Page 7 of In the Dust

Colton … I still can’t believe he’s here, and I can’t believe no one told me. I mean, all through high school he worked here, but … I let the memories drift away. It may have been a few years, but the scars are too deep to dig into right now.

Sliding my hands through the shirts, I push them apart, looking deeper into my closet at the few summer dresses dangling from wooden hangers.

But one in particular catches my eye. It’s still here. A mid-thigh length dress, sky blue with little red strawberries scattered over the fabric.

A wistful smile spreads across my face; I must have worn this dress a million times my last summer here.

Shaking my head, I put the dress back in its rightful spot and push my shirts back, grabbing a lightweight t-shirt before leaving the strawberry dress in the back of my dark closet, along with its memories.

I look at the clock. ‘Shit!’ I shout, hastily settling on a pair of dark, faded jeans.

Heading back to the nightstand to grab my phone, the old white rustic frame catches my eye. It holds an old picture of a young girl in love sitting next to a handsome boy. Picking it up, I slowly run my finger down the middle of the glass, along a crease that runs down the center of the picture.

That wasn’t there before.

---