AshleyK's+Short+Story

"I've never been to the beach before", he said. She looked at him with her sad eyes. "Neither have I. Let's go for a ride", she whispered.

When he first met her, he only knew her name. But he could describe the color of her hair; a rich auburn. He could tell you where every freckle on her face was located. But he didn't know her favorite color; lime green. Or what her favorite song was; Let it Ride by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. He didn't know she cried every time she read Romeo and Juliet. She seemed worldly to him, although neither has ventured past the town limits. Until then he didn't know that he wanted her, or that he really needed her for that matter. He didn't think she would have any influence on his life. He planned on remaining at home after high school, working on his family's farm, just like obedient sons were expected to do. He figured eventually the farm would be his and he would continue running the family business. Hardly anyone left the town anyway. Occasionally, a person thought he or she could handle living in a big city and tried to attend a university far away. But most failed and soon enough they were back home with heads bowed, back to living their dull and predictable lives. He made peace early on with his future, he kept his expectations low for himself; got average grades; was an average athlete. He considered himself a normal teenage boy with no special talents. He shared one class with her; art. He was taking it because he needed the class to graduate. She thought she wanted to be an artist. The only time he thought about her at all was during this class. He watched her from across the table, wondering if he crossed her mind at all. He thought she tried too hard to standout. She openly protested the normal styles of everyone else. She kept her hair short, constantly changing its color. She wore her ripped t-shirts with pride. But he noticed she had a pair of cowboy boots, just liked everybody else in town. "If you hate this western style so much", he asked suddenly one day, "why do you wear those boots?" She looked up from her drawing, surprised to hear his voice, and at first wasn't sure he was speaking to her. "My mother gave them to me, they used to be hers. She said it makes her happy to see me wear them. It's the least I can do for her," she responded with a warm smile. His question seemed to open the line of communication between them. She entered his life as if she had always been there.It felt right to be with her. She said she believed fate brought them together, but he only laughed at that. He didn't buy into things like fate. They fell into a comfortable pattern with each other,devoting a great deal of time to each other. She tried to expand his mind by giving him poems to read, which he claimed never made any sense. He taught her how to ride a horse, shocked that she didn't know. "I still can't believe you never learned after living here for seventeen years," he said with disbelief. "It never seemed relevant to my life," she said not fazed. Some days he thought she was too unusual and wasn't sure if he could stand another day. Sometimes, she thought he was too conservative, too unwilling to see the bigger picture. But they managed to find a middle ground. He began making time to read the books she suggested for him; she entered a horse riding competition after a few months of training, and came in third. she couldn't hide the joy she felt after winning her white ribbon and proudly tacked it onto the wall of her room. There was always something interesting to read on her walls. He found himself drawn to an article about Kurt Cobain's death. "A lot of people still believe his wife, Courtney Love, shot him,but I never listened to the rumors," she said. "His close friends said he was troubled and couldn't stay clean from his heroin addiction.I guess he just figured it was easier to end his life then continue living in that endless cycle." He just couldn't accept suicide as a means to solve a problem. "Killing yourself may be the easier way out, but I think it's the coward's way out too," he said, shaking his head. "Maybe," she responded, "but the saddest part is there are so many things he had left to say in his music. He had a gift with words." May was approaching quickly, and graduation seemed right around the corner. He became slightly cold around her, knowing that come June, she would leave this small town behind. He knew she would have no trouble living away at whatever university she attended. He felt a ping of resentment towards her, realizing that she wouldn't stay here, not even for him, no matter how much she loved him. He worried she'd find someone new at college, a guy that knew more poets than he did. Someone that could woo her by reciting original poems. But he knew keeping her here was the worst thing he could do to her. Still, he wanted to be with her the rest of his life."Listen," he said one night while they were laying together, "I want to go with you when you leave this fall. I..I can't be apart from you," he struggled to say. She was touched by his emotional confession. She rarely got him to speak about his feelings. She looked at him tenderly, "No matter where I am or you are, I will always be yours," she said. "Let's leave this town together," he pleaded,"right now. I've got enough money saved up and the keys to the pickup." He didn't want to look at her, didn't want to see the rejection in her eyes. "Where would we go,"she asked. That's how they began their journey to the beach, before anyone could notice them missing. They left town with only the clothes on their backs. They figured it was best to travel lightly. He didn't stop driving until sand was beneath the tires and the pacific ocean was looming in front of them. Big and powerful waves pounded the sand, the repetition of motion luring them closer. They became mesmerized by the sounds and sights of the beach. "So," he said quietly, "this is the kinda thing you can find past town limits." They both laughed at this, then grew silent, thinking off all they had left behind. He looked over at her in the sunlight and noticed how well she seemed to blend in with the surroundings.