Part 1: The Runaway

  Chapter 3: Childhood Nostalgia

  “Hey.” Scott simpered.

  “Yes?” DD asked.

  “Does this ring a bell?” Scott held his hand out, palm down. DD immediately smacked the top of it, leaving her hand on top, and held her other hand out the same way. Scott returned the slap and their arms were now both crossed in an X pattern. Next the pair high-fived, and intertwined their fingers, before ripping their hands apart and spinning around once, They did a fist bump with DD’s right hand and Scott’s left, they then both turned to face the same wall, not breaking their fists, and began to lean towards each other and bumped their remaining two fists together, the pair were now in an upside down U shape.

  “This is the part where we kiss.” DD said in a mocking tone.

  “Only while we dated for like a month.” Scott replied. “We did it this way our whole childhood.”

  “Your mom thought we were idiots.”

  “We kind of were. Remember the time we played tennis with a beer bottle, and just…. didn’t think it would break somehow?”

  “I still have a scar on my foot from that.” DD laughed. “What about the time we scaled the school and got stuck because I was afraid of heights and you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

  “We were there so long we both had to pee on the roof, your mom was so mad!” Scott was laughing.

  “No wonder we thought we’d be a good couple.”

  “It wasn’t you or anything DD, it actually turns out, well, I’m gay.”

  “That… actually makes a lot of sense. You always seemed to be confused the few times we tried to be… sensual.” She visibly recoiled at the memories.

  “I still love you DD. But not in a romantic sense.” He hugged his old friend with the force of every hug they’d missed over eleven years.

  “God shit was less complicated when we were kids.” DD said.

  “I know right? It’s bad enough the sun and the animals are out to kill you, water is a bitch to get now too. Now we need to take care of ourselves, and have to sort through things like love. It’s maddening.” Scott still made expressive movements with his hands as he talked, like when he was a kid.

  “Speaking of taking care of yourself, what have you been doing all this time?” DD asked.

  “I drive the water tanker.” Scott talked like he was bragging. “It’s gotten a bit harder now that the closest water is Walker Lake.”

  “That’s like two hours from here. Also that lake is nasty”

  “I know. Trent and Aina help sometimes.”

  “Aina, your little sister? She was so little last I saw her.”

  “She’s 20 now, it’s been a long time.”

  “Damn, 20? God, eleven years went by so fast.”

  “Yea… Do you want to go see Trent? He’ll be so glad to hear I was right about you not being dead.”

  “Y-yeah let’s go say hi.” DD let Scott lead her out of the kids’ room and over to the radio station. They rounded the entrance staircase, a small spiral staircase up from the library, and into view of the booth. DD hadn’t seen Trent in eleven years. He looked different, but the same. His eyes were closed, and he had headphones on, bobbing his head to whatever song he was listening to. He had dark brown hair, fair skin, and was wearing a blue shirt. She’d had a crush on him as long as she could remember, but he never seemed to feel the same way.

  Suddenly he looked up and their eyes met. He stopped for a moment before rushing through the door to the booth and the second door that provided sound-proofing.

  “DD?!”

  “Trent.”

  “You’re alive.” He appeared to be struggling to breathe.

  “Yeah. I survived.”

  “Told you.” Scott was bragging again.

  “Shut up Scott.” Trent walked up and hugged DD, who sort of just froze. “How are you alive?”

  “I made it out.” DD said quietly.

  “I guess it doesn’t matter much. You’re back now.” The trio caught up on DD’s adventure to Seattle and back, all while Trent maintained the radio.

  “Anyway I brought something you’ll love.” DD reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny rectangular object.

  “Is that a cell phone?” Scott asked.

  “Indeed it is.” DD had produced a cable from her pocket and was already plugging it into the wall outlet closest to her. The radio station was cluttered with jewel cases and shelves. “It has to be plugged in to work though.” She connected the phone and the screen woke up, displaying the word ‘Samsung’.

  “What do you need that for? They don’t work anymore.” Trent was dubious.

  “I keep music on it.”

  “Great, now if only you liked good music,” Scott joked.

  “Hey!” DD gave him a dirty look.

  “What are you gonna do about it?”

  “You know full well what I’m going to do.” DD left the phone on the ground and jumped on top of Scott, pinning him to the ground by his shoulders, her braid settling on his face. Suddenly Scott jolted to one side and he was on top of DD, sitting on her waist. She tried to wiggle free before crossing her arms in defeat.

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  “When did you get so big?” She pouted.

  “Why are you so short?” He taunted back.

  “You two are so weird.” Trent scoffed.

  “And yet you like us.” Scott joked.

  “You’re right, I guess I’m weird too. I’m not roughhousing though.”

  “Aww.” Scott made an overly fake sad face.

  “Can we just look at DD’s music player?” Trent asked.

  “Yeah look at it, the pass-code is 6969,” DD noted.

  “Nice.” Scott lifted a hand to high five his friend and she used the opportunity to throw him off of herself. She crawled on her hands and knees back to Trent and the phone.

  “You can upload the music to your library, then you guys will have more to play.”

  “Where’d you get all this stuff anyway? I didn’t even know Paramore had more albums before their self-titled one.” Trent was deep in thought, music had always been his passion.

  “It’s all from the archive in Seattle.”

  “Why’d you leave then?” Trent was clearly bewildered.

  “I hated it, I told you guys. I wasn’t good enough to actually survive there. I’m not sure I’ve ever been good enough.”

  “Oh hush with that, you’ve always doubted yourself so much, you're a great friend.” Trent pat her on the back.

  “Look at you three! Just like when I was a kid!” An unfamiliar voice said.

  “Hey Aina.” Scott said, his sister was now standing in the doorway, clad in purple and pink.

  “Shouldn’t you two be angry with her?” Aina pointed at DD. “She left! She broke up with Scott and ran!”

  “I’ve told you Aina, I’m over that.” Scott shrugged.

  “I bet he didn’t tell you he cried for weeks.”

  “You cried?” DD asked.

  “Well yeah, DD. We both did. You left without a word.” Scott noted, and Trent nodded when she looked to him. “What, did you think we wouldn’t care you were gone?”

  “And when we heard about Reno we all assumed you died. The town held a vigil for you!” Trent put his arms in the air.

  “Really?” DD was acting more apprehensive now.

  “Yes, we did. Scott and I spoke.” Trent continued.

  “You never bothered to tell anyone you were alive. Selfish!” Aina was yelling now. DD began feeling an almost painful warmth flowing into her face, and she was struggling to breathe. Determined not to let them see her cry, she sprinted out of the room, brushing against Aina on the way out.

  “Aina... Why?” Scott asked.

  “Why what!? You loved her, she abandoned you! She abandoned all of us!”

  “You were nine Aina! I told you, it’s more complicated than that. I’m not mad at her.”

  “I saw her like a sister too!”

  “You didn’t need to make her cry.” Trent said. “We’re mad at her too but she's a friend and we can talk about that when the time is right. She just got here, and she’s already bummed out. She didn’t need that.”

  “I’m worried.” Scott said. “Remember when we were sixteen?”

  “What are you talking about?” Aina asked.

  “Well, you were too young. And this was never a relevant thing to tell you.” Scott continued.

  “So, what happened?”

  “She’s always had emotional issues.” Scott started.

  “Don’t say it like that, Scott. She has Depression.” Trent corrected.

  “Yeah, when we were sixteen her mother kicked her out for a few hours, I don’t even remember why. She broke into the school, and she had nearly bled out in one of the classrooms when we found her.”

  “What do you mean?” Aina asked.

  “She cut her leg open with a knife.” Scott winced at the words.

  “Oh...” Aina was putting things together now.

  “She never told us she was struggling prior.” Trent noted. “She didn’t want to bother us with her problems.”

  “Actually it’s probably why the three of us got so close. After that we pledged to be honest with each other about everything.” Scott explained. “We should find her.”

  “I have a feeling I know where she is.” Trent said. “I’ll go get her.” Scott nodded as Trent got up and grabbed DDs’ phone.

  “She’s right. I’m garbage.” Tears were streaming down DD’s face. She’d sprinted all the way out of town to an old hiding place, a garage a mile out of town. She’d parked her car here as well. Since the last time she’d last cried here part of the roof had fallen in, but she still found good shelter here. She was sitting in a dirty corner, stripped down to her shirt and a pair of light blue boxers, her face against her knees.

  “I’ve been a loser everywhere I’ve gone. There’s no reason I should even be alive right now.” She split her legs, revealing a series of scars on the insides of her thighs. She had her pocket knife in her right hand and opened it with a click. She pressed the blade against her skin.

  “I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed home.”

  “That’s not true at all.” DD screamed at the voice, bolted up, and found herself pointing her knife at Trent, on the other side of a broken window.

  “Why are you here?” She asked.

  “I could ask you the same question.”

  “I didn’t want to stay in town, okay?” She rested the knife on an old toolbox and was walking away from the window. “You’re going to come in no matter what I say, so come on.” Trent walked around to the door and found his way in, by the time he did DD had put her red pants back on.

  “You know full well we’re glad to have you back DD.”

  “Why? I’m useless, who would want me?”

  “You’re not. You are just having a bad moment right now.”

  “I have them all the time.”

  “I know, but you are special. You’re my oldest friend.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I like you. You’re interesting to talk to. Remember all the times we’d climb on your roof at night to look at the stars and talk?”

  “I do.” The thought pulled DD out of her spiral of self loathing a little.

  “Good, because now we can have more of them.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Also I have this for you.” Trent produced her phone and gave it back.

  “Thanks.” She said, smiling for the first time since he’d arrived.

  “Now are we going to listen to music or not?” The pair slumped against DD’s car and began scrolling through the music.

  To Be Continued