Loving Mr. Daniels

by Brittainy C. Cherry

  If you’ll write to me when I’m scared.

  And I’ll love you even after the world’s left with only its despair.

  Our love lives.

  Never dies.

  Always flies, always flies.

  ~ Romeo’s Quest

  I was depressed by the sun. The daylight stood for facing reality. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. My naked body slightly moved in the covers and I shut my eyes one last time. I allowed my mind to remember the night before with Daniel. How safe he’d made me feel, how freeing it had been when he’d loved me.

  The sound of my cell phone going off from a text message made my eyes reappear. Sitting up in the bed, I rubbed the palms of my hands against my face. My eyes shifted to the spot next to me. He’s still here. It felt good to know that he was still there sleeping peacefully. For a while I just watched his breaths, the way they rose and fell against the sheets.

  Ding. Ding. Ding.

  I sat up more in bed at the sound of my phone going off three more times in a row. Reaching to the dresser next to the bed, I gasped.

  Ryan’s fake cigarette box.

  It was sitting next to my phone. I picked it up carefully, as if something terrible would happen if it were to break in my fingers.

  I opened it, and inside was a note. The world began to spin. I couldn’t bring myself to read it.

  My phone dinged again. My throat tightened. “Daniel, wake up.” I whispered it too softly and he hardly moved. “Daniel,” I hissed louder, unable to move. “Wake up!”

  Ding.

  Daniel turned over to find me shaking with the box in my hands. I knew I should’ve checked the phone for the incoming messages. But I couldn’t. I was afraid. His body shot up when he saw the worry in my eyes.

  “What is it?”

  “Something’s wrong,” I muttered. The shaking grew, and the fear deepened.

  “Sweets…” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Talk to me.”

  “Check my phone,” I begged.

  He reached across my body, his hand grazing across my stomach, and he grabbed my phone. When he flipped it opened, I saw his eyes studying the words. “They’re from Henry and Rebecca.”

  “Read them to me please.”

  “Ash, Rebecca wants you both to come home,” he said. “’Ash, where are you?’” He paused. “‘Ashlyn it’s Rebecca. Please, tell Ryan to come home…’” Paused. “‘Why are you two not answering? Please. Please. I’ve called fifteen times. Bring my baby boy home, please…’” Paused. “‘Ashlyn, are you two okay? We’re worried…’”

  The messages went on and on. Rebecca wanted him to come home. She’d slept on it, realizing her mistakes.

  But what if she realized them too late?

  “He’s gone,” I cried, the box shaking in my fingers.

  Daniel stared at me, lost by my reaction. “Ash…it’s okay. They want him to come back.” He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead, but I knew better than to be optimistic.

  “No, it’s not.”

  I continued sobbing, knowing something was wrong, feeling the same way I’d felt when Gabby…

  I blinked hard. I couldn’t think about that.

  “We need to get dressed,” Daniel ordered. He left the room and came back with my outfit from the day before. I couldn’t move from the bed. He started to dress me, adding on each article of clothing, one by one. Each time he added a piece, the heavier the situation felt.

  We walked across the hall and of course Daniel’s bed was empty. “He’s gone, Daniel, I know he is.” He didn’t reply. When we looked out the front yard and saw that Hailey’s car was gone, I swore I heard him choke on air. He picked up a backpack that was lying open on the front porch.

  “Did he have any money?” Daniel hissed.

  My mind froze, confused. He repeated himself, this time harsher.

  “Henry gave him three hundred dollars—”

  “Jace…” he muttered before he ran off to the boat shed.

  I hurried right behind him. The doors flew opened and Daniel marched onto the boat, never pausing to breathe. He picked up the money that was sitting on the deck. Three hundred bucks. His brother was laid out sleeping and Daniel began shaking him.

  “Jace! I swear to God, if you did this…”

  Jace opened his eyes, stirring. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “You sold to a kid! My student, Jace!” He threw the empty backpack into his brother’s face. My face burned. My legs were numb. My stomach knotted. “Sarah’s accident wasn’t on you. Mom’s death wasn’t your fault. But I swear to God, if anything happens to that boy, it’s on you! It’s on you, Jace!”

  Jace sat up, confused about his whereabouts at first. “What the hell are you talking about? Danny, I didn’t do anything—”

  “We gotta go,” Daniel said, grabbing my arm to drag me out of the shed. “If he dies, Jace… If he dies, that’s on you! That’s on you!”

  If he dies?

  I started crying again.

  Because I knew he was already dead.

  #56. Let Him Go.

  Ashlyn,

  Last night I overheard Mr. Daniels fighting with his brother about some drugs. I borrowed some of the guy’s pills. Please let him know I left cash.

  I wanted to wake you, but you looked happy next to him. He looked happier. Don’t let that happiness leave. If there’s anyone who deserves it, it’s you.

  Can you burn the cardboard box for me? I no longer need the reminder.

  Please tell Hailey I’m still here.

  Always here.

  -Ryan

  Stars exploded and I was born. Please call me Tony.

  ~ Ryan Turner

  The newspaper headline was an echo of his father’s.

  Ryan Turner, son of Rebecca Turner, dies in a horrific car accident on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Pine Street.

  History sometimes repeated.

  Tonight, souls cried both on earth and in heaven.

  It doesn’t matter what you feel.

  Just know the feelings are real.

  ~ Romeo’s Quest

  The funeral was like all the others. Sad, painful, and wrapped in despair. Rebecca was in the corner speaking with the priest, and Henry stood greeting and thanking the guests who showed up. Which was a lot of guests—most of our senior class came.

  I looked over and saw Avery standing with Hailey, tears rolling down his face. Hailey hugged him and didn’t dare tell him that everything was going to be okay.

  “Hello, everyone. I am Father Evans. If we could all head inside, I believe we are ready to get started with the service.”

  My hands smoothed over the black dress I’d worn to Gabby’s funeral, and I prided myself on my ability of not having cried thus far during the day. There were so many tears that had fallen in the hospital room, in the car, and in the house. So I promised myself to do my best to be the strong one in the church. When others broke down, I would stand strong for them.

  The service went on, and many tears were shed from others. I sat in between Hailey and Rebecca in the front pew. Rebecca hadn’t said much since the accident, but I sat there squeezing her knee, which was rapidly tapping against the ground. I tried my best to read her emotions. She had to feel guilty for pushing Ryan away. For having isolated him in such a manner. She had to have wished it had been her in the car and not her baby boy. She had to be dead inside.

  Blame wouldn’t do anyone any good though.

  Not today.

  It came time for people to give short speeches about Ryan and the short life he’d lived on this planet, and many stepped up, some cracking jokes, others cracking tears. I turned to Hailey, who’d told me earlier that she’d planned on saying a few words, but her gaze fell to the floor.

  “I can’t… I can’t.” She wiped away a tear and stood, walking out of the church.

  I didn’t know if I should follow her or aid Rebecca, whose shivers were growing more and more in-depth
. Her breaths started picking up, and I felt as if a panic attack were about to overtake her.

  Edging myself closer to her, I whispered into her ear, “He loved you. He still loves you. It’s okay to cry.”

  The tears rolled down her cheeks and she nodded, her heavy breaths growing softer until she began to breathe like the sea at rest.

  I turned to see Jake sitting in one of the pews, his eyes watering over. I frowned toward him. He gave me a simple nod before he walked out to check on Hailey.

  Father Evans called for one last speaker, and when I looked up to see Daniel walking forward, my breath caught in my throat. When he reached the podium, he looked directly toward me. His eyes were deep wells of compassionate gloom. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it before him.

  “I wasn’t sure that I would be able to stand up here today. Um, I’ve known Ryan only for a semester, but if you knew Ryan, a day was all you needed to fall in love with the guy. He was a jokester but always such a wise, intelligent kid. It was when he wrote his first paper in my English 12 AP class that I realized how deep and complex the mind of Ryan Turner traveled. We had an assignment at the beginning of the year…” Daniel paused, clearing his throat, fighting back the tears. He shifted his body around a bit to try to fight the emotions, but he was losing the battle. “Sorry,” he muttered, turning away from the microphone and running his hands over his face.

  When he returned, I could see the redness in his eyes that ran deep into his very being. “We had an assignment at the beginning of the year… I asked the students where they saw themselves in five years. Who they wanted to be. And I held on to Ryan’s paper and would like to read it to you.” His shoulders rolled back and he stood tall, holding the paper in his hands. “‘What do I want to be when I grow up? Mr. D, that seems to be a very heavy question for someone my age. Life is hard and adults are always telling us ‘kids’ that it just gets worse as time passes. I’ve been trying my best to understand what keeps people going, what keeps them reaching for something greater in this world. Belief? Hope? Passion?

  “‘I’m gay, Mr. D. I’ve never said those words to a teacher, but the way you walked into class on the first day with so many nerves made me realize that I can trust you. You’re just as afraid of some secret as I am. So I thought I would share my secret with you. But my sexuality shouldn’t define me, right? There’s so much more to me. I like thunderstorms. I love baseball. I think rock music is the best music. I have blue eyes. I hate peas. My blood bleeds red and my heart cries sometimes, just like yours, I suppose.

  “‘You know what I can’t understand? I can’t understand how the people who are meant to love you unconditionally are the ones who turn on you in a heartbeat. Lately, I had to convince myself that it wasn’t me who she turned on, it wasn’t me who she blamed for Dad’s death—she loves me. I know she does. She just can’t comprehend the different ways that love can work. Ways only us teenagers can grasp before the land of adulthood takes away our magic, our wonder. Being a teenager is a curse and a gift. It’s the age where fairytales cease to exist and Santa isn’t real but parts of our hearts want to say ‘What if…’

  “‘It’s the time where you feel everything but everyone claims you are just overreacting. You and the guidance office and society throw out strong questions that we teens have no clue how to answer. Who are we? Where do we see ourselves in five years? What do we want to be? The most frightening thing to me is picking a study, choosing a life path to follow at such a young, naïve age. No one knows who they are at our age. No one has a damn clue where they will be in five years. The last question is my favorite: What do we want to be? That’s the easy one.’”

  Daniel paused and looked over to me, quoting the last part of Ryan’s powerful letter. “'Alive. I want to be alive, and I have no idea why, seeing how hideous life is at times. Maybe it’s belief, hope, and passion all wrapped into one shape that rests inside my chest. Perhaps my heart is just praying for better tomorrows to replace all of those shitty yesterdays. So to answer your question in a very depressing, teenage-angst manner, I want to be alive when I grow up. So now I ask you, Mr. D. What do you want to be when you grow up? Because growing never stops, and dreaming rarely ceases.’”

  The room filled with a silence that even the gods of the earth found unsteady. Daniel folded up the piece of paper and slipped it back into his pocket. He spoke into the microphone and smiled a sad grin. “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. But if there’s anyone I want to be like when I do, it’s that young man who wrote those words. I want to be unafraid of the outcome of life. I want to remember to breathe in the laughter and cherish the tears. I want to dive into hope and land in love. I want to be alive when I grow up because…I have never been alive in all of my life. And I think the least we can do, in order to honor Ryan, is to start living today. And forgive ourselves for all of the shitty yesterdays.”

  On the steps of the church stood Hailey and Jake. The winter breeze was unkind to any bare skin. I watched as Jake whispered something to her and she nodded in understanding.

  “Jake.” He turned my way at the sound of my voice. I nodded him over to me. He glanced at her and then moved back toward me.

  He stepped in close. “She’s pretty wrecked, Ashlyn.”

  “I know.”

  The sad grin he gave me almost broke my heart. “She blames you.”

  “I know.”

  He stared out into the distance, his hands in his pockets. “Pretty much the whole senior class showed up in there for him. Everyone loved the guy. Did you know he was the king at our junior prom last year?” He took a deep inhale. “How do you get to a point where you feel that alone?”

  There wasn’t an answer to that question. I thought that’s what hurt people the most—the unanswered questions.

  His thumb and pointer finger pinched the bridge of his nose and he closed his eyes. “Look, Ashlyn. I know this probably isn’t the right time, but…” He sighed. “The guy you gave your heart to… Why isn’t he here?”

  My voice cracked. I shifted my eyes. “You’re right, Jake. It’s not the right time.”

  “Yeah. Right. But…” His voice shook. “Ryan’s dead. And when people die, you get thinking about the things unsaid. The things you were too afraid to say. And I’m about to go away for Christmas break to visit my grandparents in Chicago, so I’m just going to say it now—”

  “Jake—”

  “I hate him. Whoever the guy is who isn’t here for you—I hate him for leaving you alone today.” My eyes watered up from his words. He reached for his tie and loosened it. “I know you probably think that I was just into you because of your body. Yes, at first, that was why. You’re gorgeous, Ash. But then each day in chemistry you would show up and you would talk. And then I realized how much I liked the way you spoke.

  “And then I realized how much you had to say and how much the world deserved to hear your thoughts. And then I thought about how much I would love you if you ever let me in. Then I thought maybe if I cleaned up my act, maybe if I stopped smoking pot or got into college or got a library card or something, then maybe you would love me, too.”

  “I do love you, Jake.”

  He laughed. “Don’t give me that friendship bullshit. It’s fine, really. I just… I needed to say it. No regrets, right?”

  I leaned in, kissed his cheek, and whispered, “Please hug me now.” His arms wrapped around me. I breathed him in and held on to him tight. “Don’t let go yet, okay?” He pulled me in closer.

  After the hug, Jake reentered the church. My footprints landed against the fallen snow as I moved in Hailey’s direction. “Hey, Hails.”

  She tightened her arms, which lay across her body. Her lips pressed together. It seemed that her focus was on something across the street.

  I continued. “I’m so sorr—”

  “You know what I don’t understand?” she said, cutting in. “You were supposed to be with him.” Her body
rotated in my direction in a haunting fashion. “You were supposed to watch over him for one night. One night! Where the hell were you, Ashlyn?!”

  Words. There were so many different words, different phrases in the world, yet I couldn’t develop one.

  She puffed a chilled breath. “Exactly.”

  “Hailey…when Gabby died—” I started.

  “No!” she hissed, holding her hand up to me. “Today isn’t about Ashlyn’s guilt. Today isn’t about Gabrielle. Ryan is dead! You promised!” she cried, choking on air, on her own misery. “You promised to watch after him and now he’s dead!” Her sobs made her words half broken, mere mutters. “Y-you hurt everyone who y-you c-c-come near,” she stuttered. Her gaze fell to the ground. She didn’t mean her words. I knew she didn’t.

  If there was anything I remembered from Gabby’s funeral, it was that sometimes it was easier to be mad than to be hurt.

  “Who am I supposed to eat lunch with?” her voice whispered. She wrapped her hands over her mouth as a pained cry of sadness left her lips. She continued to sob, her body shuddering. “I’m sorry, Ashlyn. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  My arms wrapped around her and I shook my head back and forth. “We don’t do apologies here,” I said, quoting her from the first time I sat at their lunch table. “Because we know harm is never the intent.”

  “Theo’s not here,” she cried into my shoulder. “It’s the worst day of my life and he didn’t show up. He said it was against his belief system. Bullcrap if you ask me.” She wiped her eyes and pulled away from me. “The sad thing is, I don’t believe in this, ya know? In coming to a church to mourn in this way. I know Theo isn’t really a Buddhist…but I’m starting to understand the study. I actually love it. And this”—she gestured back to the church—“this doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “I can help.” A deep voice was heard, and we turned to see Randy walking toward us. He’d shown up to make sure Daniel didn’t have to be alone after losing someone else in his life. He approached us slowly, not wanting to interrupt. “I know how it is, how painfully unnecessary death can seem. It just feels like you want to get revenge on the world for taking away the things you love.” His head fell and he rubbed his temple. “I’ve studied Buddhism for many years. And if you are interested, we can say a prayer together.”