Pink Daisies Part 13
I stared at the silver J in my hand. The sun was lowering closer to the horizon, causing everything to grow dark. I shivered; it was chilly near the water’s edge.
I sat up straighter on the rock I resided on, inhaling quick and sharp. A stick snapped behind me in within the wooded gorge. The sound had been much too loud to have been an animal.
My heart was pounding in my ears as a set of footsteps shuffled along picking up leaves. It couldn’t be Jordan. Jordan wouldn’t know to come here and no one knew I was here.
I abruptly stood up, clenching my fist around the necklace. The feeling of the cool metal set a chill up my spin as I chucked it out into the river.
“Mace, what are you doing?”
“Oh my god, Mike,” I gasped, recognizing his voice.
Mike sat down on the rock and pulled me onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck with his nose.
“How’d you know I was here?”
“I went to your house and Michelle didn’t know where you were. She showed me the letter from Jordan that you must’ve dropped. I figured you would go somewhere you love that Jordan doesn’t know about.”
“Jordan does not know anything about me.”
“I went to Amy’s Place, wondered around Elmwood, and I went to Niagara Falls. I called you only to find your phone off. Then it dawned on me, the Niagara Gorge had always been your favorite place to go ever since you were a child.”
“You don’t have a car,” I pointed out.
“I borrowed Nolan’s. I was going to surprise you, but you weren’t home.”
I sighed, upset with myself for letting Jordan get to me again.
“Why are you so scared to face Jordan?”
I blinked back tears, “He broke my heart. He ruined my life. He lied. He cheated. I just don’t want to stare into those eyes again and see the memories. I don’t want to look into his icy eyes and remember the tears, the pain, everything.”
“Running away from this problem won’t help make him go away. Maybe you should face him because it may help the pain and regret. Maybe it will help it all go away so you can forget it and be happier,” Mike offered, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.
I stretched my neck up and closed my eyes, feeling wind on my face. I didn’t want to ever see Jordan again let alone speak with him. It would be hard trying to disagree with Mike’s suggestion and I was in no place to pass up ridding my conscience of this nuisance.
“Mace, can I tell you a secret?”
I nodded, feeling the wind change direction and blow my brown hair onto my face.
"My b-best friend died,” Mike began, slowly choosing his words.
I jerked my head down, twisting in his lap to face him.
“He died in February. His name was Mickey Renaud and he was the captain of my former OHL team, the Windsor Spitfires.”
“How did he die?”
“I don’t know. Mace, I really wish I knew. He just collapsed one day and he couldn’t be revived. Mickey was my best friend. He had been drafted by the Calgary Flames and we were really looking forward to playing against each other one day. Mickey never let his self-image get to him. He was always doing charity work and helping others. It just wasn’t fair for him to die. He was the greatest person I ever had the chance to be acquainted with. He was only 19, Macy!”
By this time Mike was in tears. His chocolate brown eyes were squeezed tight as he trembled with emotion, “Nineteen and one of the nicest people you could ever meet! It’s not fair. Why do the good have to die young? Why?!”
I held him close throughout the breakdown. He screamed and bawled and screamed more. He screamed towards the sky asking God why this had to happen to Mickey. He asked Mickey why he had to leave so quickly. Soon, his anger, denial and distress came to an end when the tears and screams stopped.
“W-why?” He choked out.
“Maybe it was his destiny.”
“IT WAS NOT HIS DESTINY! HIS DESTINY WAS TO BE A PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY PLAYER!”
“Shh, calm down. Maybe it was to make others aware that nobody is promised a tomorrow. Maybe it was meant to motivate people to want to do more good things in their lives, to change their lives for the better.”
“I need him, though. I need him, his family needs him, his teammates, and this world needs Mickey.”
“I know, baby. Mickey wouldn’t want you to be this upset, would he?”
“N-no. He’d tell me that I better go play my damn heart out on the ice for him.”
“Exactly. You’re never going to forget him. Getting through each day without him is always going to be difficult. He’s watching over you, he always will be. He’s cheering for you.”
Mike nodded while biting his lip. His eyes moved quick, searching for anything he could focus on for more than a few seconds. They settled on my matching brown eyes.
I placed my forehead against his and grinned, wiping his damp cheeks with my fingers, “You’re cute even with these tears slipping out of your eyes.”
Even in the dark I could still see his skin flush red while he leaned up to kiss me…multiple times.