could I get a ride to the bonfire tonight?
JULY
sure. I might have to stay late to help out because I’m one of the team captains, okay?
ELLA
yes of course
I’m sorry.
JULY
No worries. Happy to give you a ride
ELLA
no, I mean I’m sorry I didn’t jump today
JULY
nothing to be sorry about
you can jump when you’re ready, or not at all
it’s not a thing, I promise
ELLA
It is a thing
JULY
It’s okay. I promise.
ELLA
but this was the last Friday of the summer
This was my last chance
JULY
It’s not your last chance
Everything’s going to be okay.
133.
now
The stairs along the gorge are cut out of stone and are slate-gray, dark and slick where the rain has hit them, where it creeps through the earth. They line the gorge, the creek falling away below them.
There are so many edges in this town.
The edge of your heart, where it tore when someone left or walked away. The edge of your mind, when you feel it slipping dark. The edges of the things that should never have been said. The ones that cut and you can’t take back.
I was wrong, I realize,when I thought I didn’t have to keep running. I do.
