Every morning since my parents’ death, I go and visit their graves. It’s the only thing that keeps me close to them anymore. I keep holding onto this fleeting feeling that they’re gone and I can’t lose that. They were the best people ever and they were taken too early.

Why couldn’t it have been me?

I wiped the tears from my eyes and set the roses on their graves.

“Hey Mom, Hey Dad. It’s me, again. I hope you’re doing better than I am. It’s hard, moving to somewhere new all on your own. I wish that we could’ve experienced this together but you’re gone,” I started sniffling.

“You left me here. Alone by myself with nobody. I want to hate you. I want to blame you and wish we could make up by going out for ice cream. I want you to hold me in your arms and tell me it’s gonna be okay but you can’t. This is all I have and I just want you guys to come back. I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad. Please take care of yourselves. Wherever you are,” the tears had been spewing for a while now as I grabbed my backpack off of the grass and walked back to the bus stop.

Ivy poked her head out from behind a tree as she watched Wyatt walk away.

She sauntered over to a pair of headstones.

She grabbed a broom and dustpan from behind the tree and started cleaning the leaves away.

Luckily, school was an escape for me. The emptiness and sorrow of that house did no favors for me as it made me sadder; as it trapped me in an endless cycle of depression.

Homeroom was a prelude for the day to come as the teacher simply observed the students as they conversated and gossiped.

I pulled my phone out of my backpack and started watching ‘Beyond The Veil’ once again.

Ivy, who’s usually reading a book or literally anything else, spoke first today.

“Is that when Neir betrays Sasha?” She looked over and asked.

I slowly turned my head to her.

“What?” I said, in a monotone voice.

She looked between me and the phone and her mouth flung open.

“Oh…”

She grabbed her book and buried her face in.

“WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN NEIR BETRAYED SASHA?!” I was on her desk at this point.

She hid her head away.

“I binged it all night last night and that was something that happened,” she was looking through the windows.

“Ugh,” I pressed the power button on my phone and put it back into my pocket.

“Honestly, spoilers are the worst,” a girl showed up next to us.

“Who are you?” Ivy sneered.

“I’m Alyssa, I sit right next to Wyatt,” she pointed to her desk, “I also couldn’t help but overhear you guys talking about Beyond The Veil. I just finished it last night so luckily you didn’t spoil me but it looks like you spoiled him,” she pulled her chair next to us.

“Look, I don’t know what you think this is,” Ivy motioned her finger between me and her, “but we aren’t friends,” she scooted her desk a little bit away.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” I laughed, sarcastically.

“Sure. Well Wyatt, it was great to meet you but the bell’s gonna ring anytime now,” she waved, as she walked away.

Her denim jacket glistened under the fluorescent school lights as the little gemstones on it glimmered. She wore a normal white top and denim jeans that complimented her outfit.

Ivy scoffed under her breath before the bell rang. When it rang, she was the first one out of the classroom and into the hallway.

“LEO!” I yelled as I ran into him in the hallway.

“Hey, Wyatt,” he said as we fist bumped.

“Which class do you have next, buddy?” I asked him.

“I have Economics next. I hate going to class,” he grumbled as he made his way opposite mine.

“I hear you, buddy,” I thought to myself as I made my way over to my next class.

Would you look at that? I walked into the classroom to find Ivy in the seat next to mine. I completely forgot we shared some classes.

“Hey, Ivy,” I said, as I sat down.

She huffed.

“Okay..” I grabbed my pencils and notebook and set them on the desk.

As the class went on, I zoned out during the lesson.

“DOMINICK! GET AWAY!” Mom yelled as the upended car began to emit smoke.

“MOM! NO! I CAN’T LOSE YOU EITHER!” I reached out as my little legs trembled with fear.

The car suddenly boomed as the explosion echoed throughout the air. The fire department didn’t show up until it was too late.

Mom and Dad were gone.

I ran.

Back home, where they’d be waiting for me. Like they always do.

“Wyatt,” Ivy poked me in the side.

“What?” I bolted up.

“Here,” she handed me a tissue.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Why do I need this?” I asked her, confused.

She pointed to my eyes. I touched underneath my eyes to feel a wet sensation on my finger tips.

I dabbed the tissue underneath my eyes.

“Thanks,” I said, sincerely.

She simply looked forward to the teacher lecturing us.

What is she gonna think of me now?

It was finally PE time where I could hang out with people who wanted to hang out with me. Kendall and Leo sat next to me on the bleachers. Leo and I talked about sports as she simply listened, fascinated by the things she’s never heard of.

“Wyatt, can I ask you something?” Kendall asked.

“Sure,” I leaned forward.

“Why does your smile not meet your eyes?”

“Huh?”

“Whenever you smile, your eyes are still blank. Like you’re somewhere else. Like you aren’t expressing your true feelings.”

“We’re just gonna get deep right now?” I stated.

“I simply want to understand you. You say these things and you smile and you laugh but you don’t feel it with your heart. You don’t tell us the truth although we’re friends now. Can I ask what’s bothering you?” She sternly spoke.

Her accent and dialogue are usually so polite but she’s good at reading people. It’s a skill she told us she had to learn to be able to keep afloat her parents’ political campaign in the Caso Islands.

“I’m not really sure if I’m ready for that. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the answer you were looking for,” I replied.

“That’s perfectly adequate. I thank you for being truthful,” she smiled at me. A genuine smile that could cheer anyone up.

Leo looked confused before opening his mouth.

“What was all of that about?” He asked.

“It’s nothing, big guy. Nothing at all,” I patted him on the back. I looked across the gymnasium to see Ivy sitting by herself. She made eye contact with me before looking elsewhere.

“Anyways, Wyatt, I heard some rumor that the most popular girl in school talked to you today? What was her name again?” She pondered.

“Alyssa?” I responded.

“Ah, yes, that was it.”

“I talked to her once,” Leo said, trailing off into thought.

“HEY, ALYSSA!” Leo yelled.

“Oh, hi!” She greeted him sweetly.

He stood there, giggling like an idiot. His face turned beet red and he didn’t utter another word.

“O…kay…” She strutted past him.

“She seems nice,” Kendall uttered.

Leo was giggling like an idiot again.

“She was pretty nice when I met her,” I voiced.

The most popular girl in school?

The bell rang, dismissing us. Everyone went to their respective locker rooms and changed out of their PE clothes and into their normal ones. The gym filled with chatter as the students walked out of the side doors to the outside.

“YOOO!” A boy yelled as he walked into the bus before me, shouting to his friends.

I walked in, keeping my head down as I sat down next to Ivy.

“Hey, Ivy,” I set my backpack on my lap as I greeted her.

She looked at me for a short time. An awkwardness washed over us.

“Hi,” she finally said after a few seconds of silence between the two of us.

“I saw you at the Graveyard,” she said, out of the blue.

“What?” I replied, nervous.

“I saw you, setting roses down on the two headstones and walking away.”

I looked at her as she never once looked up from her book.

“They’d probably want you to be okay. Whoever you lost, that is.”

I felt my heart clench a little. I don’t want to talk about this. Not with Ivy.

“You don’t get it!” I shouted, my voice cracking a bit. I didn’t mean to yell but it all just came out before I knew what was happening.

She didn’t respond, the silence growing heavier as people began to stare.

I grabbed my things, almost too quickly, as the bus skidded to stop at the all too familiar bus stop.

She stared at me through the window as the bus drove off.

I unlocked the door and walked inside. I went to my closet and picked out a better outfit and headed to the shower.

I didn’t have the heart nor the mental capacity to stay trapped in this house today. The echoes of the past shine ever so brightly during the time I’m alone.

I slipped on my other shoes and walked out the door and into whatever this day brings.

I sauntered down the sidewalk, seeing familiar faces from school as I made my way down the street to the arcade that was a few blocks away from my house.

The city folk dressed up in suits and dresses dashed past, chattering wildly into their phones. They wore panicked expressions while others admired the beautiful shops and stalls with their partners by their sides.

I opened the door to the arcade and stepped inside. The vibrant colors of the game machines and decorations lit up the interior. A giant wall of prizes with an attendant talking to a child and their parents’ towered over everything else inside. To the left was a small space with tables where people could eat their fill of greasy arcade pizza. To the right was the skee ball, basketball, a giant spinning wheel that shined a random array of colors, along with other machines.

“Hello! Welcome to The Meadows Arcade! Is this your first time in our establishment?” The woman at the front desk asked.

“Yeah, it’s my first time,” I responded.

“Well, here’s an arcade card for you,” she handed me an orange and black plastic card with the mascot on it, “You use that for the machines. You will need money to buy credits but you can do that here and we can put it onto the card for you.”

I handed her 25 dollars and got the card back. I walked over to a machine with a mounted plastic gun emitting a red light.

“INSERT 5 CREDIT TO PLAY!” The screen flashed.

I looked over to the other gun. Dad used to play these types of games with me. Dad suddenly appeared, smiling at me. I blinked and he was gone.

“Do you mind if I play with you?” A familiar voice appeared behind me.

“Sorry, I don’t really talk to stran-” I turned around.

Ivy was standing there awkwardly.

“I said I wanted to be a little friendlier so I thought I’d give this a try,” she sat down on the seat next to me.

She looked at me with a guilty expression.

“I didn’t bring any money,” she smiled for the first time at me. Her smile was different from Kendall’s. It was more sincere, more shy, more… genuine. Like someone trying their best, even if they don’t know exactly how.

“Here,” I handed her my card.

She pressed it on the screen.

“WELCOME PLAYER 2!”

We played the games in the arcade for hours, laughing and enjoying our time like we were the last people on earth. I never knew she had this side to her but maybe we both needed this.

We are just 2 high schoolers trying to make it in this messy world.

“Look like I’m out of credits,” I turned to Ivy.

“That’s fine, it was fun,” she said, happier than usual.

“Do you want to do this again sometime?” I asked her, trying to keep a casual tone.

Her smile faded a bit.

“I won’t lie, today was fun but this,” she gestured to me and the arcade, “is something I’m not good at,” she put her hands into her pockets.

“But…” she continued, “I might surprise you one day.”

She walked out of the arcade; leaving me standing there with my maxed out arcade card. I smiled to myself and walked out myself.

For the first time ever since I lost my parents, hope had begun to sprout in my heart.

Maybe, it won’t be so bad.