Ring

...

Ring

...

Ri--

"Hey." you said as you heard him pick up the phone.

"Hey." came his gentle voice on the other end.

"I need to escape from life for a bit." you said.

"Ok, meet you in...15 minutes?" he responded.

"Perfect."

Click.

 

You finished tying the laces on your shoes and stood up, running your fingers through your hair as you took a quick glance in the mirror.

"Blech." you said at your reflection.

You pulled on your favorite hoodie, tucked your phone in your back pocket and headed out the door.

The back door that is.

You crossed your backyard and hopped over the fence and stepped into the woods at the edge of your yard. You used the light on your phone to reveal your path.It was a full moon out, but all the trees overhead filtered out most of its' light.The ground crunched beneath your feet as you went, your path covered in pine needles, leaves and sticks.

When you reached a fork in the path, you took the right one and continued on.

It was funny, not more than maybe two years ago you would have been to afraid to walk through the woods alone at night. 

But not now.

Now, you welcomed the peace and quiet.

The solitude.

 

Up ahead you could see a small light coming from up in one of the trees and you could just barely make out the sound of a guitar.

A smile spread across your face.

He was already there.

 

You jogged the rest of the way, stopping at the base of the tree and tucking your phone back into your pocket so you could have both hands free to climb. It wasn't terribly high or difficult. The two of you had made a rope ladder to help you get up into the tree house you'd built together last summer. It came out pretty good actually, much to your surprise.

The sound of the guitar grew louder the higher you climbed.

"Brian!" you called out to let him know you'd arrived.

The guitar playing stopped and you heard scuffling then footsteps before the door opened, just as you reached it.

You entered the tree house and closed the door behind you as Brian returned to his seat and picked up his guitar again.

You moved to the corner, to the hammock hanging there and flopped onto it, heaving a long heavy sigh.

Brian began playing his guitar again and you closed your eyes, just listening to him for several minutes before saying anything.

You loved listening to him play. It was so relaxing, and he was really good at it.

You opened your eyes and stared up at the ceiling where the two of you had stuck dozens of glow-in-the-dark stars and planets, while gently swinging yourself back and forth on the hammock.

"I'm so tired." you said finally. "I don't mean like..tired tired...i mean like...just..emotionally exhausted...you know?"

Brian continued playing, knowing your question was rhetorical.

"I just feel like... i'm dragging the ground and can't get up. Everytime i try to get up, life knocks my feet out from underneath of me."

 

You had laughed to yourself more than once, realizing this setup was much like that at a psychologists office. 

You would lie down in the hammock and spill your guts, while YoungK sat in his chair and listened.

But it was perfect really.

It was exactly what you needed.

 

"I'm so worn out...drained. There's just so much going on, so much to deal with and I just, cant. I'm completely overwhelmed. I feel like...like i'm trying to pick myself up off the ground, but I don't have the strength to get up." you shook your head and sighed. "I can't even think straight. My mind is constantly buzzing, did i remember this, i can't forget to do that, when do i have to do this, oh and let's not forget to take care of that. I feel like i'm losing my mind. I went to cook myself something to eat the other day and forgot to turn the stove on, was looking for my keys for like 10 minutes and they were in my hand the whole time." you paused to roll your eyes. "I know my mom needs my help, and i don't mind helping, i know she's got her hands full too...I don't know how much more i can take. I can't even sleep at night because i can't get my brain to shut off. And then i've got friends getting mad at me because I don't have the time to go off on trips with them, or because I can't spend hours on the phone. I don't understand, they know what i have to deal with, what do they expect?"

 

You were in college. Still living at home with your parents, mainly because your father was ill, and your mother needed your help caring for him.

You worked part time, went to school full time, and any spare time was spent taking care of the house or running errands or looking after your Dad. Which didn't leave much time for friends, or socializing, or anything else for that matter. People always complained that you were distant or never around, even though they knew your circumstances, they just didn't get it. They'd get mad at you for 'ignoring' them, even though that wasn't the case.

You rolled over onto your side and watched YoungK, as his fingers skillfully moved from fret to fret and string to string.

He looked up from his hands to find you watching him and he smiled, his genuine, sweet smile.

 

And then you had YoungK. You'd met about two years ago. His family moved in nearby...both your backyards led into the woods. The treehouse was a halfway point between both your houses and the two of you had spent a lot of time out here together which led you to build the treehouse last summer. You wanted somewhere the two of you could be together, away from your houses, and everything else, no matter the time of day or what the weather was like. The two of you became close, fast. He seemed to understand you in a way that no one else did. You'd lost friends due to the fact that you couldn't just drop everything at a moments notice and run out to be with them. Some of your friends even said they understood, but had eventually cut off all contact. It left you feeling frustrated and sad. They knew all that you were going through and still, instead of encouraging or understanding, they complained and ended up leaving in the end.

But not Brian.

 

"I need a break from life...I feel like i just can't keep up." you continued. "But i'm stuck...I can't escape." you trailed off.

Brian stopped playing and set his guitar back on the stand. He knew that was his cue.

He came over and sat on the hammock's edge next to your legs and leaned across them, propping his head up on his arm on the other side of your legs.

With his free hand he reached over and took your hand.

"When are you going to finally throw this thing away?" he asked playing with the torn cuff of your hoodie.

You feigned shock and pulled your sleeve away from him, cradling it against you like a child. "How could you! This is my favorite hoodie, you know that."

He smiled. "Let me buy you a new favorite."

"That's not how that works Brian."

He sighed and rolled onto his back, his head resting on your thigh, his feet on the floor, swinging the two of you back and forth. "It's going to come up missing one of these days...don't say i didn't warn you." he teased.

You scowled at him.

"How's your Dad?" he asked.

"Meh..." you started. "He caught a cold so it's just making things worse at the moment."

He nodded.

"The Iron Man vs. Captain America movie comes out soon." you said, knowing the inner geek in him would be excited.

"I saw that."

"Are you really going to go Team Iron Man?"

"Of course. I take it you're going Team Captain then?"

"Of course." 

He shook his head. 

You playfully thumped the top of his head with your hand. "Don't shake your head at me." you scolded. "How can you pick Iron man over the Cap?"

"What do you mean how? He's a genius, not to mention rich, he can fly, i mean...what's not to love?"

"His arrogance maybe?" 

"Pffft. I'd take arrogance if it meant getting rich and being able to fly."

"Get arrogant and i'll dump you right out of this hammock." you threatened.

He smiled again. 

That was one of your most favorite things about him.

His smile.

It nearly knocked you off your feet the first time you'd seen it.

"Does that mean I can't go with you to see the movie if i'm going to be team Iron Man?"

"Yes." you responded without hesitation.

He thought a moment.

"Alright fine, Team Cap it is."

"You're such a pushover." you said tousling his hair.

"I know it. But it's your fault."

It was your turn to smile.

He reached up and took the hand you had in his hair and brought it to his mouth, kissing it before resting it on his chest. 

"Baby" he started, "you need to realize that you have your hands full...and anyone that can't or won't understand that, doesn't deserve to have you." he said.

You sighed. 

"That's the truth." he continued. "If they are truly your friends, they will understand why you can't be out all the time or be all the phone all hours of the day. You don't need the added stress"

"I know, i know." you sighed again.

"god i'm hungry for some nachos." he said, straying from the subject.

"ugh, don't start."

"Did you eat?"

"Not yet."

He sat up and turned to face you. "I understand that you're busy, but you do still need to take the time to eat and get some rest."

"I know." you said making a pout and staring down at the floor with a guilty face. "But I wanted to see you more than i wanted to eat."

"Punk." he said trying to keep a straight face.

You smiled. 

Your conversations were always this way, bouncing from one topic to the next.

 

"Scoot over." he said.

You moved over as much as you could without flipping the hammock over, and he squeezed himself in next to you.

Placing his lips against your forehead, his hand came to your waist, holding you, finally resting his forehead against your own.

"I love you. You're amazing, I don't know how you manage to juggle all the things that you do and still have your sanity. Don't let anyone get you down. You're too good to be brought down by people that don't understand."

You nodded. 

"And don't feel guilty for needing a break. You are constantly on the go, you hardly ever get time for yourself. But honestly, you need it. I think your Mom would tell you the same. You can't continue to do all that you do, if you don't take a little time for yourself. You're going to burn out. You have a lot sitting on your shoulders. Don't try to do it all alone. I'm here whenever you need it, you know that, and if i can help in anyway, let me know." he said, "I mean it."

"You already have." you said, kissing the tip of his nose.

You scoot down so you could rest your head on his chest and wrapped your arms around him.

He had one foot on the floor and was swinging the hammock gently.

You let out a deep sigh feeling your body relax as you did so. "Can I take you home?" you said playfully.

"Mmm, I thought your mom didn't want you keeping pets."

"I promise i'll feed you and clean up after you and take you for walks,"

"Oooh, walks sound nice."

"And brush you, and bathe you, and....wait."

"You naughty little thing you." he said rolling over.

You chuckled as he brought his mouth to yours.

"Only if you get in the bath with me." he said kissing you again.

"I think i'd be okay with that." you smiled.

He chuckled.

He held you tightly and you could feel all the stress and strain of life slowly slip away.

You knew how lucky you were to have someone like Brian. 

"Sleep with me?" he said with a naughty smile on his lips.

You chuckled. "Yes please."

He kicked his shoes off and his side, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you against his chest.

You nuzzled against him, hands clutching at his t-shirt.

One of his hands gently caressed the back of your head, and downward, following the length of your hair.

He began humming, softly at first.

His other hand moved from your waist, slipping just under the bottom of your shirt, coming to rest on your hip, where he gently brushed his thumb over your hip bone.

He switched from humming softly to singing.

You closed your eyes and smiled, your mind emptying of all the worries and stressful thoughts.

He had that effect on you. 

He understood you, and always seemed to know exactly what you needed. 

He never made you feel guilty for the way you felt, neve made you feel like you weren't good enough. Never complained when you were so busy that you didn't get but a couple minutes together. He helped in whatever way he could, whether it was bringing you something to eat, listening to you pour your heart out, coming over to hang out with your Dad while you tried to get some school work done, or even holding you as he sang you to sleep.

And he was yours.

You knew, you had to be one of the luckiest girls alive.

Things were tough and overwhelming at times, but you always got through it, and he was always there at your side to help.

He helped you recharge and reminded you that you weren't alone. 

 

With the sound of nothing but his voice filling your mind, you closed your eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.