basketball or football players and a few rogue brainy guys. Amy smiled as she saw them all awkwardly seat them selves. Just as they were all seated, Amy went around and tapped people on the shoulders, telling them to switch with the person next to them, across from them, whatever. Soon enough, they were boy-girl-boy-girl. Amy smiled at Ren, ‘Now, while we eat lunch, you need to get to know three things about the person to your right. Have fun.’ Ren and Ben laughed as her, mostly because Ben was sitting to her right. She already knew enough about her brother to make him blush and give her whatever she wanted if she asked. After a few awkward moments though, the table was buzzing with conversation. Ren turned to her, “I need to get to know three things about you, presumably three things I didn’t know before. Which will be hard since I’ve known you since you were born. Granted, I don’t remember much from that time, since I was two at the time, but you never know, there may be something I don’t already know about you.”
She laughed, and then because really serious. She frowned, and squinted with a far off look on her face. Then she smiled and laughed again, ‘Ok, here goes. I saw you naked once when you’re like 13 or 14. I went to go into your room to see if Ben was there, and I think you were doing something…’ She giggled as he turned bright red. ‘What? Your mom just let me in! Oh, and I had a gigantic crush on you before your mom died. Afterwards, I just forgot about it. It wasn’t important, you know? Until this summer though. This summer was the first time I ever had you all to myself.’ She looked away and then got really close to his ear so no one else could hear. ‘It was the best summer of my life. I..I think I love you.’ She pulled back quickly and looked at the rest of the table. “that’s three things right?” Ren’s heart swelled in his chest. She did love him. He silently reached under the table and grabbed her had, squeezing it gently three times. He hoped she would remember what that meant.
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wow i couldnt stop reading this story i cant wait to read more and well i cant really tell you to change anything cuz well it was all good and well its your story and i myself hate it when people to me how to write one of my storys but there were a few words that were not spelled right but i cant say anything on that cuz i spell enerying wrong but like i said i cant wait to read more if you can let me know when you have more k ttyl
heather rene’
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I think you have a good piece here. I won’t be a grammar “Nazi,” but I will say that there definitely are some spelling and grammar errors throughout the piece. At times, it actually makes it hard to follow the story. I found a couple of times where I thought I was following one character’s thoughtline, and it turned out to be someone else (I especially felt that between Jess & Josiah).
I’m assuming this is a modern piece. I know you’re talking about Colorodo country folk, but the names are a bit much. You may want to switch one brother’s name, there is a rule of thumb that says not to have 2 characters with similar names/names starting with the same letter. Just food for thought.
I think you have a good story line, and I like the softness and sincerity of the characters. I would just suggest maybe expanding the time frame. Rather than three days, maybe have that great ending occur later in the school semester.
I did like it, and since you said you’ve been running with it, I’d say KEEP running with it, I’m looking forward to seeing this story evolve :)
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