Word Up Bumbaclart Part 2

A lot happened that night.

After leaving the skate park, we still weren't ready to go home. I remember we munched on a few Starburst. Being with him, around him, made me nervous. Half a dozen lollies, sorry, sweets and I was full (it's why I never ate a lot around him). I don't know what he thought, but I was ill on the inside.

We discovered there's not a whole lot to do at ten30 at night, so we parked the car, and went for a walk around the little lake near his house. The sky was crystal clear and lit up with stars, except I think there were clouds on the horizon. I remember talking about storms & loving thunder. I remember pointing out the Southern Cross & Orion's belt.

He wore shorter socks with his jeans that night. It meant his ankles were exposed when we sat down. The next day he had a ring around each ankle where the mozzies had eaten him alive, they were so horrible to him.

This is the first time I remember him talking about 'then'. It was rather upsetting to hear what he'd been through, but also hard to comprehend because he really didn't seem like that guy. Thinking back now, we covered so much. He let me in to a part of him he didn't often share. You see, I'm used to people opening up to me, it's normal. That wasn't normal for him. It forced me to realise that even though he seemed fine with me, there was so much more to it than I could imagine.

Even at this early stage we talked about what he'd do when he'd go back. His mind set was already changing, and he was so clear he didn't want to go back to 'then' when he returned.

We sat on that bench for hours. By the time I got him home, I do believe it was about one am. We took up our spots on the couch and chatted some more. When I finally convinced myself I had to go, I could swear I saw a small flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

Needless to say, I got my hug.


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