Page 27 of Saving Micah

Zant nods and says, “I understand what you are saying Mi and the only thing I can tell you right now is - you are completely fine and completely safe.”

“I trust you and it is only because of that that I am willing to let this go. For now.” I tell him while giving him my most serious look.

He gets up from the floor and slowly moves towards me. I keep my eyes on his as he gets closer. “May I?” He asks before lowering himself to my bed. I nod to him and he puts his arms around me.

“Micah, you are safe baby. You are safe right here. You are safe everywhere. You have changed, yes, but in good ways too. You are more aware of things. You are more on guard. You are more reserved. It sucks to be that way but it is survival instincts too. You need that. The world can be a bad place. College can be a bad place but, I fully believe that you are going to be ok. With and without me and the other guys around. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.” His mouth is right next to my ear as he whispers these words to me. I feel tears running down my cheeks but I’m unsure why I am even crying. “Shh. Don’t cry love. You are ok. One day at a time.”

He pulls back and kisses my forehead. “I love you. I will always love you. Always remember that, ok?”

“Ok. I love you too, Z.”

“I’ve got to head to the house and get some sleep. We go back to school tomorrow to finish out our senior year.” I grin at him. We have been working hard for this and it is finally here.

“You’re taking me to school, right?” I ask him as he gets up and grabs his chucks to slip on.

“Of course. I will be here at the normal time for breakfast.” He winks at me. It’s no secret that he loves my Mama’s cooking.

I laugh at him as he makes his way towards my bedroom door.

We never have that talk.

The next few months pass by without incident and graduation finally comes.

I didn’t know that I would be broken again.

Chapter 14

Zant

Funny you’re the broken one but,

I’m the only one who needed saving

{‘Stay’ -Rihanna}

The end of our high school years is finally here. Tonight, is graduation night. I’m anxious and nervous. I’ve been on a rollercoaster my entire life and this milestone that I have made it to is just another high part of the ride. The next dip is coming and I hate that it has to be this way.

“Man, are you ready for this? We are about to be graduates!” Levi is super stoked about finishing high school. The closer we got to the last day, the more excited he became.

“Yeah, man. I’m ready. We’ve finally made it.” I tell him while I look at him. He is going to be so pissed at me. I must do this though. I’m never going to be able to help Micah any further if I don’t do this. Maybe if I explain, he will understand.

No. He won’t understand. The only person that knows ahead of time about this is Mr. Davis and he is the one pushing me to do this. I know all of this isforme but damn, it’s hard.

I stand up and cheer really loud when Micah’s name is called. I can see her turning pink in the cheeks from where I’m sitting. She is so freaking cute.

She does the same for me when my name is called. I know she would love to embarrass me but I give it back to her and turn toward the crowd and take a bow. I can hear Levi laugh from the stage.

Once it is over, we head back to my house. With Roy being gone all this time, people have grown use to coming over to my place to hang out. We watch movies and work out. I converted his room into a gym and Levi, Chance, and I all went in together to get some equipment. It’s a pretty nice setup. We have rules and such. Mr. Davis keeps tabs on us. We aren’t allowed to drink or smoke or things that we aren’t allowed to do at our age. We just hang out.

“Dude. It’s over. I can’t believe I am finally free of high school. I’m not going to miss that place.” Chance says as we sit at the bar in my kitchen.

“You’re going to miss it. Once you get to college and see what real life is, you’re going to wish you were back here sitting in your desk in high school.” I tell him. I can tell he doesn’t believe me though. I let it go. Let them all think what they want. I know I am going to miss it.

This was the simple life.

Regardless of everything that has happened in our lives – high school was the time that we are going to miss every day for the rest of our lives. Adults do not have it easy. I don’t know exactly how I know this. I just do.

Several hours later, everyone starts to head home. Several people from our class came over to just hang and talk and make plans for the summer. Now they are leaving and I have no idea who we will ever see again. Not that it matters to me.

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