Jade

The ink of the newspapers was faded, a deluted look that gave the acient papers a sort of devine appearance. The white spaces in between the words was yellowing and moldy, the speckles of dusting lingering in the air above it, faintly showing dull pieces in the light that came through the windows. The headlines read, "YOUNG GIRL, AGE SIXTEEN, FOUND DEAD, JANE DOE."

"I've seen strange things, Jade." Ben whispered to the vacant air, "But never a Jane Doe they automatically know the age of. I guess autopsies are important." His pale skin was fluorescent in the black light. "I always imagined a deer with a name tag lying dead in a ditch."

"Don't get worked up kid." Ryan sighed at the stack of newspapers that sat on the old workbench. "Get up and help me get these into the truck. We have more papers to deliver today, it's Wednesday."

There were always more newspapers on Wednesday. It was the busy day. The day all of the rich folk living in the luxorious houses demanded their newspapers. For whatever reason, it was always on a Wednesday. Ben stood, folding the page of old newspaper into his back pocket and letting the rest drop to the ground, joining all of the other out-of-date papers that littered the floor of the old warehouse.

They hauled the stack into the truck and went around to the front. Ben always rode shot-gun, Ryan always drove. Ben struggled to open the stubborn door, the red paint chipping off under his fingernails, since there was no presence of a door-handle. Ryan hopped in the driver's side and unlocked the door. "Idiot." He muttered under his breath, before starting up the truck.

"I'm not an idiot." Ben argued, opening up the door and climbing in. "I'm just slow today."

"You're slow every day kid." He shifted gears, making the engine stall and backfire. "Shit. I hate this piece of scrap metal." He revved the engine, then pulled out of the large parking lot.

"Roll down the windows, it's hot."

"Yeah and it's also about to rain, so, that's a no-go on the window, buck."

It was true; the silver clouds over head were pushing past each other, like there was some prize for rain clouds on the other side of the sky. Everything was grey and gloomy, even the air appeared to have some sort of thickness to it that intantaneously made your mood drop when you walked outside. The flowers were hiding today.

Ben knew not to bring it up, but it was something he had to do. "It's my fifteenth birthday in two days." He shyly smiled, hiding his face in his palm. "Jade and I have an anniversary two day before-"

"Yeah. Happy early birthday kid." Ryan interjected, keeping off the topic of Jade. "I sadly won't be able to make it."

"Why not?" He couldn't keep himself from asking. Ben was easily distracted, and Jade would flow in and out of his mind so frequently it sometimes wasn't even worth talking about.

"I'm gonna join the navy." Ryan kept it simple, short, and clean. He didn't intend to go into deatail about his disparture with his family after Jade's death. But Ben somehow felt connected to him. Ryan was his girlfriend's brother, so it seemed he was always family to Ben.

"Do you want to go to the graveyard after work?" The sudden errupture of words spewed out of Ben's mouth, and he immediately shook with embarrassment after that words had escaped.

"I don't know. Sure. Why the hell not?" Ryan shrugged, turning the corner to the first street of the rich part of town.

The boys spent the rest of the day in silence. The awkwardness of the scenario- if Ben or Ryan would have been in the car with anybody else- not playing out. Ben tapped his fingers on the window while Ryan snuck out a cigarette, trusting Ben not to tell, but with some suspicion and skepticism. Although he was considered legal to smoke, his parents didn't appreciate him doing so all too much.

And a secret Jade had told Ben, but took with her to her grave, the leukemia, had destroyed the once happy family. Ryan's father became an alcoholic that wouldn't return home for two or three days, and his mother was committing adultery. Ben's family wasn't all fairytail princess either. Both had flaws, but Ryan's family was the only one Ben saw falling apart at the seams. So Ryan's only move was to move on.

After they had finished up work, the two practically pushed the truck back to the warehouse. Sweat covering their soaked faces.

"Did you know it was possible to sweat while you're being doused in polluted, acidic rain?" Ryan joked.

"Damn, can we head up to the Gand Hale Cemetary now? I have something I need to tell Jade."

Ryan shook his head. Ben was naive to think Jade was listening to his pathetic pleas to the afterlife. He knew his sister, and he knew she had moved on from their tragic lives. He just couldn't seem to grasp why Ben wouldn't give up. Where's this kid getting all this hope from?

"Yeah, man, but we better go before it gets late. I don't want your mom nerve-raging again." He smiled a true genuine smile for the first time in for what it's seemed like- years!

The boys hopped in Ryan's old Chevy and drove up to Grand Hale, hiking up the steep hill to where Jade's grave was located. Ben dropped to his knees and whispered a prayer, then opened them back up and smiled at the lettering on the grave.

"For our anniversary, I got you a ring." He whispered. He pulled out a little black ring box and placed it in front of the daisies they planted for Jade- her favorite flower. Ryan was too afraid to ask where he got the ring, but he knelt beside Ben and opened the box himself.

Sure enough, it was an engagement ring.