Angels in a Small Town

Until I was sixteen, I had never actually lived before. Not until I met Jade. It was a dreary gray summer night when I first met her.1

I was on my way home from the local store, having bought some milk and chips, my dinner, as I heard noises from the school next to the store. I live a five minute walk from the store and the school, so I knew I wouldn't be significantly late if I dropped by the school to check out the noises. Normally I wouldn't have cared, but I knew that the school was closed at this time, and I was almost certain that I had heard someone scream for help, though muffled. I went around to the back of the big brown school building, the name of the school 'Mirror Breeze Elementary' painted in big red letters on the front. As I turned the corner I could clearly hear someone being at the schools playground. It was dark outside, but as I approached the playground I could easily see three boys and a girl in the playground. I couldn't recognize any of them from the distance I was at, but I knew that they were younger than me, and that I generally hated the younger kids around my home, especially those only a year younger. Thinking that they were probably playing, not being able to see how much younger than me the four kids were, I turned around and started the walk back home.
"Help me" I heard, loud and clear this time, from the girl. Just as she had said it, one of the boys must have laid his hand over her mouth, as her voice was abruptly cut off. I turned around and looked at them again. The boys were looking at me now, and seeing as I was looking straight at them, they ran off into the woods blocking the playground from the nearby highway. I ran over to the girl. She was laying on the ground, her arms bruised and her clothes ripped and shredded.2

"Are you okey?" I asked, as I offered a hand to help her up. She took my hand, her hand extremely gentle and cautious, as if she was afraid to squeeze my hand. Her very touch seemed so humble and afraid, as if trying her best not to hurt me by not tightening her grip. Instead, I tightened my, and pulled her up, helping with my other hand around her waist as I had pulled her slightly off the ground. I instantly knew that this girl was not much younger than me, if younger at all, and I also knew that I had never seen her before.
Teardrops emerged from her eyes as she spoke to me, "thank you".
"Are you hurt?" I asked, as I looked around, trying to see whether or not the boys were really gone. They were.3

"No, I'm fine" she answered, obviously lying.
"We should get you home" I said to her. The summer night was cold, and I could see she was freezing, her clothes not warming much with their countless rifts allowing the cold air to bite her naked skin. Her lips were almost blue, and she had goosebumps all over.
"Here" I said as I took off my thick jacket and lay it on her shoulders. Out of instinct, I took her hand in mine as I led her to the front of the school, to the illuminated streets, to safety.
"I haven't seen you around here before" I said, "where do you live?"Her grip on my hand had now gone from a week hold to a stronger and more comfortable one.
"I just moved in, two days ago, I live up there" she said as she pointed towards a house not far from my own, just far enough for me not to have noticed anyone move in or out. I told her where I lived and as I saw her smile, I told her my name, formally introducing myself to her.
"I'm Jade" she said. Her lips had now regained their natural color and she was smiling at me. Without noticing, I was still holding her hand, just looking at her as I smiled.
"What's wrong?" she asked to me, her voice clearer than before, finally feeling comfortable around me, I guessed.
"Nothing, I just... nothing" I said, as I led her over to the crossroad where our ways departed. She was going a couple hundred feet one way, I the other.
"You better get home, patch up" I said, as I gently let go of her hand. For a moment she looked sad, swallowing a lump in her throat, before she smiled again and handed me my jacket. She kissed me on the cheek, thanked me again, and ran up towards her house. I stood watching, and as she had almost reached her house, she turned around.
"I'll see you later" she shouted towards me and waved. I waved back, before walking to my house.4

The next morning as I walked to the bus stop (located between the shop and the school), someone suddenly pricked their finger against my shoulder. I turned around and saw Jade. She seemed real cheery, smiling and almost jumping around. The day was a much warmer day than the previous, and she was wearing a blue summer-dress complete with flowers on it. Her long brown hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing fresh lipstick. She had her books in her hands, not carrying any bag.
"Let me take those" I said, and took the books from her hands.
"Thanks" she said, grinning at me as she started walking by my side. "I really hope I'm staring in your class" she said. I took a quick look at her books, and recognized them at once.
"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to disappoint you" I said, "these books are for the tenth grade, am I right?"
"Yeah" she said, her smile faltering a bit.
"Well, I'm in the eleventh" I said, winking.
"I knew it, it was too good" she said. I laughed.
"At least we're going the same way, and you don't even have to take the bus" I said. The bus stop was only feet from the school-parking lot.
"Maybe I'll see you after school?" I said as I gave her the books. We had reached the bus stop.
"I hope so" she said, as the bus drove in. She waved as I walked into the bus. I could see her standing in the same spot looking at the bus until she was out of sight.5

That day was a short school day, Wednesday, the shortest of my week. As I got back and started walking towards home, I saw Jade as I walked past the school. As they seemed to have interval between classes, I walked closer to the school to see what she was up to. Apparently she was talking to a couple of others, three guys and two girls. But as I got closer, I saw what was really going on. She was standing in the middle, and the others blocked her way of getting out.6

"Your savior from last night isn't here now, is he" I heard one of the boys say, as he pushed her. Jade fell to the ground, and as she tried to get up, a girl kicked sand in her face. A teacher walked by, told the kids to play nice, and then walked away with Jade still lying on the ground with sand in her face and tears in her eyes. I couldn't believe that this kind of thing was still a reality in the tenth grade, as I myself hadn't seen such behavior since I was in the fifth grade. I must have been lucky, with good people around me, I thought, as I walked even closer to the school. I walked into the playground of the school, closing in on Jade and the bullies, as a teacher came up to me and stopped me.
"I'm sorry, but you can't be here in the middle of school" he said with insecurity in his voice, insecurity only teachers of first to fifth grade can be allowed to be heard with, "come back again after four o'clock". I held my hand up, as to tell him to stay away. He walked away from me, heading for another teacher, probably a stronger teacher, one teaching the ninth or tenth grade I would guess. But as he walked away, I used my opportunity well, seeing him talk to the other teacher and pointing towards me. I walked over to the gang of bullies who were now bad-mouthing Jade, who was sitting on the ground, her blue dress already darkened by mud and sand.
"Actually" I said, "the savior from last night is right here" as I took hold of the bully who had pushed her. I threw him to the side, making him fall face down into the ground. The others walked away from Jade, as I pulled her up from the ground. She was crying and spitting sand, but she still managed to thank me. As I saw the weak and the strong teacher coming towards me, I took Jade by the hand and ran out of the schools property.
"Where are you going?" yelled the strong teacher, halfway running after me. I didn't answer, I just ran away with Jade by my side.
"Let's get away from here" I said to her, as I led the way into the nearby woods. I took her to a place I knew of, the most beautiful place around, a clearing in the woods with a small lake and some huge rocks by it. We sat down on the rocks, and Jade wiped her face from sand and wet mascara.7

"It's beautiful out here" Jade said, apparently not wanting to talk about what had happened. I wasn't planning on bringing it up just yet myself, until I saw the bruises on her hands again.
"We should tell someone, like your parents" I suggested.
"No" she said, "it'll be fine"
"But, your mother and father should know" I said.
"My mother isn't around anymore, and my dad.. He's the one who did this, not the bullies" she said, tears escaping her eyes again as she felt her bruises. "Promise you won't tell anyone" she said, "promise".
"Okey, I won't" I said, having a hard time accepting my own answer.
"Thank you" she said, taking my hand into hers, our fingers entwining. Then, looking at the lake, her smile returned. "Look, there are tiny fishes down there" she said and pointed.
"I know" I said, "I used to catch those when I was younger, only to return them again later of course"
"Of course" she said in a fake serious tone, before laughing. "How did you catch them?" She asked.
"It's easy" I said, and climbed off the big rock we were sitting on, also helping Jade down. "you just do like this" I said as I pretended to snap the fish with my bare hands. Of course, I had used jars to catch them in when I was younger, but I wanted to make Jade try this silly method first. But, alas, my joke backfired as I slipped when pretending to try to catch one of the fish, and I fell into the lake. Jade laughed out loud and was barely able to stand, let alone help me out of there. But, in a few moments, she stopped laughing for a second so that she could help me up. As she took my hand, I dragged her into the water with me. I laughed as I heard her scream when she realized how cold the water really was. She went under, but soon enough surfaced again, smiling as her hair almost covered her face, having fallen out of it's ponytail. We didn't talk any more about the bruises that day, but we climbed out of the water and stayed in the sun talking until we were dry and until the school day was over. I picked Jade a rose as we walked home, and she placed it above her ear. She was so very beautiful, though I didn't have the courage to tell her. The rose was my way of saying it.
"Thanks for a wonderful day" Jade said as we reached the crossroad by our houses again.
"Thanks the same" I said, this time it was me who kissed her on the cheek. She smiled at me, and then walked back to her house, as I walked to mine.8

The next couple of weeks of summer, both Jade and I skipped school almost every day, and we hung together all the time. We often went swimming in the lake, and sometimes we just walked around for hours talking. We became best friends in no time, and it was the happiest few weeks of my life. We were outside together every day, from morning to night. I had never actually been lonely before I met Jade, always surrounded by good friends whenever I needed them, but my time with Jade made my life before I met her look pretty lonely and pretty colorless. But with Jade, every day was like a dream, and I never saw her unhappy again, her skipping school making her free from the bullies, and soon there would be summer holiday. Legitimate free from school as we called it.9

But one day, Jade didn't meet me at the time we had set the previous night. I walked up to her house, thinking she might have forgotten the time we had set, as we didn't meet at the same time every day. Outside her front door was several empty bottles of strong liquor, as well as tens of beer-bottles. I knocked the door of the house, but there was no reply. From inside, I could hear shouting, so I leaned up to the door to listen better. I could hear her father yelling at her, and I could hear her shouting back, but I didn't hear what was being said. Then, I heard the noise that would bother my dreams for all time to come. I heard a gunshot, and then a second one only moments later. I pulled at the door, but it was shut. I yelled something, but I can't remember what it was. I looked around, and grabbed a large stone from the ground nearby. I threw the stone through a large window that made the top half of the door. I reached inside from the broken window and opened the door from within, fragments of glass breaking and entering my skin. I ran into the living room of the house, and found both Jade and her father there. Her father was lying on the floor, a puddle of blood surrounding his head, a bottle of whiskey in one of his hands and his belt wrapped around the other. He had a bullet hole in his throat. Jade was also lying on the floor, a couple of feet away from her dad. I can barely remember seeing some papers on the table next to them both, a letter telling of Jade not showing up for school. I ran over to Jade. She had shot herself in the chest with her dads old gun. She was still alive, but only barely. By her side was the rose I had given her some weeks later, still red and fresh.
I took her head in my hands, and put my forehead against hers as I cried.
"Don't cry" she said, "I love you, you know"
Barely being able to press out any words, I managed to say "I love you too Jade"
"I'm glad" she smiled, her eyes open and looking at me. I held her as I pulled up my cellphone and called for an ambulance.
"Thank you for this.. summer" Jade pressed out through heavy breathing.
"no, stay with me, no... no" I said as I felt her stop to breathe. My bloody hands still holding up her head above my lap, I cried like I had never before and never after.10

As I was escorted out of the house by a police officer later on, I swear I could see Jade in a mirror we walked past, standing right there by my side. She was smiling at me, her hair in a ponytail, dressed in that blue summer dress with the flowers. She waved, as the reflection faded away.