I was never really good at talking to people. My heart would beat with nervousness whenever I had to go to talk to a cashier at a store by myself without the safety net of my parents.
My mind would be filled with anxiety and dread throughout the school year when people would talk to me. The entire year stretched out as a gauntlet of casual conversations that felt anything but casual. Simple questions—What’s your name? What’s your favorite animal?”What do you like to do for fun?—that hung in the air like traps, waiting to shut.
I froze, standing there quietly twiddling my thumbs, my eyes avoiding theirs—hoping they’d leave.
My life was like this for most of middle school.
Most of my problems came from one thing: not being able to talk to people.
Not just people, if that’s what you’re thinking.
People.
That wasn’t the case with Ivy though. Every time I talked to people besides her—it felt like I was walking on thin ice that could break at any time with the wrong word(s). A single misplaced word could send me tumbling, ruining any hope of a connection before it even began.
Then all of a sudden—the ice turned into solid ground. Ivy stood on the other side, waving with her obsidian and mint hair shining underneath the sun that caused me to catch my breath in my throat.
“Hey, Wyatt,” the words flowed like silk from her mouth. Her soft voice cut through the thoughts that spiraled inside of my mind like a knife through hot butter.
I’d spent years perfecting the craft of blending in—remaining silent. Letting the silence talk for me. Yet when she talked…
“Hey, Ivy, did you do last night’s homework?” I asked her, knowing she probably didn’t do it either.
I couldn’t help but respond. Her words weren’t traps. They felt like gifts, escaping her lips before I could second guess them. Conversations came as easily as breathing.
Don’t ask me why. I don’t know why.
I wonder if she feels the same way…
It’s been a bit since the incident with the group projects and the learning of his parents’ passing. He’s a strange boy.
But that’s okay. I’ve learned that no matter how weird or strange he may be, his heart’s in the right place.
He’s the first real “friend” I’ve had in a while. Well, Daren was for a bit until I learned about his true intentions.
I began to walk back to the classroom after Wyatt had opened himself up to me. I took him for a dopey guy, a guy who just liked to talk and go out into town—have a good time—but it turns out he’s the same as me.
He’s being strong in a world that’s been nothing but pain.
I don’t think I could ever wish that on anyone.
I love my dad, he’s a funny guy. We used to go out all the time before she got involved. I
love him more than anything—I couldn’t imagine living without him.
My stepmom though… I don’t wish anything to happen to her but I can’t stand her. Every little thing I do—she criticizes it. She judges me without even getting a chance to know me and she hates me. She’s ruined my dad too, he won’t do anything with me because he’s afraid of losing another wife—another mother—for me.
But Wyatt has no one.
I begrudgingly made it back to the class, where everyone turned their heads towards the door when it creaked as I slowly opened it.
“What?” I bucked towards them, waiting for someone to step up and say something.
The room was eerily silent. A dread hanging over the room, halting anyone’s attempt at a conversation as even the teacher was quiet—fiddling with her hair.
Alyssa chewed on her gum, blowing a bubble and letting it pop—echoing through the silent classroom. Daren had his face turned in the window’s direction, avoiding my eyes.
I inched to my desk. Slowly. Taking in the gazes of everyone around me.
I looked at the empty seat as I sat down.
“Wyatt left before I did, didn’t he? Where is he?” I asked myself, confused.
I pulled out my phone from my right pocket. I hovered over the messages icon, debating whether or not to send the message. My stomach twisted in knots as I argued with myself over what to do. I wanted to be there for him, when someone needed him the most. But after everything—
Could I?
My breath hitched in my throat as I was caught between fear and hope. A rock and a hard place.
But why would I not? He’d do it for me in a heartbeat.
I began typing the message.
“Where are you?” I typed on the keyboard before pressing the up arrow to send the message.
DING
My phone vibrated in my pocket as I made my way to the school nurse.
I wiped my nose on my sleeve before stepping into the infirmary. She ushered me into her small office space.
“What’s up?” She smiled gently, her wrinkles tightening ever so slightly. Her long, curly, silver hair ran down to the middle of her lab coat. Her lab coat was in near pristine condition. I spotted the school’s emblem on her breast pocket as she moved her hand to grab a pen from it. Her face that’s been aged by time itself and firm posture indicated that she was probably in the military when she was younger. Her presence was soft yet tough, loving but annoyed.
That’s what a job like this will do to you.
“I—” I sniffled before continuing, “I’m having some mental health issues right now, am I able to head home for the day?” I requested, realizing how cowardly the words sounded when they slipped through the cracks.
Her face scrunched up for a split second, appraising the recently wet spots underneath my eyes, the liquid that had dripped from my nose, my bloodshot eyes that told a silent story of loss and sorrow. She saw right through me, her gaze going past just the exterior but my soul.
Her eyes doted on me like a worried mother, a mother who’s learned her son is hurting.
“Yeah, we can do that,” she handed me a tissue.
“Thank you,” I didn’t know why but I couldn’t make it through the school day today. The thoughts and memories of my parents lingered on my mind more than usual, making me lose focus of everything around me, it even made breathing difficult.
She nodded and picked up the phone. She searched up my file and called my grandma from the emergency contacts.
“Yes, this is Doctor Hasol from Green Meadows High School. I’m calling about Wyatt—”
She spoke on the phone with grammy for a brief moment before pressing the button on the phone, ending the call.
“She’ll be here in 15 minutes. You can wait over there,” she pointed over at the rubber beds with a large thick piece of white paper over it, like the ones at the orthodontist. I sat down and closed my eyes.
Thinking of a simpler time. When I wasn’t as guarded as I was now. When I had friends I could rely on.
Well, at least I have one true friend by my side.
I touched my phone in my pocket.
I grabbed my phone and opened it once more to see that Wyatt hadn’t even read the text. A wave of frustration washed over me as I asked myself,
Why do I care so much about whether or not he responded?
Why do I care so much about having friends?
I thought to myself as I grabbed my backpack off of the ground, walking to the office to meet my Grandma.
She smiled weakly at me, knowing the situation most likely. Her face had a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Maybe that’s what I looked like to Kendall.
“You all good to go, Wyatt?” She asked.
“I’m good,” I patted myself down to make sure I had everything.
We walked out of the building after waving goodbye to the staff that was in the office at that point in time. She started the car, the engine roaring to life. I opened the passenger side door and scooted into the seat.
“I know,” she offhandedly mentioned.
I looked down at my feet. Pondering on the encounter I had with Ivy, whether or not that was a leap forward or back in our relationship.
She’s guarded, for good reason. I just don’t know how I can help her let me in. All I want is for this sadness to be over, for us to bond over something fun for once. Like the arcade.
I want to let him in. I want to talk to him about my problems. I want to be there for him.
But I can’t.
I can’t be there for him if I can barely be there for myself. We’re both alone. Lost in our
lives—surviving when all we want to do is live; live like there’s no tomorrow.
“It’s hard. Waking up in a house that we shared. Waking up alone in the middle of the night, sweating, tears coming from your eyes from nightmares of that night or dreams of them still being here,” I spouted—kicking my feet together as Grammy drove down the road I’m all too familiar with.
“How do you handle it—” I was interrupted by the quiet sound of her sniffling. Tears were softly trickling down her face as she couldn’t hold them back anymore.
“I take it one day at a time—” she wiped her face with her sweater.
“What do you mean?” I inquired.
“You’re probably thinking about having them back. Having them sitting next to you when you wake up in the morning, eating breakfast as a family once again but the truth is that we can’t do that anymore. A truth we don’t want to face but it doesn’t change anything. They’re gone and there isn’t anything we can do about that but they wouldn’t want us stuck on them, to stop living our lives because they’re gone,” the droplets from her eyes cascading down her face once more, “he was my son and I considered her my daughter. I loved those two more than life itself, just like I love you more than life itself but they’re in a better place now. And it’s been difficult but you can take it one day at a time. Don’t feel like you need to deal with it all right now—that’ll just stress you out even more,” she finished.
“You’re right,” I looked out the window and was surprised to see that we had already gotten to my house.
“Don’t let it scare you. You’re strong, Wyatt. Stop being sad and go enjoy yourself. Make friends, find love, do something besides mope around,” Grandma kissed my forehead before I hopped out of the car.
She’s right. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want me wallowing in my own despair—to drop everything and be sad.
They appeared in front of me.
“Mom, Dad,” I exhaled heavily, “I love you guys. More than anything—” I felt the tears trying to escape again. I inhaled and closed my eyes, composing myself,
“But I need to move on. You’ll be with me, forever and always but you’ll be with me while I’m living the best life I can, while I’m enjoying school with Kendall, Leo, and Ivy. While I’m going to the arcade with Ivy, when Leo and I crush the competition in dodgeball in PE,” I laughed a half-hearted laugh, “while we teach Kendall things about our country. While I grow up…” We locked eyes. They stared at me for a brief moment. Their eyes were blank and dead. Then all of a sudden, they lit up—like they had been waiting for those words.
Their arms wrapped around me. I couldn’t physically feel their arms but I felt their hug regardless.
Their love and care.
I felt them.
I walked into my house and set the backpack on the hook that was hanging from the back of the door. I trotted up the stairs and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes then made my way to the bathroom.
After my shower, I went to my room and crashed onto the bed.
KNOCK KNOCK
I shot up, abruptly. The knock on the front door startled me awake—it’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone visit. I slipped my feet into my slippers and made my way downstairs as the knocking intensified.
“HOLD YOUR HORSES! I’M COMING!” I yelled from the top of the staircase. I ran down the stairs, skipping every other stair like I used to do in middle school.
I opened the door to be met by the sun beaming down onto my doorstep like a divine being had appeared before me. The brilliant rays of light blinded me for a brief moment until my eyes finally adjusted from the darkness of my home to the radiance of outside. I was rendered speechless when I ultimately saw who it was.
“I never expected you to be here,” I greeted them.
“Yeah, neither did I but you never responded,” Ivy held up her phone, the screen facing me on our texts.
“I’m sorry, I was asleep,” I yawned.
“Save it. That’s not the only reason I’m here,” on cue, Theo, Leo, Kendall, and Alexis made their way up the stone stairs that led to my front door.
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“It’s been awhile since we’ve been to his house, huh? Obviously, not this one, but you know,” Alexis clung to Theo’s arm.
“About 2 years. Back in Pocnes Lakes,” he was lost in thought, reminiscing memories from when we would play board games, eat dinner, hang out in the shed out back we called our “dude cave”.
“Yep but what about you two?” I glanced at Leo and Kendall.
“We’re your friends too,” Kendall spoke as regal as ever.
“Yep,” Leo had adorned his worn out black tank top that had seen much better days.
“They decided to gang up on me and beg me until I came along,” Ivy crossed her arms.
“All 4 of them?” I asked her.
“No. Kendall sought me out in PE, with Leo in tow. Alexis and Theo, um,” she paused before resuming, “Alexis and I exchanged phone numbers when we were at the Diner. We’ve been talking for a few days now and they wanted to know how you were doing. So I decided to ask them if they wanted to tag along,” she responded.
“A lot for someone who doesn’t consider me a friend,” I was slowly closing the door.
“I meant what I said. Back at school. For now, I’ll be your friend,” She had her hand on the, preventing it from closing.
I sighed. I let go of the door.
“So what exactly are you doing?”
“We’re going bowling!” Leo shouted for the entire neighborhood to hear.
Kendall looked around, noticing the absences of cars in the driveway.
“Are both of your parents at work, Wyatt?” She asked, oblivious.
A ping. An arrow pierced through my heart with those words. Ivy’s eyes widened as she realized what Kendall asked. All of the feelings, the pain, everything began bubbling to the surface—
“Yeah, I met his parents before—they’re very hard workers,” Ivy cut off the thoughts in my mind. I looked over at her to be met with a knowing nod.
A smile from a friend.
“LET’S GO BOWLING!” I yelled, Leo whooping in the background.
Kendall whistled and her chauffeur appeared within seconds.
“Yes, ma’am?” He asked her, bowing down.
“Will you be a dear and fetch the limo?” She politely asked him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he disappeared around the corner.
Minutes later, the eggshell-white limousine rolled up, its impossibly long body stretching into the horizon like a gleaming serpent. The polished surface caught the sunlight, casting a dazzling glare that pierced directly into my eyes.
“Gah!” I muttered.
We all ran into the limo, leaving behind our common sense on my front doorstep.
The black leather seats extended into the end of the limo. The floor lit up by rainbow lights, shifting, changing to the beat of the soft music that played through the speakers on the ceiling. The atmosphere felt surreal, like we had stepped into a different world. A slap to all of us that we’re broke. It was a little over the top for going to a bowling ally but—
“MIGHT AS WELL GO IN STYLE!” Alexis hollered, lifting up her wine glass filled with apple cider.
We all lifted ours up in unison and clinked our glasses together.
“HELL YEAH!” Ivy yelled over the music, downing her drink in one fell swoop.
The music drowned out my thoughts, providing a much needed distraction. Theo sat in the corner, inspecting the candy in the glass bowl that was on the table across from the onyx leather seats.
“What’s up?” I dodged a stray Alexis who was dragging Ivy to her to dance and sat down next to Theo.
“Oh—!” He dropped the candy he was stuffing into his pockets.
“Oh! I didn’t even notice that,” I laughed softly.
“Well, it’s not for me. I just saw all of this and thought I could bring some home for Savanna—” He turns his head to me. We stare at each other for a moment.
“She misses you, you know. The little tea parties and when all of us,” he gestured to Alexis, who was dancing around a stiff Ivy, with her hair frazzled and her face beaming and red, “would play hide and seek,” he chuckled.
“I know, but I think this was the best option for me. I couldn’t stay there,” I fought with myself in my head. Theo was—is—my best friend. I think he should know but this isn’t the right place.
I walked away and sat next to Leo who was staring at Kendall. The guys were on one side while the girls were on the other side of the limo, although I’m not sure why. Leo and Theo were hanging out alone, doing their own things.
Leo had a look of a hopeless romantic. I watched him as he never took his eyes off Kendall, her laugh booming. Her face beaming. Leo stared at her with a smile on his face. He fidgeted with his hand, internally debating if he should go sit with them.
“Oooooh—“ I poked him in the ribs.
“Ouch!” He turned to me with a look of embarrassment. His face was as red as a tomato when he realized what I was ‘Ooooh’ing.
After teasing him for a while longer, I joined the party. Alexis and I were dancing our hearts out, our bodies swaying to the rhythm. She waltzed over to Theo and grabbed him by the hand. She dragged him off the seat and ushered him over to us. He nervously moved side to side, having no soul in his body. HIs movements were rigid and bland, overall boring.
“Come on, Theo, put your back into it!” I shouted, dancing horribly myself but at least I didn’t look like a robot or someone was holding me hostage like him and Ivy.
The journey there didn’t take too much longer. On the way there, Alexis, me, Kendall, and Leo all sang our hearts out in karaoke as the others covered their eyes because our singing was absolutely horrendous. Laughter filled the air, replacing the dread that had taken over our lives recently.
I wanted to be happy and I wanted to have fun, being here with my friends. So much has happened—robbing us of any happiness that we were given. Alyssa, homework, nervousness, anxiety, fear, all of it had become normal. We were all so afraid and swamped with other duties that we never stopped and smelled the roses. We never told ourselves that it was okay to take a break—to put everything down and enjoy the now.
Well, now we will enjoy ourselves.
“HIT THE NEXT SONG!” I pointed to Ivy, who was sitting next to the karaoke machine. She rolled her eyes with a small smirk as she pressed next on her phone.
“I THREW A WISH—”
Not much later, we finally skidded to a stop. The chauffeur walked around the long exterior, holding the door open as we all exited the limo.
“I forgot we were going bowling,” I said, stretching when my feet touched the concrete.
“So did I,” Alexis walked out after me, her and Theo’s arms wrapped together.
“Stop, I’m gonna die, you’re so cute,” I playfully swatted the air, covering my mouth with my other hand.
“I might actually die,” Ivy crawled out of the limo.
“Aw, come on, we’re not that bad,” Alexis retorted.
“I think you guys make a cute couple,” Kendall elegantly strutted out of the limousine behind Ivy.
“Yeah, me too,” Leo bashfully ducked under the doorframe.
We finally all got out of the limousine. Kendall whispered to her chauffeur, waving him off. He got into the limo and drove away. We looked at the retro bowling alley that towered over us, like we were ants. It had a feel similar to the diner—that the outside world had nothing over this place. We walked through the door to be hit in the face by the smell of fries and pizza. The aroma of fresh food drifted into our nostrils as Leo’s mouth hung open—drool included.The bowling alley was illuminated with a vibrant array of colors, dazzling like a burst of fireworks yet still dimly lit. It brought the place to life, and the other patrons who were laughing and cheering away.
Away from the realities that we call life.
We procured our bowling shoes and a bowling lane. Our large group walked over to Lane 4 and sat on the couches that were there. The couch's leather crunched, providing a much needed seat to those of us who stood or squatted the whole time in the limo.
“So, Kendall, what’s the deal with the limo?” Alexis pointed her spork at her with chili on her face from the chili cheese fries she ordered before we sat down.
“Oh, that’s right,” she got up and started getting into a bowing position. I stood up and put my hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t need to bow to us,” I smiled at her, remembering her old habits.
“It feels warranted. This is my first time meeting her,” she replied.
“If you feel that way,” I sat back down, leaning my head on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
She grabbed the sides of her shirt and bowed forward.
“I am Princess Kendall Oliver of the Caso Islands, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she stood up.
“Oh, you’re a literal princess—” Alexis’s mouth hung open, like someone had told her Dynalife was going off sale.
“Caso Islands?” Theo butted in, next to Aleixs, “aren’t they the main source of Pineapple for—” He muttered so fast none of us could keep up with a word he said.
“Yes, we are,” Kendall answered.
“I thought so—” He kept pestering her with questions about her home country, much to our surprise she answered with no hesitation.
The rest of us waited for the bowling balls to come out and Alexis faced us, making an intriguing offer.
“Whoever scores the least in the frame, has to,” she put her finger to her face, tapping it against her chin, “The loser has to answer a silly truth question or do a goofy dare. Keep it light,” she skipped over to the ball rack and plucked a plum bowling ball. She put her index and middle finger into the top two slots and then her thumb into the bottom one. She backed up to the couch, next to us, before bolting ahead—slinging the ball onto the waxed wood with a giant thud. It rolled, we all watched in suspense as it was on a trajectory straight through the middle. We all thought it was going to be a strike.
Suddenly, the ball curved right and into the gutter. She turned around, her jaw dropped—she shouted,
“THAT’S NOT FAIR! YOU GUYS SAW THAT!”
“The wager was your idea,” Ivy nonchalantly walked past her. She picked up the clementine ball, holding it from underneath. She sauntered to the lane and rolled it underhand.
“STRIKE!!!” A little animation appeared on the Jumbotron above, where the pins were smiling as they all danced with the bowling ball.
Alexis stared in shock and awe. We all snickered as Ivy sat down, aloof.
“Hell yeah!” I got up and grabbed a bowling ball.
For some weird reason, all of the urges to not talk—the urge to shut myself off from the world disappeared whenever I was around Ivy.
The me who broke out of my shell comes back, the me who wants to actually communicate.
I twirled on my heels like a ballerina, upping the showmanship—garnering a few laughs from the people closest to me. The ball left my hands, gliding across the wood. After a few excruciating moments, it finally made it down to the pins. It smacked into the middle one with a clunk, knocking over all but one.
I sighed, mumbling underneath my breath—
“I can’t believe Ivy did better than me…” I lazily threw the ball into the last pin, getting myself a spare.
“It’s okay, Wyatt. Not everyone’s as great as me,” Ivy facetiously replied, patting me on the shoulder.
I sighed, plopping down onto the open space next to her.
After the first frame, the one with the lowest score was…
“Alexis, you are the lowest scorer for the first frame,” Kendall moved over to her, sitting
down right beside her.
“Yeah, I know,” she sighed.
“As the highest scorer… Ivy! You get to ask her the question or the dare,” Kendall motioned towards Ivy.
“Alright. Truth or Dare?” Ivy asked Alexis.
“Dare,” She replied.
Ivy smirked, resting her head on her hand for a brief moment. Then it hit her.
“Alright, Alexis,” she leaned forward dramatically, “the next person who rolls a strike, you have to go up to them and confess your undying love to them—very dramatically.”
Alexis groaned, her face already flushing, “Are you kidding me?!”
“Not at all,” Ivy rested her head on her head in mock innocence, “and you have to make it very convincing.”
We all looked forward to who would roll the next strike—none of us rolled badly on purpose, that would ruin the game but it was a while into the second frame when Kendall finally rolled a strike. She looked around, keeping an eye out for Alexis. However,
“Oh, Kendall!” She shouted on one knee, with over-the-top flair. She grabbed Kendall’s hand,
“Oh, Kendall, how elegantly you roll! Your bowling prowess has won over my heart! Oh, say you’ll roll with me forever!” she declared this loud enough for the entire bowling alley to hear which was drowned out by the sudden burst of laughter from our group.
“Okay, okay, I get it!” Kendall snatched her hand away, giggling—trying her best to stifle her laughter; to no avail.
Alexis gave an exaggerated bow to us, smirking before heading back to her seat, “Satisfied?” she asked Ivy.
“Very,” she was still grinning from ear to ear, her body shaking from suppressing her laughter, “you were born for acting, Alexis.”
“Please, don’t tell that to my mom. She’d put me back into theatre in a heartbeat,” Alexis chuckled.
The rest of the frames flew by with similar dares and questions of really no importance or just fun ones. The bowling alley was nearly empty at this point as we had been there for hours, enjoying each others’ company—occasionally forgetting about the bowling completely and talking to each other in small cliques. Until it was Ivy’s turn to answer a question—I’m pretty sure she missed on purpose but alas, she came in last.
“Alright, Ivy. As the highest scorer, truth or dare?” Alexis walked over to Ivy, placing her hand on her shoulder—laying her head on her hand that rested on Ivy’s shoulder.
“I’m an open book. Truth,” she cocked her head, face to face with Alexis. The air crackled with anticipation, something in the air sent shivers down my spine—something unsaid.
“Did you like Daren?” Alexis hastily asked.
The area we were in suddenly grew quiet—every side conversation halting. The shift in the air became uncomfortable but yet all of us couldn’t stave off our curiosity. Not a single one of us made a move—nor did we make eye contact—as we awaited an answer. Or well, most of us.
“What kind of question—” Leo butted in. He was honestly the last person I had expected to butt in.
“It’s fine, Leo. I’m more curious as to how she knew about that,” Ivy stated, calmly.
“I have friends in that class but it wasn’t meant to be rude. I, really, was just curious. A childhood friendship turned serious is just so romantic—”
“He was just a friend,” her eyes flickered to me ever so quickly, “I never had romantic feelings for Daren. Everything was platonic,” she tapped her finger on the leather edge of the couch.
The rest of the time at the bowling alley went off without a hitch, occasionally interrupted by the sudden outburst of shouts and cries of anguish as we were subjected to weird but light dares and answered questions which usually pertained to our love lives and our lives in middle school.
Night rolled onto us, cutting our time short as high schoolers with curfews. Well, besides me. You know why. Though honestly, I didn’t see much point in being out at night, either. We all climbed into the limo, the soft hum of the engine filling the silence as the chauffeur took it upon himself to drive each of us home. He’d always wait until we were safely inside before pulling away—a rare display of patience and care in a world that often lacked it.
By the time we reached Ivy's and my stop, the limo was practically empty. She leaned toward Kendall, whispering something I couldn’t catch. Kendall glanced at me, gave Ivy a knowing nod, and moved as far away from us as possible, claiming a spot by the window.
Ivy slid back over, the leather seat creaking softly under her weight as she settled beside me.
“I wanted to ask you something but with all of them,” she chuckled shyly—which was rare. Ivy usually thrived in confidence, having a natural play on words that made her words flow smoothly. Effortless.
“What is it?” I replied, skeptical.
“Do you ever…” she hesitated, mulling on her words, “get tired of pretending?” She locked eyes with me—her gaze unwavering and curious. Soft. She was fiddling with her sleeve—a habitat I noticed she has when she gets nervous.
“Pretending what?” I remarked.
“Being strong—” she stopped, thinking on her next words, “pretending like you don’t care,” she looked out of the windows, watching the pavement pass as she waited for my response.
“I’m not pretending I don’t care and I’m not claiming to be strong,” I retorted, the conviction sounding weaker than I intended.
“Maybe, not all the time,” she smiled a weak, knowing smile against the glass. She leaned back into the seat and turned to face me. Our eyes danced in a waltz of mystery, like two strangers who spotted each other from across the bar—debating on what they’re going to do, how they’ll talk to them.
The limo slowed as we neared her house. She looked out the window at her house then back at me.
“Thanks for tonight. You… didn’t seem like you were sad tonight,” she clambered out of the car in a hurry.
She stopped halfway down the sidewalk leading to her house. Just as the limo was about to take off…
“See you tomorrow,” she spoke, her voice light, as if nothing had happened.
My heart raced, and my stomach churned with something unfamiliar—something I wasn’t ready to name. Butterflies, maybe? Weak knees? Dry mouth? It was frustrating, maddening, and I hated it.
No, I told myself. It wasn’t like that. We’d only met a few weeks ago. There’s no way I could already—
I shook the thought away, trying to ignore the lingering warmth of her voice in my mind.
Because something happened.
I’m just not sure what.