Page 6 of From the Ashes

“Ow! What was that for?!” he hissed, rubbing his side.

“You almost got uskilled,” I snapped. “And now my mom is crying!”

I crossed my arms over my chest, turning away from him. I was furious with him. Not only had he convinced me to go look at the wildfire, but then he nearlydiedwhen that tree fell because he wouldn’t stop gawking. What was so interesting about a wildfire, anyway? Yes, I loved a bonfire. They were great for roasting marshmallows and hanging out with friends. But wildfire was different. It was destructive, all-consuming, and unbiased. Whatever got in its path was destroyed. And had we been another five feet up the road, it would’ve been the pair ofusthat were consumed by it.

“Hey,” Nix said, putting a soft hand on my shoulder. “Look… I’m sorry.”

I pulled my shoulder away.

“I mean it, Charlie.” He let out a long sigh. “I just… it wasmesmerizing, you know? But you’re right. I shouldn’t have gone up there.”

“No. You shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

His tone was genuine. But I was still angry.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He shifted next to me as he rustled in his pockets. “In fact, I think you should have the treasure I found today.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something sparkle. Turning back to Nix, I saw a shiny object sitting in the palm of his hand. It was a milky blue color, but all the facets seemed to shimmer like a rainbow as they caught the light. I’d seen enough small stones in the river to know it was an opal. Apart from being the biggest one I’d ever seen, it was also shaped into an arrowhead.

“You… You mean it?” I said, staring at the object with open admiration. It truly was treasure in every sense of the word.

“Yeah,” Nix smiled. “You should have it. Then you can use it to remind me not to do anything stupid again.”

I took the arrowhead, a big smile spreading over my face. “It’s gonna get a lot of use.”

He chuckled at that. “You’re probably right.”

I glanced out the window just in time to see the rain begin to fall. With all the smoke in the air, we hadn’t noticed the storm clouds rolling in. Nix glanced at me, his grin widening.

“See? When you’re around, everything always works out just right.”

I don’t know why, but those words stuck with me, imprinting themselves on my mind forever.

CHAPTER 3

Charlie

Nix lay spread out on the grass in the schoolyard, shaking his head. “I’m tired of these mountains. No matter where I go everything is uphill. And they make everything look so tiny.” He let out a long sigh. “They make me feel… trapped. Like I’m a caged bird with clipped wings.”

He reached his hand up toward the puffy white clouds, his fingers searching for something to grasp. But there was nothing there.

“I can see my freedom above me in the sky, but I’ll never reach it. I… I hate it here.”

Hehatedit here. Even though I was his best friend, and we spent nearly every moment together for the past six years. He still hated it. I couldn’t pretend that comment didn’t pierce me down to my soul. If he hated it so much, did that mean he hated me?

“I think it feels comforting,” I replied, trying not to show my pain. “There’s so much beauty here and everything is sheltered from the outside world. There are trees and plants that grow only in this valleybecausethose mountains keep them safe. They’d die without it.”

I wanted to add ‘just like I’d die without you’, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Even after all these years, I was still too scared to tell him how I really felt. That I was pretty sure I was in love with him. Still, I told myself it was nothing more than a tiny crush, something I’d get over. Besides, he didn’t date. He told me he wasn’t interested in such a thing several times. So, I figured there was no reason to embarrass myself.

Nix turned my way, smiling wide. “You always find the good in everything,” he said before turning back to the sky. “That’s what I like about you, Charlie. You’re my little ball of sunshine.” He grinned at me then paused for a long moment, a serious expression filling his face. “I’m gonna get out of here someday, Charlie. And when I do, you should go with me.” He glanced back at me again. “I’ll be your mountain and I’ll show you my sky.”

My heart swelled as I looked his way, those beautiful green eyes staring back at me. I couldn’t stop my cheeks from burning as I smiled at him. But it was short-lived as my gaze was pulled toward the top of the schoolyard and a group of boys headed our way.

“Oh no…”

Nix looked up and saw them coming. He scoffed but stayed where he was. Jordan Peterson and his flunkies didn’t scare Nix. But they did scare me. Being the biggest three boys on the football team, they were imposing to say the very least. They’d been bullying me since kindergarten. And the day Nix showed up at school with me, they immediately began bullying him too. You’d think they’d get bored after a while, but they never did. Something about us keeping to ourselves and not participating in their stupid social hierarchy just rubbed them the wrong way.

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