(Sara ++ Jake's Story)1
“I hate you! Would you leave me alone?” Sara screamed at Jake Tanner. She had just turned seven years old and he was ruining her birthday party. She pouted and stared at the blonde haired boy who had a stupid grin on his face. This was not how she wanted to spend her birthday. Stupid Jake Tanner from next door...2
“Honey, what's wrong?” Sara's mother had come outside to hear her daughter having a fit.3
“I don't want him here!” Sara said, her voice squeaky and high. Jake just smiled and Sara went to her mother, “Make him go away! Make him leave! I don't want him at my birthday party!”4
“Sara, baby, you invited everyone from your class,” her mother said, softly, wrapping her arms around Sara. “He's part of the class. He was invited. He's supposed to be here.”5
“I don't like him,” Sara said, with a little sob. 6
She pouted for a while, but soon forgot about Jake Tanner when her two best friends, Vanessa and Katie, asked her to play tag. She ran off and ignored Jake.7
♥8
“What are you staring at?” Sara asked, glaring at Jake. He only grinned. She had been going through a bunch of old scrapbooks on her front porch, when she found a picture of her shooting deadly glares at Jake. She'd been blowing out her candles, and a piece of her naturally bleach blonde hair was in her face. That's when she looked up to see Jake, of all people, standing in her driveway, smirking at her.9
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Jake said, with ease. 10
“Oh,” Sara said, standing up. She pushed the scrapbook her mother had made for her a year ago away and held back tears. “Go away, Jake. I don't want to talk to you of all people.”11
She turned, her ankel-length brown skirt twirling with her. She opened her screen door and paused. It'd only been a year ago when her mother had made those three scrapbooks for her. She'd died two weeks afterwards to cancer. She'd wanted Sara to have memories and had worked with the last of her energy on the scrapbooks. Sara squeezed her eyes shut. It was a horrible memory. Her mother had been very sick, very tired. And her last words had been, “Don't rule Jacob Tanner out.”12
That was right after Sara's mother said she loved her. Sara never understood why her mother thought her and Jake were perfect for each other--they always fought. They had ever since her seventh birthday, and never once got along, until her mother died, then he backed off for a few months. Honestly, for those four months, Sara had felt a little off-balance. Whenever she'd see Jake, he's smile, pat her hand and then slip away. Not literally, but that’s what it had always felt like. He was giving her time to grieve. She should’ve been happy and not off-balance. 13
“Hey, Sara,” Jake said, nervously. Sara turned to look at him. He bit his bottom lip and said, “Are you okay?”14
“I will be once you're gone,” Sara snapped, and then regretted it. Jake was planning on moving in with his aunt and uncle--whom lived in the city, six hours away. She heard about this from her best friend Vanessa, who was dating--even though she denied it--his best friend, Jordon. It had come to a shock to her, but the shock wore off in the past week. Jacob Tanner was moving, and that was it. It’s not like she had any say in it.15
“I know,” Jake said, softly. She looked at him. A piece of his dirty blonde hair fell in front of his soft, blue eyes. He was leaning against the car her father had gotten her when she turned sixteen almost a year before. She’d gotten it about four days before her mother died, and at the time hadn’t even thanked her father. She’d been so scared, and she could remember Jake playing his guitar that night. His bedroom window was directly across from hers, and she’d opened her window to listen. Even though she remembered being so scared, it had to have been the best night of the past two months, sleep-wise. She slept deeply and comfortable. She rememebered that night clearly.16
“What do you want, Tanner?” she asked, her voice sharper than intended. She felt the tears threathening her eyes, and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She stared at him, trying not to wonder when he'd come back.17
“I just wanted to say bye,” Jake said, softly. Sara barely heard him. He seemed so grim, like he didn’t want to leave. She understood that. It’s hard to leave a small town when it’s all you knew. 18
“When are you leaving?” Sara asked, realizing how much Jake didn't want to leave. She'd heard he was leaving because his parents kept fighting. She hated that. As much as she couldn’t stand Jake, she hated knowing he was leaving because of his parents’ stupidity. She actually felt bad for him, which wasn’t really surprising since she’s felt bad for him some nights when she can hear him slam his door and play his music really loud. She wasn’t all that surprised he was trying to leave. A part of her wanted to offer to let him live with her and her father in the guest room, but she knew he’d just throw the invitation in her face. Besides, they’d argue every two seconds like brother-and-sister, even though she could see him more as a boyfriend than a brother.19
“Tomorrow morning,” Jake said, with a sad sort of nod. Sara let her gaze go from Jake to his house. It was kind of like her own, except he had a little picket fence around his yard, but his porch was a lot smaller than hers. Yet, it was a big white house with green shutters too. She stared at it, thinking of all the nights she looked out of her bedroom window into Jake’s. He was either drawing, or on the computer. He usually had his music on blasting loud. Now she understood why. His parents were usually fighting. Sara hated that she hadn’t picked up on that until the last few months that had passed by.20
“Tomorrow morning?” Sara asked, once the words sink in. She felt her lips part in surprise. She tried to smile, but she just couldn’t bring herself to smile. She looked at Jake, and felt herself giving away. Her mother had wanted her to give him a chance--at what? she wanted to ask. Give him a chance, Sara mused, is now incredibly impossible since he’s moving.21
“Yeah, Jordon’s driving me to the airport,” Jake said, nodding. Jordon had been Jake’s best friend since Sara could remember. Just like Vanessa and Katie had been her best friends since as far back as she could remember. Vanessa and Jordon had been dating for only a month, but it didn’t take a genius to see that they were dead-perfect for each other. For a moment, Sara wondered if she’d ever find her ‘perfect match’, but then she remembered Jake was with her and turned her focas back to him. 22
“I see, well,” Sara said, finding it difficult to be rude for once, “I guess this is goodbye?”23
“Yeah, it probably is,” Jake said, standing up straight. He smiled slightly and walked towards her. “Listen, Sara, I know you hate me and all...but I want to give you something before I left.”24
“What’s that?” Sara asked, glancing back at the open scrapbooks. She didn’t want Jake to notice them, since--and she’d looked three times--he was somehow on every page. He stood at the bottom of the porch stairs, and then held out his hand. She held out hers, curiously, and he dropped something light into her hand. A piece of paper. Actually, it was a photo. She looked down at it, and then back up at Jake. He smiled and then nodded. She flipped it over and stared at the photo. 25
She felt her mouth go dry, as she stared long and hard at it. It was a photo of her and Jake. They were down at the docks, and they were arguing. They must have been tweleve or thirteen at the time. Sara looked pretty mad and funny enough, so did Jake. Vanessa and Katie were in the background, already in the water. Sara remembered that day as clear as any other day. Her, Vanessa and Katie had all gone down to go swimming when Jake, Jordon and their friend Brent had come down to ‘crash’ their swimming party. Sara could remember being so pissed off she left. That was the day Jake had followed her and apologized. He didn’t know that they were going to be there, and if she wanted, they’d leave. She felt guilty for making him leave when he seemed so sincere. She let them stay. It was the one day her and Jake got along. The one and only day. The only other times they got along was after her mother’s death, when he’d completely ignored her. 26
Was that true? Sara asked herself, because it seemed unsettling in her stomach. The thought that only got along that one day didn’t seem right to her. 27
“Who took this?” Sara finally asked. 28
“Jordon, remember he had his camera and had been snapping pictures?” Jake asked, with a smile. “And Brent had his video camera. I was going to give you my copy of the video, but I decided to keep it.”29
Sara smiled and felt her face go red, “Oh, God, tell me I didn’t look like a spoiled brat.”30
“Honey, you always look like a spoiled brat,” Jake said, with a chuckle. “Bye, Sara. Don’t forget to think about me.”31
“Don’t count on it, Jake,” she retorted and then added, “I hate to see you go because of your parents, Jake.”32
“I know, Sara, I know,” Jake said, with a wave of his hand. He didn’t turn to look at her, which allowed Sara to let her tears go. She only let four fall down her cheeks before she tried to stop them. She sat down on her chair and looked at her last scrapbook. Her mother purposally didn’t finish the third scrapbook in case Sara wanted to add pictures of her own. She flipped to the first free page, and bit her bottom lip. She slipped the picture into the little foam frame, and smiled. She was wearing a really cute bikini, but ruined the hot look with a face that was ready to kill. Jake was just wearing his trunks and holding his towel. Part of his face was hidden from the camera, but she saw his anger too. She looked closely at Vanessa and Katie, who looked amused. She smiled. 33
With that, she closed the scrapbook and picked the three of them up. She took them into the house, slipping them underneath her bed. She sighed, looking at the picture of her and her mother when she was fourteen. She smiled lightly, it’d been taken in the hospital, just two days before her mother died, but her mother looked happy in the photo and that’s all that matter. She felt tears threathening her eyes again. She didn’t bother to stop them. She put her fingers to her mother’s face on the photo and felt herself give in. 34
She turned and barely buried her face into the pillow before she burst into sobs. She clung onto the pillow, and was still doing so when her father walked into her room. He just stood there, looking surprised. She didn’t even bother to try and stop, she just continued to sob. Her father walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. As if he was unsure what to do, he hesitated before patting her back. Sara took a deep breath in and tried to calm herself. Her father said, his voice deep and uneven, “This is because of the Tanner boy, isn’t it?”35
Sara didn’t know what to say to that, so she started to laugh. She rolled over and looked at her father, with big tears in her blue eyes. She smiled and said, “You think I’m crying because Jake’s leaving? I’m crying because I miss Mom so much, not because of some silly boy who I can’t stand.”36
“Ah, so it has nothing to do with the fact that Jake sent over a dozen red roses?” her father asked, with a chuckle. 37
“He what?” Sara asked, sitting up. She stared at him and then before her father could repeat himself, she bounded out of her bed. She made her way down the stairs, telling herself there is no way in living Hell that Jake of all people sent her flowers. She went into the kitchen and saw a bunch of roses. She smiled slightly to herself, and then realized they couldn’t be for her. Why was she excited anyway? It’s not like she even liked Jake, let alone cared about him. She went over, and saw the card. She flipped it open, and it read, ‘Cathy, I’m going to miss you. -Jake’.38
She groaned. She knew it wasn’t for her. Why had she gotten so excited about it? And why was she disappointed? She looked up to see her father standing there, looking mildly amused, and she said, “I knew it. He didn’t send them for me. He sent them for Cathy. Well, I better get them to her.”39
“Why not let him deliver it himself? Just take them next door, hun, and then you can call the girls and go out,” her father suggested.40
“I’ll do just that,” Sara said, with a smile. She grabbed her sweater, putting it over her thin top and then slipped into her flat shoes. She smiled and grabbed the flowers. As she made her way out the door, she wondered how she was going to explain this to Jake. But she sighed and wondered if Jake would thank her for this. 41
She walked to Jake’s gate, and unlocked it. She walked in, and then shut it behind her. It was funny, how she’d always loved Jake’s gate and picket fence. Never thought much of him though, but she liked his picket fence. She went up the pathway and knocked on the door. Jake’s mother answered the door, looking frazzled. She smiled at Sara, but didn’t seem like she thinking about Sara. 42
“I’ll get Jake,” his mother said, with a smile, and then she disappeared before Sara could explain why she was there with a bunch of roses. Sara opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut. Suddenly she heard Jake’s father’s booming voice echoing throughout the house. A few seconds later there was a crash. It made Sara jump. What should she do? she wondered.43
“Hey,” Jake said, opening the door. He slipped outside, shutting the door. When he saw her face, which was probably filled with concern, he shrugged and said, “Mom’s pretty pissed. She likes to throw things when she’s pissed. Don’t worry, she has awful aim.”44
Sara tried to smile, but suddenly she wondered how she was supposed to react. But she looked at Jake and said, “I almost had a heart attack when my father said you’d sent over some flowers. I was confused, and then I read the card. The flower shop must have got Cathy and I mixed up.”45
Jake cracked a smile and he said, “Cathy’s Jordon’s little sister. She’s tweleve and apparently has a huge crush on me. I was sending the flowers because I didn’t know what I was supposed to give her.”46
“That’s so,” Sara said, pausing, “sweet.”47
“Didn’t think I could be human, did you?” Jake asked, with a light voice. He smiled and she looked down, embarrassed. Jake took the flowers from her hands. Jake sighed deeply and said, “Why aren’t we arguing? Is it because I’m leaving?”48
“Yeah, I guess,” Sara said, softly. But then she tossed her arms up in the air and said, “I don’t know why I’m not arguing with you! Usually I would be.”49
“You gonna miss me?” Jake asked, teasing. Sara’s head shot up and she shook her head. He laughed and said, “Here, why don’t you take one of the roses?”50
“One rose is more romantic than a dozen,” Sara told him, with a secret smile. “Give me eleven and give little Cathy one. She’s a girl, she’ll be over the moon with just one.”51
“And why would I give you eleven roses?” Jake asked, with a grin. Sara realized why all the girls flung themseleves at Jake, because he had a heart-stopping grin and a good sense of humor. She smiled to herself.52
“Because they’ll make me think of you, and isn’t that what you want?” Sara asked, with a wink. Jake smiled. 53
“Yeah, Sara, that’s exactly what I want,” he said, as he pulled out one rose. He handed it to Sara, and her eyes widen. Had they been flirting? Is that what they had been doing? Sara froze for a second, and then she took the rose. She had flirted with Jake. She had flirted with Jake! And she’d basically told him that she’d think about him when he left. She wanted to scream, curl up and die right there. But Jake seemed to be pleased and amused. 54
“We were flirting,” Sara said, with a laugh. She smiled up at him and he laughed at her surprise. He nodded, his big blue eyes sparkling. She bit her bottom lip and giggled. “I flirted with you. Well, that’s an interesting way to say goodbye.”55
“I’d say so,” Jake told her softly. She twirled the rose in her hand, and couldn’t resist it. She put it up to her nose and sniffed. Keeping the rose at her nose, she looked innocently up at Jake. He pushed a piece of her incredibly blonde hair out of her face. A huge crash echoed from inside the house, and she watched him make a face. The spell wasn’t quite yet broken, but it was slowly fading. He whispered, “Stay beautiful, beautiful.”56
With that, Jake turned and slipped back into his house. Sara put her fingers to where his fingers had brushed against her cheek, and then with her rose in hand, she ran for her house. She didn’t cry, she didn’t have enough time for tears. Suddenly something hit her. Her mother once told her that a photo was a thousdand words. Or maybe that’d been her teacher who told her. That didn’t matter. She ran up the stairs and searched through her scrapbook. She missed something. Something her mother wanted her to realize for herself. 57
“Where is it?” she asked herself. She flipped through, looking at every single picture that had Jake in it, and surprisingly there were quite a few. What had her mother wanted to prove to her in these scrapbooks? She knew there was something. And then she glanced at the rose which she’d tossed on the bed. She smiled and knew there was something she was missing. 58
She flipped through the second scrapbook, and found nothing. She glanced back up at the rose again. If she didn’t get the damn thing into water, she’d probably end up killing it. She grabbed it and made her way down stairs. Finding a thin vase in the cupboard, she put water in it, carefully placed the rose in it, and took it with her back up in her bedroom. She was getting annoyed, as she finished looking through the third scrapbook. Next stop, photo albums, and then the box of photos her mother used to keep. When she didn’t find anything in the third scrapbook, she scrambled and flipped through all her mother’s photo albums. She breifly paused on a page of her sitting in her mother’s lap, and then she continued to rush. 59
What she was looking for, exactly, she wasn’t sure. But it had to be around somewhere. She just had this gut feeling that her mom wanted to realize something, and it was hidden in a photo. After looking through another photo ablum, she shifted through the photos in the box. She picked through them, but found nothing of importance. 60
Now she was stumped. She looked at the three scrapbooks, two photo ablums and the big box of photos, and then she let her eyes drift upwards towards the rose. Her eyes lingered on the rose, and she tried to stop herself, but before she knew it, she was trying to control herself. Her body shook, and she refused to let anymore tears go for Jake. Why on Earth did she care so much? How on Earth could she have flirted with Jake? Why did she put so much meaning on her mother’s last words?61
She knew her mother, and her mother meant something. “Don’t rule Jake Tanner out.” That had to have something behind it. Sara looked at the rose for a moment longer, and the searched through the scrapbooks again. When she came to the photos of her seventh birthday, she noticed something. There was a photo sticking out from behind the one where she was shooting deadly glares at Jake before blowing out her candles. After a moment of poking and proding, she realized that she was right, there was another photo. A few minutes later, it slipped out. 62
Sara stared at it. It was her, her seven-year-old self, sitting up in the tree house, crying. But Jake was sitting beside her, his hand holding hers, and his tears almost as big. Sara felt the world stop spinning for that split second. Then she realized why she was crying. Muffy, her big golden retreiver, had died that night. And she’d gone to Jake. Or maybe he’d come to her. She couldn’t remember. But he was there for her, and just as sad. 63
It did something to Sara, to see them like this. She wondered if that’d been the way with them. Hate each other, but when they really needed someone, or something, they gave it without thinking twice. She remembered how Jake avoided her for a bit after her mother’s death. How he was letting her grieve. She also remembered the day of the funeral. He came over with a big box of chocolate, and took her into her bedroom. He let her sit there, cry and eat every last piece of chocolate. She hadn’t thought about it until now. But he knew exactly what she needed. She also remember when they were tweleve, and Jake’s grandfather died in a car accident. What had she done? She’d brought over a couple Play Boy magazines, hoping to cheer him up. Play Boy magazines aren’t exactly what a tweleve-year-old Jake needed, she knew that now, but she didn’t back then.64
Sara held the photo, and close her eyes. She could only name off about half-a-dozen more times where they held onto each other and not the others around them. But really, they’d always been there for each other. Sara just hadn’t known that’s what she was doing at the time. She let her gaze linger on the rose, and then got up. She placed the photo against the vase, and crawled into her bed. She turned her light out, but didn’t bother to close her eyes, she wasn’t tired.65
Then she rolled over, and peered out her window. She saw Jake, since he still had his light on. He was pulling his shirt off, and Sara giggled. Usually she’d look away, half-digusted, but not tonight. She could only see from his belly button up, so she assumed he was taking off his pants. He pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms, and then picked up a book. She tried to make it out, but watched as he sat on his bed, and disappeared from eyesight. She groaned, slightly at the disappointment that she couldn’t see him, and slightly because she’d enjoyed checking him out. Then before she rolled back over to sleep, she watched Jake get up, open his door and he yelled something down the hall. With that, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it. 66
She wanted to reach out and tell him it’d be okay. She knew it would, but she couldn’t. She almost jumped when he looked over at her. He couldn’t see her, apparently, because he walked up and pressed his nose against the window. Before he could leave, Sara decided to give him a show. She scrambled up and flicked the light on. With a glance in Jake’s way, she saw he was still watching. Good, she thought. She went over and turned her music on. 67
She giggled, and grabbed her hair brush. Sara knew this ‘show’ would cheer him up. She started to laugh, as she pretended to sing along. She danced to the familiar song, and took her hair down. It fell down around Sara and flew everywhere. She continued to dance, as if she did this every night, to music that she could barely hear. She burst into laughter, just at seeing herself in the mirror, she realized how crazy she looked. 68
She groaned and paused, unsure to continue making a fool out of herself, or to stop completely. She switched songs, and started to smile when she heard “Barbie Girl” pound out of her speakers. She ran over and grabbed her fuzzy scarf and wrapped it around her. She was going to have some fun with Jake’s mind. Make him remember her. She continued to dance around, with her scarf flying everywhere.69
Sara glanced over, noticing he’d disappeared from the window. But she knew he was probably still watching. She spun around on her feet and stumbled. With that, she fell to the floor on her butt and sat for a moment. Then she started to smile at herself, because she didn’t know anyone else who could work this hard---for what? One lasting memory of her pressed into Jake’s mind? Yeah, she supposed that was a good reason. But why did she want Jake to think of her. That’s not how it went before. 70
She remembered when his grandfather died, and he had told everyone to go away on the school yard. He sat alone, and Sara had made her way over to him. He didn’t shout at her like he did with all the other kids, he just ignored her. When she handed him the PlayBoy magazines, that she’d stolen from her father’s old collection in the attic--the ones her mother hadn’t known about--he smiled at her. Sara remembered that so clearly. He just looked up at her, smiled, and then placed his magazines in his backpack. There’d only been about four magazines, but Sara had wondered if that was the right thing to give him. She hadn’t been totally sure, since he never seemed like the kind of guy who looked at those magazines, let alone think about them. With that, Jake had allowed her to sit beside him. When she did, neither of them said a word. And it’d been totally comfortable. 71
She smiled lightly and then stood up. She wrapped the scarf around her, and went over to her radio. She slowly turned it down, and then she looked over into Jake’s room. She didn’t see anything for a moment, and when she walked towards her bed, she saw him. He held his guitar, the one he’d gotten for Christmas two years before, and the same one Sara had stared at adoringly from outside of the store. She hadn’t ever been much of a guiarist, but it was so pretty. She smiled and watched him sit down. His window was slightly ajar, and carefully Sara lifted her window. He didn’t look up at the squeaky sound, just let his fingers strum along the strings. She waited a moment, and then peeked out the window. 72
“Night Jake!” she called, with a giggle. He looked up and smiled. 73
“Night Sara!” he called out, and then started to hum the tune. He knew she wasn’t going to bed. She sat down on her bed, and closed her eyes. She listened to Jake’s soft song, and barely heard his voice. But when she did, it was soft and sweet. Reminded her of a lullaby. And when she realized he was whispering her name, she was half-asleep. But she opened her eyes, and peeked out the window. Jake had his eyes closed, but he was still humming away with his guitar. 74
She heard his words, and they echoed throughout her mind the entire night, “Good-bye, my sweet Sara, good-night, my beautiful.”75
♥76
When she woke, it was with panic. She sat up straight and then opened her eyes up. She’d been dreaming about random things, things she couldn’t remember, but her heart was racing. She’d registered the fact that Jake was leaving--for good--today. She got up out of her bed and scrambled over to her window, where she heard her name being called from. There, she saw Jake smiling in his window. He had his window pulled up all the way, and had his face pressed against the screen. Sara pushed her window up and breathed, “Jake. You’re still here.”77
“I know we said our good-byes last night and all,” Jake said, with a soft smile, “But Jordon just called. He’s tied up with Vanessa at the moment. And Brent’s with them too. They’re creating something for your birthday party, which I’m going to miss, sorry.”78
Ever since her seventh birthday fiasco, he’d been to every single one of hers--and she’d been to every single one of his. She frowned slightly, her birthday was in two days, and had not been on her mind. She, honestly, had forgotten all about it. She sighed deeply and nodded. Suddenly, she realized where he was headed with this, and she asked with a bit too much excitement, “You want me to drive you to the airport?”79
“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Jake said, looking at a lost for words, “It’s just there’s no one else...”80
“I’d love to. Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you outside,” Sara said, and then disappeared from her window. 81
She went to her closet, and pulled out her favourite jeans, lucky t-shirt and pulled a sweater over her. She slipped into her bathroom, changed, brushed her hair and teeth, then went back to her bedroom. She was forgetting something. And then she saw it. The picture of Jake and her, it was on the floor. She must have knocked it down, and as she picked it up, she felt herself start shaking. She would not cry. Hadn’t she been waiting for this moment? No, she hadn’t. She’d expected Jake to stay with her forever.She squeezed her eyes shut, and then slipped the photo into her sweater pocket. She went over to her door, grabbed her purse and made her way down the stairs. She slipped outside, not surprised that her father wasn’t home. 82
She saw Jake leaning against her truck, looking grim. She had the strange urge to wrap her arms around her and let him hold her, tell her everything would be okay, that he wasn’t leaving. Blinking back tears, she croaked out, “So, you’re really leaving.”83
“There’s no reason to stay,” Jake replied, his face still looking grim. He obvisiously didn’t want to leave, and he needed a reason to stay. Stay for me, Sara thought to herself. She didn’t know why she wanted him to stay, but she hated to see him go. Without commenting, she got into the driver’s side, and waited for him to jump into the passenger’s. His stuff was already in the backseat. She realized she was fighting more tears, and turned on the truck. 84
Once they were on the road down, Sara choked out, “Do you think you’ll like the city?”85
“No,” Jake’s short reply came. Then he said, “Sorry, it’s just I’m not looking forward to going.”86
“I can tell,” Sara told him softly, “I hate to see you leave because of your stupid parents.”87
“Thanks, Sara,” he said in his soft lullaby voice, which reminded her of the night before. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, realized that she was driving, and popped them back open. It’d take them five more minutes to get ot the airport, how could she explain how she felt in so little time? She didn’t want him to leave, no, that wasn’t right. She needed him to stay. She needed Jake. Oh, God, she needed him? She wanted to cry and let out all the frustration she’d managed to bottle up in the past week.88
“Jake, did it ever occur to you that we’re not really enemies?” Sara asked softly, trying so hard to keep her voice even and make sure it didn’t crack. She glanced at him and then focased her eyes on the road. 89
“Yeah, it did,” he muttered softly. She nodded but didn’t say anymore on the subject for a minute. Then she heard him say, “I hate to say this, but you’ve got to be one of my best friends.”90
She almost choked on the tears she was working so hard to hold back. She nodded and said, “We were always there for each other when we needed someone. Notice that?”91
“I did,” Jake whispered softly. 92
“For everything, it seemed you were the only one I’d talk to,” Sara said, in amazment. 93
“And vice versa.”94
And then it was too late to talk anymore. They pulled into the airport drop-off zone, and Jake simply thanked her for the ride. He tried to smile at her, but it was lost. He nodded and she hugged him. She pulled him in close enough to be able to smell the coconut in his hair and close enough to believe that that was everything she needed.95
Then he grabbed his two suitcases and he was gone. She started to cry, giving up the tears and the emotions. She pulled out the photo of them and wondered if she could still save them. Save him. Save herself. She sighed heavily and put her truck into ‘drive’ and tried to focas on the road. Before the airport was out of sight, she had to pull over because she couldn’t see the road anymore. It was all one big blurr. Sara hit her head against the steering wheel, which did nothing more then honk the horn and make her jump, screaming. 96
She turned her truck off and closed her eyes, leaning back. She tried to even her off-beat breathing, and succeeded for only a few moments. Sara found herself shaking, and she barely could control her hand as she snatched up the photo. She stared at it for a long moment and five words came to her mind, “Don’t rule Jake Tanner out.” Her mother’s last words. And hadn’t it only been five minutes before and Jake had told her that she was one of his best friends? They fought like cats, swore they hated each other, but they were always there for each other, they really did care. 97
“Jacob Tanner, you’re not getting rid of me that easy,” Sara whispered, her voice shakey and soft. She turned her truck back on and quickly did an illgeal U-turn. She pressed her foot on the gas pedal and pulled quickly into the airport. She got out of her truck, barely taking time to shut it off. She had to stop Jake. He couldn’t leave. She had to try. She went through the doors, and tried to dry her tears off. Sara looked around for him. 98
Sara scrambled through the small crowd of people, and realized he was probably already on the plane. She didn’t have money with her, so she couldn’t buy a ticket. She saw the door she had to go through and cursed, since it was blocked by someone. Then, as if fate loved her at that moment, she saw her uncle. He was the owner of the small airport, and the fact had slipped her mind before. She ran up to him, and wiped her eyes quickly. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to look at her. 99
“Sara! Baby doll, what on Earth are you doing here? Has something happened to your father?” He stared at her wide-eyed, and she imagined his heart was pounding.100
“I need you to demand that Jacob Tanner gets off the plane,” Sara said, not realizing what she really wanted until she said it. Then she blinked in surprise. That was what she really, really wanted.101
“Jacob Tanner? Why in Earth would I demand him off the plane?” her uncle asked, with a questioning look on his face. Sara felt a tear slipping down her cheek, and she dried it off quickly, but her uncle saw it.102
“I can’t let him walk out of my life,” Sara said, feeling herself starting to shake. She was going to have a major meltdown in the little airport. “Please, Uncle Fred, stop him. Don’t make me have to fly. You know how much I hate planes.”103
“Relax, relax,” he said, taking her arm, “Let’s go find out if his plane’s left yet.”104
♥105
“What do you mean he’s gone? The plane can’t have been far. Tell them to turn around! Please!” Sara said, looking at her uncle with great big eyes. She added, “He’s the boy Mama picked out for me to marry when I was a kid.”106
She knew it was lame, in fact she knew it was a blow below the belt. Her uncle had been really close to his sister, her mother, and missed her a lot. He would do anything for her mother, even though she was gone now. Sara pouted and bit her bottom lip. Her uncle picked up a radio and said, “Flight 917, Flight 917, come in, over.”107
Some static came and then a cracky voice came, “This is Flight 917, Pilot Kenndy, over.”108
“I need you to turn around, it seems you have an unwanted person on that flight. Over,” her uncle said, glancing at Sara. Her eyes sparkled and she mouthed ‘thank you.’109
“Ah, who is this unwanted person? Over,” the reply came. 110
Just as Sara’s uncle went to grab the radio again, but she grabbed it from him. She said, her voice cracking slightly, “Jacob Tanner. He needs to get his ass back at this airport right now. Something important has come up, okay? Just get him back home!” She made a face at her uncle and then added, “Over.”111
“We’re turning around soon, over,” came the reply. 112
“They’ll be a good ten minutes, probably fifteen. We’re going to have to make sure there’s a landing strip free. Sara, this better be worth it,” her uncle said, eyeing her. “But you’re lucky, since Jake has a private plane. Which means, it’s probably just him and the pilot. I’m not sure, since it doesn’t say here.” He tapped a piece of paper.113
“He’s worth it,” she whispered and waited for the plane to arrive. She went out with her uncle and two other people at her side, and stood along the field beside the landing strip they’d cleared. She bit her bottom lip. Why was she doing this? Who was she doing this for? She knew the answers to the questions she asked herself. She was doing this because she didn’t want him to leave. She couldn’t have him leave her, since she’d be lost without him. She was doing this for both of them. She knew that. She was doing it for her, and even for her mother, but most of all, she was giving him a reason to stay. 114
She held the photo of them, the younger version of them. She looked at it, and through her tears, she smiled.115
♥116
She was running, not because she was scared and her life was on the line, but she was running simply because she was terrified and Jake was stepping out of the plane. He saw her, and was confused, but ran down the stairs anyway. She met him near the bottom of the stairs, and wasn’t sure if she should smile, kiss him or just say his name. 117
He beat her to the punch first, and asked her, “Sara, is everything okay? Are you okay? Are my parents okay? Did something happen to Jordon? Ohmigod, was it--”118
She kissed him. Her lips full of promises, ones she knew she’d keep, and full of passion, something she knew would take forever to burn out. His lips on hers, made her entire body go crazy. Her blood boiled past it’s limit, her pulse sizzled, her heart pounded faster and faster and her mind swirled in circles. She almost felt dizzy, but every part of her was alive and aware. She could feel the goosebumps raising on her arms, and her toes curling in her shoes. She felt herself have to grip on his shirt, as she felt her knees weaken. 119
He pulled apart from her, and she felt the entire world sigh underneath her. She pressed her forehead against his chest, and could feel his un-even breathing. Finally, when the world seemed to slip back into place, she heard him breathing, as if he’d been running and was out of breath, “Sara, what was that for?”120
“I’m giving you a reason,” Sara breathed, and then she tilted her head back slightly to look up at him. She stumbled back a bit surprised and said, “Holy. Your eyes, they’re...”121
“A reason?” Jake asked, his voice dry but smooth. He smiled slightly, but still studied her, looking a tad bit confused.122
“Beautiful,” Sara finished with a small smile. She wondered if this is what she really, really wanted. Then she wondered why the hell she was double-guessing it. She loosened the grip on his shirt, but didn’t totally let go. Captivated by his eyes, she said in a dreamy voice, “A reason to stay. Please, don’t go.”123
“I never wanted to, you know,” Jake murmured. He smiled slightly and asked, “Think your dad will let me stay in your guest room?”124
“As long as you tell him that that’s where you’ll stay at night,” Sara whispered, her voice low and sexy. She couldn’t help but let a huge grin go across her face, “And hopefully I won’t have to lie and tell him I’ll stay in my room.”125
He chuckled and kissed her tears, “I don’t want to make you sad or angry anymore. I just want you to be happy.”126
“With you, I’m on top of the world,” Sara told him, her face serious for a moment. Then she broke out into a huge smile and added, “Pretty crappy world, if you ask me.”127
“Ah, well, at least I’m the best part of it,” Jake told her, laughing.128
“Who said you were?” Sara teased, “I never said that. For all you know, I’m just stuck with you.”129
“Ah, and I’m stuck with you,” Jake said, with a grin and a laugh of his own.130
“Well, doesn’t that suck?” Sara asked, trying not to giggle. She slipped her hands from his chest down into his and held them tightly. She added, “Don’t leave Jake. My mother’s last words...were ‘Don’t rule out Jake Tanner’, and well, I see what she means now.”131
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jake said, with a smile, “because everything I’ve ever needed is right here.”132
“Okay, cut the mushy-musy crap and kiss me again.”133
♥134
Author notes
I hope you like it! I just re-read it and realized I kind of like it myself. If there's anything I need to fix...tell me please!
e♥
ps.
How are you?
In a list
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A contest entry
- To sick to care by Prodigious.Mirth.
360 points, ended January 5, 2008, 16 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - Prewrite Contest For Ages 14 And Under ONLY by Kari.
525 points, ended February 8, 2008, 18 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - ALMOST ANYTHING WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Cecilia Marlana.
100 points, ended April 10, 2008, 37 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - ♫Love ain't everything♫ by perfect paradox.
1200 points, ended March 20, 2008, 16 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - Great Writing Contest - Great Comments by x-sweet-sunshine-x.
175 points, ended April 1, 2008, 32 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
- hi everyone -
Comments
1 - 28 of 28
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OHHHHH MYY GOOSHH!! this is soo cute! i love it! usually i dont read long stories, but this was definetly worth it. It was probably one of the sweetest & cutest stories i have ever read! Wow, just wow. Thats all i have to say...
Thank you so much for giving me an AMAZINGLY AWESOME story to read
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Thankies soooo much! You totally just made my day! I'm really, really glad you liked it!
thankies again,
erica♥xoxo
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AWW
SO SWEET!!
i really loved it. i dont really care that some of it was mushy. hahah. amazing writing too btw. i didn't want to stop reading!
some spelling mistakes but i dont really give a crap. lol.
great job! keep writing
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Geez! This is very good. Kind of cliche, but I still llove it! Thanks for entering, good luck, and keep writing!
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Thanks and I know it's kind of cliche.
erica[♥]xoxo
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oh my god
Wow, that was incredible. I have never cried while reading a storywrite story..and I cried during yourse. I felt like I wanted to walk into the story and comfort her. That was completely amazing! Please write more stories like this! I would LOVE to read them! There is absolutely nothing but just a few little spelling mistakes and the story makes up for it. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
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I'm soooo glad you loved it. I'm a major romance writer, so just check out my page. I've gotten really good reviews on "June's Sky" - one of my personal favourites - and "Keeping Notes" & "Writing Notes" (K.N. comes before W.N.)
anyway,
thanks again!
erica♥xoxo
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Wowwwww I liked this a lot! You did fantastic with it I wish you the best of luck in the contest 
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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Thank you soo much! I'm really glad you liked it! Thanks for the bronze too.
erica♥XOXO
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LOVED IT! The feelings were there and you reall captured the love!
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Thank you. I'm really glad you liked it.
erica♥xx
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“I’m not going anywhere,” Jake said, with a smile, “because everything I’ve ever needed is right here.”132
“Okay, cut the mushy-musy crap and kiss me again.”
naww what a nicwe ending..I may have to read it again as I read it brisking through but so far its lovely and cool
it good luck
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Thank you soooo much.
erica♥XOXO
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This is soooo good. I didn't get a great chance yo read it so i will read it again. I REALLY liked the part I read
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I'm glad you really liked the part you read. I hope you'll get to finish it.
erica♥♥
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This was a great story! ^.^
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Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
erica♥ -
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You're welcome
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Ahhhhhh! I really liked this! Erica...I love your writing...this was a great story!
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Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.
erica♥
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Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, OH! !!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erica?
I loved this so
so
so
so
MUCH!
This is one of your best pieces. I absolutely positively am in LOVE with this.
I can't even ramble, you've got me so in love with this.
It's just like
OMG.
I really really really REALLY (x2395787573457612347856109287569180469278560182658715460917) ♥ this.
If you ever stop writing,
I think it'll be the end of me.
Ack! And now I'm tearing up.
This was so beautiful and real. EEP! I love it!
♥sarahElizabeth
ps. if I could give you more clappy men, blieve me, i would.
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I'm so glad you loved it. You're the one comment I was waiting for. I was just thinking, 'Gee, I hope Sarah reads this' and then I refreshed my page and find out you did.
Oh, is this the point where I'm supposed to vow that I will never, ever, ever, ever stop writing? Well, that's probably the one promise I can make and keep. But I'll only make the promise if you make it too. 
.
ericaaaa♥
ps.
THANK YOU for the clappy men. YAY!
pps.
I loved your poem thing about the ants. Everytime I think of it I start to grin.
ppps.
OH! I haven't told you yet! I'm creating a piczo site (I used to have a million, when it was 'in' but anyway...) I decided to put all my stuff on it. Anyway, I was just telling you because...well, I thought you'd like to know. I'm still working on it though.
it's http://www.piczo.com/stormy-x-kisses
anywhoo...
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Geeee, thanks
*holds up hand solemly* I promise!
What are these clappy men named??
Golly! Thanks! I was at my friend's house and I showed it to her and she spit her drink out on it. It was a soda, too, so then I was all sticky. Yuckk.
Piczo. Hmmm. Never heard of it, but I'll check it out.
YOO-HOO. Sorry that 'anywhoo' reminded me of that & I just had to say it. Whoa! Creepy! As soon as I typed that, Summertime by Kenny Chesney came on the radio.
I think I have ESPN or something. (EEP! Gotta love Mean Girls.)
KK, well, I'm off to check out that nifty mysterious site of yours, then I'm gonna go grab a Coke or something.
Byeeeeeeee.
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Aw!!! OMG, I absolutely loved this. I think this was one of my favorite pieces that you've written. Jacob and Sara are such real characters, and the character development, the feelings, EVERYTHING, was so right. I love it. I love it.
Thank you so much for writing this!!!
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Thank you so much! I'm glad you love it. I wasn't sure if it was confusing because you know...they're supposed to hate each other but they don't. But I'm really happy that you thought it was good.
thanks again!
erica♥
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I actually liked it a lot. I'm not one for love stories, but for some reason you give me a guy and a girl who are always at each other's throats, but fall in love, and you've got me hooked. Very nicely written here. Keep on writing. God Bless!
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Thanks. It means a lot to me that you enjoyed it.
e♥
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