Divine Deception"Edge of the World: Part 1"
When I was a little girl, I always believed that a loving relationship was as simple as love itself. That love was as superficial as seeing exterior beauty. I never believed how much of a web it turned into the longer you are with somebody you think means a lot to you. The moment we are born into this world, we strive to connect, love and feel as if we belong. And in perfect union, when we can't find strength in ourselves, we turn to the other whose support lifts us off of the ground in aid to our own essence.
I look out the window as Nathan brings the truck to a stop. All I can see is snow. We're in the middle of nowhere. But even so, when Nathan undoes his seat belt and gets out of the truck, I follow. I round the front where Nathan stands, his hand out to his side, palm up and open. I place mine inside and allow for his callused fingers to close around it.
"You asked me if I would drop everything to go with you," he says as he takes a step forward. The snow is ankle deep and the field looks as if it hasn't had any traffic in a long time. "I said I would--"
"Nathan..." I know what I want to tell him... That throwing away everything for me is complete ludicrous. I don't know exactly how to say it, though. Before I can speak again, he does.
"Let me explain. I've lived in Riverview since I was three. This used to be a park. It was small and campy, but my parents would always bring me and my brother here every weekend and after school. The swings pinched the backs of our legs. The slide had sharp edges. The pole got loose one time when I went down it and I fell." He pauses. "The park was deemed unsafe and taken down immediately afterwards."
My eyes narrow as I try to decipher where he's going with this.
"I've been in Riverview for a long time, Deli, and I know how much it's changed. What happened a week ago, the attack on our house... It isn't out of the ordinary. Hurting somebody who's different, or just because they are born with a certain name. How is it any different from skin colour or gender preference?"
I don't know how to answer. What he's asked... I never thought of it that way.
Nathan chuckles cheerlessly. "It's funny, for how dangerous that park was, to this day, I would still trust the pole that I fell off of more than the people in this town now."
We arrive at the water's edge. The lake hasn't frozen over yet and, following where Nathan points, I can see a yacht in the distance.
"That boat comes out here every single day. In the best of weather and the worst. It's routine and he follows it to the minute."
"I don't understand," I admit sheepishly.
"This is what Riverview is. We are a group of close-minded people who stick to the same daily schedule day-in day-out, and I don't want to be like that anymore."
"You're not," I try to comfort him.
"But I am. The reason why I know that guy's boating every single day is because I am here, at this park, wasting my time trying to replenish what I once believed this town to be. My mother believes my sister is going to come home, which she isn't because she's dead, and my brother keeps fueling that fire as if he believes it's possible too." Nathan sighs heavily. "This town has turned to hell and I don't think it's ever coming back. I know I'm a terrible person for saying such a thing, about this town, about my family, and frankly I don't care. It's the truth."
I firm my grip on his hand and pull him so that he's looking straight at me. "Why would you think you're a terrible person?"
He looks at me indignantly. "Because I am becoming what these people are around me. I judged you before I even knew who you were."
"And you were the only person to help me when you learned who I was. Nathan, don't for a second believe that you are anything like these people. You are good. Your family is good too. They knew nothing about me and still took me in. So don't think you are anything but that." I wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss him. "You're the only person I trust here and I don't trust many people," I tell him. "You can't be all bad."
I suddenly feel my feet lift off the ground and the field is spinning around and around. I brace myself, my hands holding onto Nathan's arms that are around my waist. He's laughing. And he's happy. And as much as I want my feet placed back on the snow, I don't want him to let go so I'm laughing too. "You are just plain evil," I joke.
"And I'm all yours. I'm going with you!"
"If that's what you want, I won't stop you," I say. "I wouldn't want anybody but you."
It seems there is no stopping him and after listening to him, who am I to tell him what he should or shouldn't do? He brings me down to the ground again, but he doesn't let go of me. He nestles his chin in the crook where my neck meets my shoulder. His woodsy cologne enters my nostrils, taking me back to the night we spent together. His breath tickles my neck and I close my eyes as his body heat keeps me warm from the cold. I stop myself from moving altogether. To do so, I fear would break this moment. Nathan squeezes me tighter and says something I never had expected from him.
"I think I love you."
I don't open my eyes. I don't know what to say or how to act, and to open them comes with the possibility that Nathan may see my confusion. My hesitance. What am I supposed to say to that? Do I love him back? I don't know what love feels like and right now things are happening way too fast. When I open my eyes, I still don't have an answer, although I hear snow crunching under what I think are a set of tires. When I glance back at where the truck is parked, I see a black SUV.
***
((Because of a weapons mod and strong language, the extension of this episode can be found
