The Town of Winchester

I wake up to the feeling of sunshine on face. I roll over and check my phone to see 10 new text messages from Gaby. They say, “where are you, did your parents freak out to, and I think my parents are coming to your house right now!” I blink hard a few times to make sure that this isn’t a dream, because it sure feels like it. I replay everything in my mind to make sure I am remembering it all correctly. Gaby’s lips on my lips is all that I can think about… and perhaps maybe the fact that I feel like my parents are now planning to send me to boarding school. I don’t respond to Gaby just yet, as I want to head downstairs and see if my parents have calmed down. I open the door and as I am about to take my first step onto the stairs, I hear my parents talking to Gaby’s.

“So, we will do this tonight?” Gaby’s father asks.

“Yes. We talked about it last night and feel that sooner rather than later is best.” My father responds.

“Good then. Give me the money and I will deliver it to him this afternoon and tell him we are still good for tonight. Remember the plan we talked about, dinner tonight at 8.” Gaby’s father says.

“Dinner, 8 o’clock.” My father responds and acknowledges.

They’re tricking us. Pretending that we’re going to dinner and then what? Sending us off to boarding school right then and there? I’ve got to tell Gaby this. I run back into my room and send a text as fast as possible and then out the window I go and on my way. The text: “meet me at our spot. Now.” I lock my phone, grasp it tightly in my hand and start sprinting.

What usually seems like forever to get there goes by in minutes. I arrive at the beach and make my way closer to the water where we always spread our blanket and sunbathed. I slide off my shoes and brace myself for the warm sensation of the sand on my feet. I always loved the feeling of warm sand. This part of the beach was always our favorite because nobody ever came here, it was always so quiet and peaceful, just the sound of waves crashing. I sit down with my arms wrapped around my knees and set my chin onto my crossed arms. Was this all worth it? I can’t help but wonder if I made a mistake. Was this my fault? Maybe I shouldn’t have fell into my impulses. No. What am I thinking? How could I even second guess my love for her? I get angry at both our parents for even putting me in a position to think this way. Gaby made me happier than any man ever could or did and I wasn’t about to give that up for what because it’s wrong in our parent’s eyes. I get lost in the thought and then I feel a head rest on my shoulder that brings me back to reality. I look over slowly and see Gaby, her face red and eyes puffy. We both don’t speak for a while, enjoying each other’s company, and then I finally break the silence.

“What are we going to do?” I say softly.

“I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m not going to let anything separate us.”

“Gaby, if they send us away then we won’t have a choice.”

“Look, just because they might send us away doesn’t mean that we can’t write to each other or see each other again. It’s not like we’re going to be gone forever.” Gaby says. I always loved that she knew how to make me feel better.

“You’re right. Just because our parents say that it’s wrong doesn’t mean that it is. Our happiness is the only thing that matters, and I won’t let anyone, or anything come in between that.” I lean in slowly while placing my hand behind her head and drawing her into me, my lips touch her lips and instantly I feel as though everything is going to be okay. The feeling doesn’t last long though, and I hear a deep voice that startles the both of us. Gaby and I jump to our feet and turn around.

“Hey! What the hell do you two think you’re doing?! You thought that I wouldn’t find you?” A tall man with a deep voice yells as he approaches us quickly. I look over at Gaby and she’s just as scared and concerned as I am.

“Woah, excuse me, but who are you?” I say as I put my arms out, shielding the approaching man from Gaby.

“I’ve been sent here by your parents. I need you both to come with me, right now.”

“No! Leave us alone!” Gaby yells from behind me.

“Look, I don’t want to have to do this the hard way, so just comply with me.” The man says with such a confidence that I am scared what will happen if we don’t do what he says.

“Can you just stop this? We don’t want to go to boarding school okay! Just leave us alone!” I fire back, and to my surprise the man chuckles.

“Boarding school? Is that what you think this is about?” The man slowly reaches into his jacket and pulls out a gun. “Like I said girls. Lets. Go.” The gun is pointed directly at me, but in this moment I don’t care. Something comes over me and I feel angry, aggressive, and frustrated. How could our parents go to this length to scare us just for loving each other? The thought of our parents doing something this extreme just to keep Gaby and I apart instilled such a great anger in me that I was about to do whatever it took to protect her and I’s relationship. Even if that meant taking a bullet for her.

“You’re just trying to scare us, and it’s not going to work! I’m going to show my parents this and you’ll be screwed for threating us like this!” I yell at the man while simultaneously pulling out my phone and snapping a picture of him. Before I can say or do anything else, I hear the gun fire, I fall forward, and everything turns black.