Prologue - 1996
When I was a little girl I couldn’t wait to grow up. I thought that when you
became an adult everything would be easy. You could do what you wanted, say
what you wanted and be wherever it was you wanted to be. But I was naïve like
many kids my age. I didn’t know how fast things could change and be taken away
from me. I didn’t know how one night could change my life.
My very first memory of Tyler Wilson was when I was seven years old and it
had been the first year that the Wilson family had been in the neighborhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had invited my dad and I to their New Year’s Eve party.
Tyler was eight and Charlotte, my new best friend, was the same age as me.
To this day, that night stands out clear in my mind. The city of Savannah was
at its best. The usual temperatures had finally dropped into the 60s, which was
a break from the humid days we had eighty percent of the time. Despite the
cooler temperatures in the winter, the sky was as blue as it was in the summer.
It was the time when the city belonged to us; the usual crowds of tourists
wanted to go somewhere tropical during the winter season and Savannah seemed
calm, just for a moment. Almost everyone attending the local University had
gone home for the holidays. The tourists that did show up for the winter season
were natives themselves, having vacationed here for years. Savannah was their
second home.
My dad and I left our house close to nine that night and I had been ecstatic
that I was finally allowed to stay up until midnight, even though my dad
assured me that I would pass out before the New Year rolled in.
"Bryn, don't feel like you have to stay awake all night, okay?" My
dad asked as we walked up the sidewalk to the Wilson's front door.
"Dad!" I said, annoyed. "I already told you I'm staying up
until midnight."
He shook his head and smiled as he knocked on the front
door.
"Mr. Woods,
Bryn." Oliver Wilson said as he opened the door and took the salad my dad
had offered to bring, shaking his hand. "We are so glad you could make it.
Bryn, Charlotte is in the kitchen stocking up on sweets and sugar." He
turned to my dad. "She thinks she can make it until midnight without
falling asleep."
My dad smiled. "Bryn thinks she can too."
I took my shoes off inside and ran into the kitchen, maneuvering my way through large groups of people on the way. I had only been to their house a handful of times but already seemed to know my way around.
"You're here!" Charlotte squealed as she ran over to me and gave me a hug. "Want some Skittles?" she asked, holding out a bowl filled to the top with colorful candies. Grabbing a handful, we hopped onto the counter and swung our legs over the edge while shoving our mouths full with Skittles.
"Get your cute little butts off the counter, please." Mrs. Wilson said as she came in with the salad, setting it on the counter. "Bryn, you look very pretty tonight, how are you sweetie?" she asked as she gave me a hug.
I swallowed the ball of Skittles that had formed in my mouth with a large gulp. "Thanks. Dad let me pick out a new dress for tonight."
"You did a very good job at picking it out." She grabbed an empty bowl from the cabinet and filled it with Chex Mix and rinsed her hands off in the sink after. "Help yourself to anything as always, Bryn. I have to go say hello to our guests." She walked out, her heels clicking against the elaborate tiles on the floor.
Charlotte hopped off the counter and grabbed the bowl of Skittles from the counter. "Let's go downstairs. Tyler and his friend Jason are down there. We can play a game or something while we wait for the countdown." I followed her to the basement timidly. I had never really liked Tyler that much. I had met him a couple of times but only long enough for him to make fun of me for something.
"Charlotte, only guys are allowed down here!" Tyler whined as we got to the main room of the basement.
She sat down on the ground and carefully placed the Skittles close to her, seeming very protective of them. "It's just Bryn and I. We'll be quiet. We just want to play a game."
Tyler rolled his eyes and brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes as he turned his attention back to his Nintendo game. Charlotte and I played a couple of games of Operation and sure enough I slowly started to yawn more frequently, my eyes getting heavier by the hour.
"You can't fall asleep yet!" Charlotte said. She scrunched up her face and patted her stomach. "My stomach hurts."
I laughed. "Wonder why."
"What?" Charlotte asked loudly over the booming sounds coming from the game behind us. We glanced over at the boys who had obviously been turning the volume of the game up since we came down. "Can you please turn the TV down? I can't even hear Bryn talk!"
Tyler picked up the remote control and gave Charlotte a death glare as he turned the volume down by one. "There, I turned it down."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "He's such a jerk sometimes."
I gasped as I saw the time on the clock hanging on the wall. "Guys! It's eleven fifty-seven. Almost time!"
Tyler and his friend dropped their Nintendo controllers and we ran up the stairs, the boys fighting to see who could get to the top first. We ran into the living room where everyone had gathered around the large TV. Mr. Wilson was walking around passing out long glasses filled with a light amber colored liquid.
"The last minute is about to hit! Everyone watch for the ball to drop!" Someone yelled over the noise of people talking.
I stood on my tiptoes but could not see much besides Charlotte, Tyler and his friend from downstairs. "Ten...nine..." I heard all around me.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Tyler. "We're supposed to kiss someone at midnight, kiss me okay?"
"What?" I asked, not sure if I had just heard him correctly.
"Five...four..."
“Bryn, when they say one, I'm going to kiss you."
Then they yelled one and Tyler grabbed me by the shoulders and pressed his mouth to mine, both of our lips in a tight line. It was awkward yet his lips were soft and tasted like Skittles. I pulled away, never having closed my eyes and looked at him bewildered. His face was relaxed and I looked around hoping my dad hadn't seen Tyler do that or I would never be allowed to come back over. "Tyler and Bryn sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Jason chanted. Tyler punched him in the shoulder and looked at me quickly before they disappeared downstairs.
Suddenly Tyler was not the boy who had teased me for my freckles whenever I came over. He was the boy who had just kissed me. And as fast as it had happened things were different. Forever.
My dad smiled. "Bryn thinks she can too."
I took my shoes off inside and ran into the kitchen, maneuvering my way through large groups of people on the way. I had only been to their house a handful of times but already seemed to know my way around.
"You're here!" Charlotte squealed as she ran over to me and gave me a hug. "Want some Skittles?" she asked, holding out a bowl filled to the top with colorful candies. Grabbing a handful, we hopped onto the counter and swung our legs over the edge while shoving our mouths full with Skittles.
"Get your cute little butts off the counter, please." Mrs. Wilson said as she came in with the salad, setting it on the counter. "Bryn, you look very pretty tonight, how are you sweetie?" she asked as she gave me a hug.
I swallowed the ball of Skittles that had formed in my mouth with a large gulp. "Thanks. Dad let me pick out a new dress for tonight."
"You did a very good job at picking it out." She grabbed an empty bowl from the cabinet and filled it with Chex Mix and rinsed her hands off in the sink after. "Help yourself to anything as always, Bryn. I have to go say hello to our guests." She walked out, her heels clicking against the elaborate tiles on the floor.
Charlotte hopped off the counter and grabbed the bowl of Skittles from the counter. "Let's go downstairs. Tyler and his friend Jason are down there. We can play a game or something while we wait for the countdown." I followed her to the basement timidly. I had never really liked Tyler that much. I had met him a couple of times but only long enough for him to make fun of me for something.
"Charlotte, only guys are allowed down here!" Tyler whined as we got to the main room of the basement.
She sat down on the ground and carefully placed the Skittles close to her, seeming very protective of them. "It's just Bryn and I. We'll be quiet. We just want to play a game."
Tyler rolled his eyes and brushed his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes as he turned his attention back to his Nintendo game. Charlotte and I played a couple of games of Operation and sure enough I slowly started to yawn more frequently, my eyes getting heavier by the hour.
"You can't fall asleep yet!" Charlotte said. She scrunched up her face and patted her stomach. "My stomach hurts."
I laughed. "Wonder why."
"What?" Charlotte asked loudly over the booming sounds coming from the game behind us. We glanced over at the boys who had obviously been turning the volume of the game up since we came down. "Can you please turn the TV down? I can't even hear Bryn talk!"
Tyler picked up the remote control and gave Charlotte a death glare as he turned the volume down by one. "There, I turned it down."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "He's such a jerk sometimes."
I gasped as I saw the time on the clock hanging on the wall. "Guys! It's eleven fifty-seven. Almost time!"
Tyler and his friend dropped their Nintendo controllers and we ran up the stairs, the boys fighting to see who could get to the top first. We ran into the living room where everyone had gathered around the large TV. Mr. Wilson was walking around passing out long glasses filled with a light amber colored liquid.
"The last minute is about to hit! Everyone watch for the ball to drop!" Someone yelled over the noise of people talking.
I stood on my tiptoes but could not see much besides Charlotte, Tyler and his friend from downstairs. "Ten...nine..." I heard all around me.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Tyler. "We're supposed to kiss someone at midnight, kiss me okay?"
"What?" I asked, not sure if I had just heard him correctly.
"Five...four..."
“Bryn, when they say one, I'm going to kiss you."
Then they yelled one and Tyler grabbed me by the shoulders and pressed his mouth to mine, both of our lips in a tight line. It was awkward yet his lips were soft and tasted like Skittles. I pulled away, never having closed my eyes and looked at him bewildered. His face was relaxed and I looked around hoping my dad hadn't seen Tyler do that or I would never be allowed to come back over. "Tyler and Bryn sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Jason chanted. Tyler punched him in the shoulder and looked at me quickly before they disappeared downstairs.
Suddenly Tyler was not the boy who had teased me for my freckles whenever I came over. He was the boy who had just kissed me. And as fast as it had happened things were different. Forever.
Copyright © 2012 Alexandria Rhodes
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters, situations and events are my own and I do not give permission for it to be used in any other context.
