“So it’s yours and Charlie’s?”

He shook his head slowly.

“It’s my business. The second part of the name is for two people.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t work so well, so he turned away. I didn’t miss the way his hands moved across his face.

I felt so awful; I’d never seen Jacob this torn up, not even when I was leaving him, before. He turned back round to face me, and I saw him pulling a can of soda from a plastic bag. I smiled (somewhat half-heartedly) and took it from him. He managed a little tilt in the corners of his mouth in reply-but it wasn’t enough. What had happened to Jacob-my Jacob, the boy who’d been so happy, so full of life; they boy who’d (cliché though it sounds) lifted me up when I was down?

He took the other can from the bag, chucking the plastic on the floor. I watched the white crackling material float slowly down to the floor, to settle rather noisily on the oily, muddy ground. I noticed that Jake had sat down on a step near the car-I remembered how we used to sit in or by the Rabbit he used to build…

“Hey, that was the Rabbit outside, right?” His face lit up properly this time, and it made my heart lurch just a little bit. Well, more than just a little bit…

“I wondered when you would finally notice. After all that time we spent working on it…well, you watching me anyway,” He chuckled, nudging me playfully. I grinned back, wanting to continue the high spirit discussion, desperately searching my mind for something to discuss.

“I still have those motorbikes, as well, you know. Still running fairly well. We ride them sometimes, around the reservation…” His eyes widened, and he glanced down at me with something akin to fear in his eyes. I simply held his gaze, acting ignorant of whatever that slip of the tongue was about. I didn’t want to ruin this today; it was obviously something he didn’t really want to discuss.

“So, they’re still going strong then?” He visibly relaxed as it became obvious that I was not going to comment on whatever it was he almost said. He nodded, tipping his can vertically to get the last drops of soda that remained. I looked down at my can and smiled, placing it on the ground and looking outside.

I was back.