On The Way Down
an excerpt

“It feels like I’ve known you forever.”

The words echoed clearly in her mind as if he had just said them to her face.

“Oh I know, I feel the same way about you.”

She could remember that night as if it were yesterday. The smell of the fresh air, the sight of the stars scattered above them…it had been the most amazing way for a girl to experience her first love.

“Look at those stars! They’re so beautiful…”

Earlier that day, they had breakfast together, ran around the city in the rain, and hung out with his friends. They had taken her in and she became one of them. But it wasn’t until that evening that she recognized a deeper connection.

“Absolutely magical.”

Anya Walsh snapped out of her reverie as she stopped at a red light. The little trip down memory lane wasn’t what she had in mind when she decided to make a head towards a familiar house a couple of streets down from her grandparents’ home. She could have walked but she hadn’t gathered up the courage until that afternoon, when she was at the mall. Running into a couple of old friends brought back some really funny memories with a side order of guilt at how she handled her departure.

The sight of the light blue garage door and the matching front door set against the white exterior of the house made the girl shiver as she parked across the street from the house. She took a couple of deep breaths as she carefully observed the house from the safety of her car.

“Are you ready for this?”

The sound of his voice made her shiver again. He had a habit of asking her this particular question. It was one of those idiosyncrasies that made him who he was to her. He always said it in a way unique to him…it was just another reminder of how she had screwed things up with him.

Ignoring all voices in her head, Anya finally stepped out of the car and she walked up to the door. She gently applied pressure on the doorbell and listened as it rang. She could hear the faint sound as it traveled through the house. Moments later, she heard footsteps and the door opened before her.

“Hello.” A blonde woman who appeared to be in her 30s stood at the door, causing Anya to freeze.

Finally, Anya spoke up after a moment of silence. “Uh, hi, I guess the Mackenzie family doesn’t live here anymore, huh?” An uncomfortable chuckle followed.

“No…we just moved here a month ago,” the woman explained with a gracious and welcoming smile.

Anya nodded. “Listen, I’m sorry interrupted…whatever it was that you were doing.” She exhaled, feeling a little more comfortable with the reception she got.

“No problem. It was an honest mistake. Don’t worry about it.”

Anya nodded and with a wave, she said goodbye and took off. She walked quickly to her car and headed home. She needed to figure out a new game plan. She was determined to get in contact with Jake again – there was so much she left unresolved. Carrying her disappointment with her, she headed home for supper.

----------------------------------

The beat of the songs took over the student body present in the gym. Dancing close, grinding against each other, Jake and Anya were caught up their own world and didn’t notice that a circle had formed around them until the song ended.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is DJ Rocky Rock, just wanna give a shoutout to the Renegade varsity hockey for their win this afternoon. Way to keep a winning tradition alive, fellas! This song’s for you.”

As cliché as it sounded, the DJ played We Are The Champions by Queen, giving the teens a chance to socialize since it wasn’t really a song to dance to.

Kelsea walked up to Anya with a serious look on her face. “Hey Miss Homecoming Queen, the crown looks good on you,” she commented.

“Thanks,” Anya replied with a huge bright smile, “You look great too. The little black dress works.”

Kelsea forced herself to lift up one corner of her lips into a half smile. “Thanks.” She pointed at a tall male figure across the gym at one end of the refreshment table. “I hope you didn’t forget that Noah came here for you.”

Before Anya could reply, Jake came back with a glass of punch and handed it to her.

“Hey Jake,” Anya greeted him, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

“I have to go – gotta make sure Jonathan took care of that cash.”

Anya watched as Kelsea took off and left Jake and Anya to dance a little.

“You really should introduce me to more of your friends,” Jake pointed out, and when he noticed Anya was avoiding eye contact, he added, “Come on. What’s wrong? Are you having a bad time?”

Anya shook her head. “Jake…” she began but a voice behind her interrupted her.

“Now there’s my beautiful date!”