An End To The Distance Read online

  “What?”

  Peyton’s tone was laced with irritation. What the hell did he want?

  “Hey,”

  Cole smiled.

  “Hi.”

  “Why aren’t you in class?”

  “I could ask the same thing.”

  “Well, I was on my way but then I saw you. You always come to class.”

  “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “Right. So why aren’t you in class?”

  “I just didn’t want to go today Cole, okay?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Something’s wrong. You’re never this…short with me.”

  “Nothing Cole. I’m just really not in the mood today.”

  “I know what will cheer you up. Come on.”

  Cole yanked the ball from underneath Peyton’s foot, making Peyton grin. They both ran to the parking lot, Cole yanking Peyton’s lazy and reluctant body across the lot to his Jeep. Peyton rested her forehead on the window and watched as the clouds chased her. The clouds finally stopped when Cole parked his car into a sandy parking lot. The beach was practically empty except for a few strays hundreds of feet down the beach. Cole owned the little hut that sat on the beach that sold surfing gear. So he easily gave Peyton a wetsuit and a board.

  “You can’t be serious. It’s like, five degrees in that water.”

  Peyton couldn’t help but smile. Of course she still wanted try it out.

  “Exactly, so when your ass falls you will have an excuse this time.”

  Peyton and Cole laughed as they paddled their way out to the ocean. The wind was blowing and the waves were large. Peyton paddled further into the ocean just to show Cole that she wasn’t afraid.

  “Showoff.”

  Peyton waited patiently, riding small waves but she soon found a big wave to ride. Cole swam out towards her as they rode waves in silence. Peyton feeling free when she would stand up on her board and catch the wave from underneath her. With each success of catching a wave, Peyton and Cole would swim further out. Peyton decided that this was it, this next wave she was going to ride. It looked huge from far away and Peyton felt giddy inside as it approached closer to her. She paddled and began to stand up but lost control and crashed into the ocean. Peyton stayed underwater for a couple of seconds but came afloat, laughing with salt in her mouth.

  “Ah, it stings!”

  “Did you want me to get some goggles?”

  Peyton laughed and rubbed her eyes furiously while using her other hand to splash water in Cole's face.

  “Shut up!”

  Peyton swam back to shore with Cole. The ocean was loud. No one spoke but the two just rested in the water, bodies being shifted to the left and right as they watched the scenery in front of them. The clouds had gotten dark, taking away the afar sight and with the effect of the rain, a light mist had floated in the sky. Peyton refused to blink so she wouldn’t miss any of nature’s beauty. Storing it in her head forever.

  “Feeling better?”

  Peyton smiled. She had forgotten about Kat and herself for once and just enjoyed what was happening in the moment, something she hadn’t been able to do in a long time.

  “Actually, I am. Thanks.”

  Peyton’s stomach grumbled and Cole laughed at her.

  “We have twin stomachs! Come on, let’s eat.”

  Peyton dried her hair with a towel Cole provided for her and changed back into her dry clothes before they headed back to the café. Cole and Peyton sat across from each other at the booth as they sipped hot tea, letting the liquid warm their bodies and heart as it traveled down their throat.

  “Ouch, did the board hit you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve got a gash on your nose.”

  Peyton felt her nose and saw that there was a tiny amount of blood and the pain began to kick in.

  “Ah, yeah. Must have.”

  “I’ll get you a napkin.”

  Cole dapped the bridge of Peyton’s nose and watched as she flinched when the napkin made contact with her cut.

  “You’re such a little girl. Be still.”

  “Okay, okay. I think it’s clean now.”

  Peyton pushed his hand away from her nose and they continued to drink in silence.

  “I’m glad to see you smile again. I missed that cute smile of yours.”

  “Well you were lucky to see it today. Thanks.”

  “Why have you been so down lately?”

  “A lot of stuff has gone wrong in my life, and I just wanna have something right for once.”

  “Peyton Kennedy, always so discreet.”

  “Sorry, but it’s just too deep to get into. I don’t want to drown you.”

  “I understand. Well I made you smile, so my mission for the day is accomplished. You know finals are coming up, probably not the best day to skip class. Now you owe me since I took the time to make you happy.”

  “Don’t worry. Finals are always the easiest.”

  “Says queen dork over here.”

  “They really are dude, you just have to study.”

  “So tutor me.”

  “Fine. But I need pay.”

  “Okay, a cent an hour.”

  “How about five?”

  “Deal.”

  SIXTEEN

  JASMINE jolted straight up in her bed, eyes wide and mind in total disarray as she looked around searching for where the familiar cacophonous tune came from. It was the alarm she had set several months back for this so-called special day. The clock sat on the floor and Jasmine hit it with her foot to make it stop. She sat on the edge of her bed; shoulders slumped as she fought the need to cry. She walked over to her large window and closed the blinds, reprimanding the sun for blinding her and making her head throb even more. She turned around to her bed to find it cold, wrinkled and empty. Jasmine grunted, not wanting to think the obvious and stumbled to the bathroom to take a hot bath. She waited patiently on the edge of the tub, pouring bath salts in the tub as the water filled up before turning the knob and carefully dipping her foot in the water to test the temperature. When her body adjusted to the heat, she slipped her full body into the tub. An outbreak of goosebumps erupted on top of her skin and Jasmine shivered slightly. She tied her hair high up on her head so it wouldn’t get wet and ran her fingers under the water, creating circles. She stayed in the bath water until the water was a disturbing cold temperature and her fingers pruned. Jasmine walked barefoot down the hall and the smell of food made her stomach grumble and the pain in her head subside. Tegan looked up to see Jasmine walking down the steps, rubbing both of her eyes like a child and couldn’t help but smirk despite the situation.

  “You made breakfast.”

  Jasmine announced to the downstairs level of her house as she walked down the steps. She wore a long white t-shirt of her father’s that came just above her knees and her hair fell messily on both sides of her shoulder.

  “I thought you would be hungry.”

  “You thought right.”

  Jasmine walked over to behind Tegan and rested her chin on Tegan’s shoulder, closing her eyes and inhaling the wonderful scent that sent a rush to her stomach. Tegan was careful not to spill pancake batter on herself or Jasmine. But Jasmine was just too damn close for Tegan's liking and she wasn't wearing any pants. Jasmine walked around the kitchen counter and shielded her eyes from any light.

  "Fuck, I have a headache."

  She took a seat at the kitchen table and rested her forehead on the table. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Tegan finished making the pancakes, pulled out the bacon and placed everything neatly on a plate for Jasmine. Tegan had found some chamomile tea in Jasmine's pantry; she had tons of it. Tegan laughed to herself when she thought about the days she used to bring Jasmine coffee. Tegan placed Jasmine's breakfast in front of Jasmine and slid her two aspirins on a napkin. Jasmine lazily downed the pills with a quick swallow of her tea. Tegan sat acro
ss from Jasmine at the kitchen table and dug into her plate of food. She made herself something simple; an omelet. She didn't want to use up all of Jasmine's groceries. Jasmine’s pantry and fridge had more empty shelves than food stocked. Jasmine was the type to either eat out or order in. Cooking had never been her forte. The silence between the two was anything but comfortable. Tegan didn't want to bring up the fact that she knew Jasmine had gotten good and drunk last night and certainly didn't want to ask how she felt since the burial of her father. So Tegan remained silent and continued to eat, stealing glances at Jasmine when she could. Jasmine looked up at Tegan a few times, careful not to make eye contact. She was trying to come up with an excuse that sounded at least half better than the real situation. Jasmine couldn’t come up with anything. She bit her lip and put down her fork.

  “I’m sorry for last night. My behavior was highly inappropriate. I shouldn’t have left you here all alone either. That was wrong of me.”

  Jasmine refused to look at Tegan. She was embarrassed. How could she act like such a child?

  “Jasmine, it’s completely fine. You’re grieving.”

  “That was no way to do it though.”

  “Hey,”

  Tegan reached across the table and touched Jasmine’s hand, making her look up at her.

  “everyone grieves in their own way.”

  Jasmine smiled warmly and Tegan retracted her hand back to continue eating her breakfast in total silence, except this time, some of the heavy tension was lifted. Tegan’s eyes remained on Jasmine who was gulfing down her plate of food at the moment. She knew she shouldn’t feel bad for Jasmine. Jasmine was a woman and could handle her own but it just seemed like Jasmine was so lonely. Her eyes didn’t have that sparkle in it like it used to. They were now a dark blue, reflecting her soul from within. Tegan hated that. Tegan would give Jasmine the world if she could but there was so little that she could do for a woman who didn’t want anything. All she had was her passionate love for her, and Jasmine didn’t want that.

  “I made you something.”

  Tegan stood up and walked over to the coffee table in the living room where she picked up a green card and walked back over to Jasmine. Tegan placed the card beside Jasmine’s now empty plate of food. Jasmine put down her fork and softly traced the drawings on the front of the card with her index finger. It was a drawing of a tall stick figure and a shorter one next to it and they were holding mugs of hot tea. Jasmine gasped inwardly and she felt the hot tears well up in her eyes.

  “Obviously I’m not Picasso but that’s supposed to be you and me and we’re both drinking tea. I decided to try it once for the occasion. Clearly this wouldn't happen in real life. It's sort of nasty.”

  Tegan stated timidly.

  “What’s this square at the bottom of our feet?”

  “It’s your cake.”

  Tegan stated like it was obvious to see. Jasmine let her tears roll down the hill of her cheeks and traced her thumb against the poor drawing of the cake with handball ball candles lit on top.

  “Happy birthday, Jasmine.”

  Jasmine wiped her eyes and smiled. Tegan had made her a card out of construction paper that she found buried in Jasmine's office with her favorite color and a mechanical pencil for her drawings. She had limited resources to use but it was beautiful. Jasmine began to open the card when Tegan shouted at her.

  “Please don’t open it! I don’t want you to read it. At least, not when I’m here.”

  Jasmine simply smiled and closed the card back.

  “Come here.”

  Tegan backed her chair from the kitchen table and walked over slowly to Jasmine. Jasmine wrapped her arms around Tegan’s waist and buried her forehead into her stomach.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  They stood like that for a while, silence taking over the two. Jasmine softly cried on Tegan’s shirt as Tegan stroked her arm and kissed the top of her head. Neither one of them wanted to pull away. It just felt…right. Jasmine needed this. Being in each other arms. When they were together, they escaped from reality for a moment. Fears, worries, and pain were all gone and it was just the two of them. Jasmine liked it that way. Being with Tegan showed Jasmine that there was a possibility of seeing light out of the dark tunnel. Jasmine was the first to pull away, wiping under her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I got your shirt all wet.”

  “It’s technically your shirt so---”

  Tegan joked and Jasmine showed a slight reaction of a smile. Jasmine wiped underneath her eyes and backed away from the kitchen table.

  “I need to get dressed and pick up my car.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I have another car. You’re going to drive the Porsche.

  Tegan furrowed her brows.

  “Jasmine, I can’t…”

  “What? You don’t have your driver’s license…Tegan, you can’t drive?”

  “No, it’s not that. You just put a huge responsibility on me. We’re talking a sixty thousand dollar car. That’s like, my tuition here.”

  Jasmine grabbed both her plate and Tegan’s and walked over to the kitchen to rinse them off in the sink. She smiled at Tegan’s statement.

  “I have insurance. I think we’ll be okay.”

  SEVENTEEN

  JASMINE wiped the pool of sweat plastered against her forehead with the back of her hand. Her jaws were locked, brows wrinkled, and fists clenched into a ball as she punched the bag again and continued to punch, throwing jarring blows every time she thought about her father. Her black sports bra clung to her wet skin; beads of sweat formed in the crease of her breasts and dripped down the spine of her back. The room was ceased in silence, the exception of the perpetual sound of Jasmine’s knuckles panning into the thick leather. The internal monologue that played in Jasmine’s head was too much to bear. She would punch harder, faster, trying to drown out the loud thoughts. Jasmine had trapped herself down in her garage and swore not to come out until she felt she could handle the world again. She was rolling up on the third hour. Her body ached; she had overworked herself, trying to tire her brain when it only became stronger and she got weaker. Jasmine reluctantly threw off her gloves and shook out her cramped, bruised knuckles. Throwing a towel over her shoulder, she pushed open the door to her house, the cold breeze trapping every heated piece of skin. Jasmine made way to the refrigerator and chugged down half of her water bottle before slamming it down on the kitchen counter and angrily wiping her lips with the back of her hand. She gripped both sides of the counter and blew out a shaky breath. Jasmine was a lot of things; a crier was not one of them. There was too much time for pontification. There was too much time for anger, regret, and loneliness and Jasmine’s arms were sore. At school, she was sheathed in steel. She could go on about her day pushing the daunting thoughts in the back of her head. It was here at home where the loneliness crept in. It had been a two weeks since Jasmine buried her father, two weeks since Jasmine had died herself. Jasmine gazed around her empty home when she finally realized just how lonely she was. There was not a single living soul Jasmine could think of that was there for her. Had she always been this lonely?

  Tegan.

  It was Tegan who had distracted Jasmine’s solitude life in recent years. Tegan made Jasmine forget what it was like to be alone. Tegan had always been in Jasmine’s corner. A humorless laugh tugged in Jasmine’s throat. Was Tegan all she had? Was Tegan all she needed? Jasmine ran upstairs, searching for her phone. It had been dead, all two weeks long, hiding in the bottom of Jasmine’s drawer. Once charged, Jasmine unsnapped her phone from its plug and fished the birthday card Tegan had given her out of her nightstand drawer. Tegan had written her number on it. Jasmine began to punch in the digits of Tegan’s cell when she realized the unread note hiding inside of the card. Jasmine placed her phone down and opened the card, sat down on her bed and began to read.

  You’re my coffee. I want to be your tea.

  Jasmine felt her heart s
well just before it melted. She excitedly punched in Tegan’s numbers and tapped out a quick text before realizing that Tegan was probably in Georgia by now. After all, it was the week of Christmas. Jasmine hit dial and her patience level increased with every ring.

  “Cello?”

  Tegan giggled into the phone. Jasmine could hear laughter in the background and a faint Christmas melody playing.

  “Tegan…it’s me.”

  The noise level on the other end of the phone was cut off, as Tegan seemed to enter another room of the house.

  “Jasmine? Um, hey.”

  “Is this a bad time?”

  “No, no.”

  The revelation in Tegan’s voice left and was replaced with concern.

  “How are you?”

  “I’ve had better days.”

  Jasmine rubbed out her sore hands.

  “I wanted to see you before I left, but I wanted to give you your space.”

  “I know, I appreciate that but I…I would really like to see you.”

  “Are you still in California?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Jasmine looked up to her ceiling fan, preparing her next sentence. She dragged her teeth across her lip and sighed heavily into the phone. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Jasmine closed her eyes, wincing at what she was getting ready to say.

  “I was planning on going to my lodge in Alberta to spend Christmas…I didn’t necessarily want to go alone.”

  The phone was silent on the other end. Jasmine waited with bated breath for a response. A response that was prayerfully in Jasmine’s favor. When Jasmine was positive the line went dead, she called Tegan’s name.