my classmate peter didn't fit in he was
weak
introverted and poor often wearing the
same dirty shirt for days
but there was something about his eyes
they were sharp and clear
even when his classmates beat him up and
left his body covered in bruises
you could tell by his eyes that he
wasn't hurt he also didn't participate
in class
unless the teacher asked him to then he
would stand up give the correct answer
and sit down again
it was during summer break when i saw
peter lying on a field
i lied down next to him and asked how he
was he responded
i'm great it's just a beautiful day and
i stayed with him until sunset
don't you want to go home i don't think
my family wants me
you can't stay here through the night
why don't you come sleep at my home wow
thank you that would be awesome i
brought him home but my mom wasn't happy
she said why did you bring this bum here
look how dirty he is
well i made peter take a shower and then
i gave him my blanket so he could sleep
on my floor
but by the next morning he was already
gone i didn't see him again until school
started
and right during the first break the
other boys wanted to beat him up
but i went in between and told them to
stop leave him alone
he might be different but that doesn't
allow you to hurt him
good luck defending him little girl the
boy pushed me away so he could attack
peter but that's when i
peter but that's when i started screaming as loud as i could
i wasn't hurt but i pretended i was when
a teacher arrived i said
he smashed my head on the ground she's
lying don't believe her
seems like we have to call your parents
into school again
but i didn't do anything so you want to
tell me that this poor girl is lying
the teacher took the boy by his ear and
dragged him away
peter said thank you but i don't mind if
they beat me up
don't act silly you need some friends to
defend you
by the way you want to come pick
strawberries with me in the afternoon
i would love to do that well after we
had filled two baskets of strawberries
we sat down under a tree
it was the first time i realized that
peter was actually quite handsome
i said why are you so different and he
responded
i don't know but i liked how he was
different so i cuddled myself against
his shoulder
i felt comfortable with him because i
knew he didn't judge me
and when it got dark i asked can i give
you a kiss
he nodded and for a few seconds i felt
complete
afterward we became best friends often
walking through the fields and talking
about our futures
i was surprised when one day he told me
he wanted to move to the big city
he said school bored him and i should
follow him i said
we're only 15 and my parents would never
allow that
if they want the best for you they will
i don't think my parents would
understand
he didn't respond but the next day in
school his chair was empty so i went to
his home
his mother opened the door and looked
completely drunk she screamed
what do you want uh is peter here
no but if you show me where he is i'm
gonna give him a few slaps
peter had run away and left me behind i
was lonely and often wondered if peter
and i would ever see each other again
i wasn't sure but after i graduated high
school i moved to california to study
law
it was different than what i had
expected i missed the beautiful fields
in nature i had grown up with
and i also still thought about peter
we'd only been together for six months
when we were
15 but he was the only guy i'd ever
loved
of course i had other guys interested in
me in college but i found them
shallow and boring but to stop feeling
lonely i started dating michael
he was extremely ambitious and worked
all day which meant i didn't have to
talk to him much
we had been together for two years when
peter called me on my phone
he asked if he could meet me at a cafe
and of course i said yes
suddenly my hopes were up again maybe we
could get back together and be as happy
as we were in high school
when i first saw him it felt so right i
fell into his arms and hugged him for
minutes
of course he was as always blunt and not
interested in small talk
we sat down and he explained why he'd
come to visit me he said
i wanted to thank you for how you
protected me back in school growing up i
had no one who loved or cared about me
except you therefore i brought you a
gift he handed me a check that read
three hundred thousand dollars i said no
i don't want your money i want to know
how you are and what you're doing
well i'm mostly working and i'm good at
it
money doesn't mean much for me so i
brought you the check hoping it would
make your life a bit easier
are you happy i asked and he looked away
saying
i'm fine do you have a girlfriend no
i don't for a moment i was the happiest
girl in the world
i was sure he had come to get back with
me but why wasn't he asking me out
maybe he was too shy so i said do you
still like me
of course and have you ever thought
about us two getting back together
i have thought about it but i know it
wouldn't work out
my heart crumbled and i asked why not
you know i love you and you know i would
do anything for you
but i need a girl who is as smart as me
and understands me
if i was with you i would always feel
lonely and only drag you down
you can imagine how much his words hurt
even though he didn't mean it in a bad
way
he was just as blunt as always i said
well i want you to be happy too
but i couldn't hold back my tears don't
cry
you'll find a guy that makes you happy
well i didn't want to burden peter any
further so i smiled and said
of course i will find the right guy
someday even though i knew it was a lie
at the end he said just take the check
then he stood up
and left today i'm still with michael he
recently started talking about getting
kids
he doesn't seem to notice how unhappy i
am with him don't get me wrong
he's a great guy who treats me well so i
will give my best to make him happy
i know he deserves it