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  A Minute to Midnight

  Thomas Gomez

  Copyright 2012 by Thomas Gomez

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the author.

  First eBook Edition: January 2012

  The characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  To Nicole J.

  You inspired me, encouraged me

  and most of all, you helped me.

  You’ve helped me so many times

  but this time you helped

  me write a book.

  Without your help there would be

  gaps in the story line,

  shorter and less interesting chapters

  and there probably wouldn’t

  even be a story to read.

  You are such an amazing friend.

  I couldn’t thank you more.

  Table of Contents

  Preface

  Friends

  Knowing

  Confrontation

  Our First

  Pain

  Time

  Regret

  Intruder

  War

  Why?

  The End?

  Reunited

  Dear John

  Adjusting

  Chills

  Chapter Sixteen

  A Letter from the Author

  Acknowledgements

  “The important thing is

  not the object of love,

  but the emotion itself.”

  Gore Vidal

  Preface

  Time goes by, even when you can’t feel it moving. The clock never stops to wait for you, it just keeps ticking. Each tick of the clock is like another dagger to the heart, painful, excruciating. All you can do is wait. Wait for time to end and wait for the pain to cease. You begin to wonder if that will ever happen. You begin to realize that the faster the clock goes, the worse the pain becomes.

  Sleep becomes your only escape. You sleep as much as possible to avoid the pain of time. Though, sleep may save you from witnessing the moving time, it can’t save you from the dreams. The more time moves forward, the more intense the dreams become. You try to fight them off, but your body has weakened so much, all you can do is lay there and accept them.

  You stare off into space, watching nothing. When it rains you stare out the window, wondering why it can’t wash away all your mistakes. You stare at your food rather than eat it. You lay in the tub, soaking for hours at a time. Your body has become a lifeless corpse, but you don’t even bother to change it. You tell people you’re okay, but you never really mean it.

  Life goes on, while you stay behind.

  Friends

  “Sorry, Henry, I’ve really got to go check on something. Here, this should cover the bill.” John threw twenty dollars on the table as he stood up and gathered his belongings.

  We were at my favorite diner which he’d brought me to in honor of my twenty second birthday. He kept running off out of nowhere the last few days and I didn’t want him running off again in the middle of such an important breakfast. I was only turning twenty two once and I wanted him there with me.

  “No. Don’t leave! We were just barely started, and it’s my birthday, you should be here with me,” I spoke in disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, Henry. I really have to go; I need to check on… something.”

  “I’m tired of your excuses, John! When are you going to let me in on this secret of yours? You’ve left me in the dark for days now. Don’t you think it’s about time to shed some light on the situation?” I spoke with sincerity hoping he’d give in.

  “Sorry but I can’t. Don’t worry, you’ll find out what it is soon. Now I have to go. I can’t keep Cheyenne waiting.”

  “Cheyenne? Why are you going to see Cheyenne?” I questioned him harshly. Why did he need to see Cheyenne in the middle of our breakfast? Was our breakfast not as important to him as it was to me?

  “Ugh! I’ve said too much already. Just don’t worry about it and don’t call Cheyenne looking for answers! Now seriously, I have to go,” he spoke as he began walking backward toward the exit.

  “Fine, but you’ll have some serious explaining to do when I see you later!” I called to him as he walked away.

  I was beginning to get frustrated with this whole situation. He just kept up and running away every time we were together. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I was shocked he could even hide it from me. Normally he’d be struggling with his secret and he usually ended up telling me the truth within minutes. But this was different, he had kept this secret from me for a few days now and the running away was becoming even more frequent. I had to figure it out.

  “Is everything alright here, sir?” The waitress asked.

  “Yes, can I have the bill please?”

  “Here you go; you can pay upfront on your way out. Just hand them this bill along with the money.” She handed me a small bill and then began picking up the dishes left on the table.

  “Okay, thank you,” I said as I got up from the table.

  I walked to the front counter and handed the twenty John left me along with the bill the waitress gave me to the man behind the register.

  “Thank you sir, have a nice day,” the man answered as he handed me the change.

  “Thanks.”

  I grabbed the change and headed for the door. It was bright outside and slightly warm. The breeze felt good as it mixed with the warm air around me. The air held the smell of late spring. It was the smell of flowers and freshly cut grass emanating from Crest Lake Park. It was May, and Clearwater was always beautiful during spring, the usual for a Florida city. Cars drove by and people walked down streets. Clearwater was always in motion. Tourists from all parts of the world were always there, enjoying the beautiful scenery and perfect temperatures. It was the perfect getaway.

  I crossed the parking lot as I headed toward my car. I had a small black sedan. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a fairly new, comfortable car. I drove to my apartment building and parked.

  My apartment was on the fourth floor. I walked up the stairs and into my apartment. I sat my keys down on the table in front of the door and walked over to the couch in my living room. My apartment wasn’t much larger than others.

  The kitchen was the first thing you’d pass to your right as you walked in. Beside the kitchen, on the other side of a wall, was a small dining room. After the dining room came the living room with nothing but a couch separating the two. In front of the north wall was a big screen TV, and on the east wall was the door to the only bathroom in the apartment. Directly across from the bathroom, on the west wall, was the door to my bedroom.

  I sat down on the couch and kicked off my shoes. I pulled out my cell phone and began to send a text message to Brittney. She was a close friend of mine who was also very close to Cheyenne, which was exactly why I needed to talk to her.

  ‘Hey Brittney, Do you know what Cheyenne and John have been up to last few days? I can’t figure it out and I was hoping you’d be able to help.’

  I sat my phone down and waited for her reply. I flipped on the TV and began searching through the channels. As I was searching for something interesting to watch, Brittney replied to my message.

  ‘Sorry Henry, I can’t help you there. I promised them I wouldn’t tell.’

  I was beginning to get more and more frustrated. No one would tell me what was going on with John and I hated being the only one out of the loop. It seemed as if everyone knew except me. I sat the phone down and shut off the
TV. I was getting frustrated so I decided to take a nap. I lay back on the couch and got comfortable.

  I woke up to my phone ringing loud in my ear. I rubbed my eyes as I reached for my phone on the coffee table in front of me.

  “Hello?” I answered hoarsely.

  “Hey sleepy head, I’ve been trying to call you for twenty minutes now.”

  “John? What time is it?” I sat up as I spoke.

  “It’s nearly five already. Get up and meet me at the beach behind my condo.”

  “Right now… what for?” I questioned in curiosity.

  “I want to take a walk with you. Just get over here and don’t take too long,” he answered and then hung up on me.

  I lifted myself off the couch and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a cup of water and walked back to the living room to put on my shoes. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I figured it’d help me understand what John and Cheyenne had been up to. I hoped I wouldn’t have to wait any longer to find out. I grabbed my keys off the table in front of the door and left.

  I parked my car in the parking lot of John’s building and walked around back to the beach. I found John sitting on a rock by the water.

  “Hey, what exactly did you want me here for?”

  He turned to look at me before speaking, “I just wanted to take a walk down the beach with my buddy, that’s all.”

  “John, I'm really getting tired off all your sneaking around. Tell me what you’re doing, now!” I sounded frustrated as I spoke.

  “Whoa! Easy boy. No need to get all touchy,” he laughed and smiled as he mocked me.

  “Alright, sorry, now please. Tell me!”

  “Fine, but we have to walk. I feel like I need some exercise.” He smiled as he led me down the beach. We walked by the water for a minute before he began speaking. “Cheyenne and I were planning a surprise for you.”

  “A surprise… for me?” I seemed utterly confused. Normally John would just get me a gift and nothing else. Why was this year any different?

  “Yes, silly. A surprise for you, I mean it is your birthday right?”

  “Yeah it is, but normally all I got were gifts, never surprises.”

  “Well this year I thought I’d change things up a bit. But, of course, I couldn’t do it alone. I had to have Cheyenne help me plan it, just so it’d be perfect for you.”

  We came to a stop and I turned to look at him. “Thanks, that’s really sweet of you.” I couldn’t help but smile at him. He looked absolutely beautiful as the sun began to set behind him. I leaned in and wrapped my arms around him for a hug.

  “You’re welcome, but don’t just thank me. Thank Cheyenne too.”

  “I won’t forget to thank her when I see her. Speaking of which, where is she?”

  “She’s up in my condo getting the surprise ready. I want to make sure it’s extra perfect when you get there.”

  “So… does that mean the surprise is up in your condo?” I spoke slowly and slightly devious.

  “Yes? Why?”

  We stood there for a short moment looking at each other. Then I quickly turned around and began running toward his building. I wanted to see what the surprise was so badly, I couldn’t wait. But, of course, John came running after me.

  “No! Stop, come back here!” He yelled at me as he chased me. We only ran for a few yards before he grabbed me by the waist and lifted me into the air. Unfortunately, I weighed more than he thought and we both tumbled down to the ground rolling onto one another. We spread out across the sand and lay there for a minute to catch our breaths.

  “I want to know what it is. Can I please just have a little peek?” I begged.

  “No. It has to be perfect, and if you get a peek at it it’ll ruin the whole surprise.”

  “Ugh! Who cares! I want to see it!” I got onto my knees and began crawling toward the building.

  “Henry, stop!” He yelled at me.

  I stopped in my place, only four feet from where I began, and turned to look at him as I sat down and crossed my legs. “How long am I going to have to wait?”

  He sat up and turned to me, “not long. She was nearly done when I left.” His phone began ringing and he reached into his pocket to pull it out. “Hello?” He paused to let them speak. “Great, we’ll be right there.” He hung up and put the phone back into his pocket. He then stood up and let out his hand, offering to help me up. “It’s ready!” He smiled in excitement as he spoke.

  “Finally,” I took his hand and got up from the sand. We both patted the sand off our pants and shirts before continuing to walk.

  We took the elevator up to his room on the eighth floor. His apartment building was much more elegant than mine. It was the kind you’d expect to find out on the beach. We walked down the hall to his door and he paused before opening it. “Are you ready?”

  “Just open the door already, the suspense is killing me!” I cried.

  He opened the door and allowed me to walk in first.

  “Okay? Its pitch black in here how am I supposed to be surprised if I can’t even see the surprise?” I stated sarcastically.

  Suddenly the lights came on and everyone inside screamed ‘happy birthday.’ I never would have suspected the surprise to be a party because I had never had a real birthday party before. Usually they were just family and friends over for cake and presents. But this party was amazing. He had gotten every detail perfect. Just the way I would have wanted it to be.

  There were purple and gray streamers hanging across the ceiling. The center of the floor was cleared and ready for dancing. There was a table setup to the left of me with cake and presents galore. All my friends and co-workers were there to celebrate, each in their own party hat. Some held ribbons and others used noise makers to add to the fun. There was even a DJ there that began my favorite song after they all greeted me. It was more perfect than I expected and I couldn’t have been happier.

  “Oh my goodness John… this party is… perfect!” I spoke slowly, trying to process it all at once.

  He chuckled at my astonishment. “I don’t know about perfect but it sure is nice,” he smiled sarcastically.

  I turned to him and gave him a huge bear hug. “Thank you so, so, so much! This really means a lot to me.”

  “Okay, okay, you’re welcome; now, go say hello to all of your guests.”

  I let go of him and smiled as I walked away. I was so happy words couldn’t begin to describe. I walked over to Cheyenne and Brittney by the cake and greeted them. “Thanks a lot for helping him, Cheyenne. It means so much to me, really.”

  “Awe… you’re welcome Henry. It’s the least I could do for you; you’ve been an amazing friend all these years.”

  “Yeah, well your amazing friend tried to get me to spoil the surprise earlier!” Brittney proclaimed sarcastically.

  “Henry! Has no one ever told you that patience is a virtue?” Cheyenne teased.

  “Ha-ha. I was just mad that I was the only one left out,” I smiled as I spoke.

  I began walking around and speaking to all the other guests. I greeted them all and thanked them for coming to the party. They asked how I was and how things were with John. I assured them that everything was normal between the two of us. As I walked around the room I found myself stopping to talk to John by the table with food and drinks.

  “Hey, thanks again for all of this. It’s amazing.”

  “Don’t mention it,” he smiled the most beautiful smile I’d seen in a while. I found myself distracted by his features and beginning to stare.

  “Henry? Henry!”

  “Whoa! Sorry, I spaced out for a minute there.”

  He laughed and smiled. “Go figure. You know you might want to pay a little more attention when you’re talking to someone,” he teased.

  At that moment the lights went down and someone turned on a pair of strobe lights. Then the DJ began playing my favorite song to dance to and I just couldn’t resist. “I love this song! Dance with me, please?” I begged childishly.
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  “No. Come on Henry, you know I hate dancing.”

  There was nothing more John hated than dancing. He probably wouldn’t even dance if his life depended on it. I knew it’d be hard to get him to dance with me but it was my birthday and I had to get him out there.

  “Please? It’s my birthday, John. Do it for me?” I smiled.

  “Ugh! Wasn’t this party enough for you? Or couldn’t we at least do something else together?” He whined.

  “No. This is what I want to do with you… please?” I gave him the puppy face and hoped it would guilt him into doing it.

  “Fine, but I’m doing this for you so you owe me.”

  “Sure, I owe you, whatever. Just as long as I can get you out there with me.”

  I pulled him out to the dance floor and noticed that everyone around us was watching with wide, curious eyes. I pulled him out to the center and began dancing while he just stood still staring at me. After a moment I paused and looked at him with fire in my eyes.

  “Are you going to dance or not?”

  “Do I have to?” He whined like a baby.

  “Yes!”

  Suddenly I heard a few people in the room begin to chant ‘dance, dance, dance.’ Then everyone else began to join in until the whole room was chanting together. John began to blush as he grew embarrassed, but finally he began to dance. The crowd cheered and everyone started laughing. “You see. It’s not so bad once you get into it. Just let loose and have fun.”

  “Don’t start Henry, don’t start.” He said sounding mad though you could clearly hear his laughter hidden behind the anger.

  We danced until the song ended and when we were done I thanked him and walked over to Cheyenne and Brittney.