Just Another Girl

Chapter 7

  Day one of my last fourteen days alive. I was pretty sure not even Joey could convince me otherwise. 

  He met me in front of my house at five-thirty, nobody else was even up yet. I had no idea how Joey knew I was up and out that early every day, but it didn't matter. 

  He gave me a smile. "You won't need your backpack, unless you want to go to school." He said. 

  "Oh awesome, you're gonna skip school because of me too?" I asked, rolling my eyes. 

  "Not because of you, for you." He said simply and took my hand. I flinched automatically, but didn't pull away. I'd promised not to hold back, hadn't I?

  "So... What are we doing?" I asked, trying to pretend I was interested. 

  "Going to the river." 

  "Can I jump in?" 

  "If you promise you'll swim out." 

  "Dang it.." I muttered under my breath, causing Joey to tighten his grip on my hand. 

  "Come on, I'm gonna rent us a canoe and we're gonna go down the river together. It'll be fun!" He looked down at me with a little smile and that look nobody had ever given me before. The loving look. 

  I nodded and followed him down to the river. I stood and looked at the clear blue waters as he went to get the canoe. 

  When he came back and led me to a canoe near the water, I hesitated before getting in. Was this a good idea? What would Mom do if the school called and asked about me? 

  "Are you scared?" Joey asked. 

  "No." I said quickly and flatly, then climbed in. 

  He smiled, I don't know why he smiles so much around me, and jumped in after me. He tried to use the paddle to push us into the water, but it didn't work. So he stood up and pushed, and then it worked. We shot into the water fast, so fast that Joey fell out into the water. 

  Then I surprised myself. I... Giggled? It felt so weird... But also good. Joey didn't hear, he was too busy trying to get back above water. 

  I surprised myself again by reaching down to grab his hand and help him up. I cringed as my sleeve slipped up a little, but grabbed his hand anyway and pulled him towards the canoe. 

  It took a minute, but he made it back in. Soaking wet. "Thanks." He said with an embarrassed grin. 

  I nodded my welcome and looked down, nervously pulling my sleeves down over my hands, I couldn't let that slip again, even if he already knew. 

  Joey picked up the paddle again and began to row us down the river. We just sat quietly for a while, staring at the scenery, until Joey spoke up. 

  "Why don't you want to trust or like anyone?" Always asking nosy, annoying questions... 

  I started to say none of his business, but stopped. No holding back, it won't matter anyway. "Every time I trust or like someone something goes wrong, I get hurt every single time. It's not worth it." I told him truthfully. 

  He was silent for a moment. "I'll never betray you or hurt you, to my last breath I'll do whatever I can to keep you happy and safe." 

  "My own parents don't even do that, why should you?" I asked under my breath. 

  "I'm not your parents, am I? You can't compare me to them." He told me seriously. 

  I looked down into the water, thinking and watching the ripples. He had so many good points... But I couldn't believe him that easy...