I struggled to get Blake out of my thoughts when I tried to do my history homework. I couldn’t believe that I skipped half of school today.
Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ played through my earphones, and I wondered what Blake would sound like singing this song.
The bracelet popped into my mind. I got up from behind my desk and reached under the bed, taking out the tin box.
Inside was the black, dusty leather bracelet, identical to the one around his wrist.
How is this possible? Is it a sign? A sign of what, Elena?
I didn’t want to foresee what would happen down the line. Afraid that he was making promises he wouldn’t be able to keep.
I’d sent him my number, but he hadn’t texted me anything yet.
Stop thinking about him! Do your homework.
I carried on with the history assignment, and around six, Dad called me down for dinner.
I didn’t know how to act. Afraid if I showed him I was okay, he might put two and two together. Afraid that I might not pull off anger because of this buzzing feeling I had in the pit of my stomach.
I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. I was giddy to see Blake again.
Dinner was quiet, and I had to force myself away from the table, not helping in the kitchen, as my anger usually lasted about a month before I spoke to Dad more than three sentences.
My feet slouched to my room.
“Elena!”
Crap.
I turned around and looked back at my father. He just stared at me and I shrugged.
“I’m sorry about this boy. But believe me when I say it’s for the best.”
I huffed, nodded, and turned around. He let me go.
I closed the door and fell on my bed. The fan on the ceiling with the lights cluttering the middle kept spinning. I worried about tomorrow. Being absent from half of today’s classes would bite me in the ass.
Fuck! What if they phone Dad and tell him I was skipping classes. He’ll skin me alive and then hunt down Blake. That’s for sure.
I cleaned the leather bracelet with a damp cloth and put it in my bag.
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it. A smile spread over my lips when I saw it was from him.
I opened it.
Crap, there were like five messages already. Why didn’t I see them?
“Why are you ignoring me?”
“Sorry, I wasn’t. Had dinner and had to do my homework.”
“What homework? You weren’t in class today.”
“Yeah, I wonder whose fault is that.” My fingers glided over the keys.
We texted for a long time about music. What I liked, and he sent me a few links to music he liked.
The boy had style.
I didn’t send him Fix You. That song was beautiful, but also sad and he might read too much into it.
A knock came at the door and I shoved my phone underneath my pillow and grabbed my sketch pad, pretending that I was working on a drawing just before Dad opened the door.
“It’s almost ten, Elena. Lights out.”
“Just finishing here.” I lifted my drawing pad.
“Okay,” he muttered with a soft curl at the corner of his mouth. “Good night.”
“Night,” I mumbled, and he closed the door.
His footsteps stomped through the hallway to his room and when his door closed, I grabbed my phone and texted Blake that my dad was just saying goodnight.
We said goodnight a few minutes after that.
I struggled to sleep. I was way too high. It felt as if I consumed some sort of love drug and couldn’t get it out of my system.
I never felt like this before, and I kept touching my lips. My first kiss was everything I’d ever imagined. Okay, not everything. I didn’t want it in the shady spot of the woods, but it sure was magical.
I couldn’t explain it. There was some sort of current running from his lips to mine, and the worst part was that I had no kisses to compare it with.
I closed my eyes as I listened to some of Blake’s music choices. He loved the Goo Goo Dolls, Imagine Dragons, and his favorite was from a band called Mumford and Sons. It sounded a lot like Dad’s music, but the words tugged on my heartstrings when I listened to the lyrics and, with that, I drifted away into the unknown.
I woke up early the next morning, pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt with my parka. I looked at myself in the mirror. Why me? I’m no Chloë Bishop. She’s beautiful; I’m—what was I. I knew I wasn’t Blake Leaf material, and the fear gnawed on the pit of my stomach that he would move on when he discovered just how boring my life was.
I sighed, pinched my cheeks and put on some lip gloss before I grabbed my bag and went downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal.
Dad was still in his room, but the kitchen light was on. The coffee machine had finished with the first cycle, and I poured myself a cup and grabbed a bowl of cereal and milk.
Dad mumbled his morning, and I smiled at him and said mine.
We had breakfast together, and after he dropped me off at school.
My heart stammered as I climbed out of the truck and didn’t see Blake anywhere. Maybe he was afraid of Dad.
His truck drove away, and I waved.
Great, Elena, make it more conspicuous, won’t you?
I watched his truck drive through the gate and then head toward the entrance. Chloë terrified me and I didn’t want to find out what she had in store for me today. Yesterday’s serenade couldn’t have gone down sweet.
Crap! I plopped my bag down on the nearest bench and sat down, rubbing my face as I leaned back.
“Morning, Sunshine.”
I jumped as Blake’s voice came from next to me. I didn’t even hear him.
“Sorry,” he apologized, and his sweet and musky fragrance caressed my nostrils. Man, he smelled good.
“It’s okay, morning.” I smiled.
He folded his hand around my shoulder and pulled me closer to his chest.
His warm lips met my temple and the tingling sensation spread through my body again, warming me up.
“So, you evaded Ms. Taylor?”
“I told you there is no way in hell I was going to join her little drama club.”
“You are talented, Blake.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, no. I’m not cut out for the theatre stage.”
“I see, but you are cut out for the music stage.” It sounded wrong.
“Yeah.”
“Tell me about your band?”
He chuckled. “How do I explain them? They are a bunch of misfits, but the best guys you will ever meet.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“I’m sure they have names or do you call them misfit one, two, and three.”
He chuckled. “Okay fine, you are pretty serious about this.”
“Well, I sure would like to get to know more than just your lips, so yeah.”
He smiled, and he had the same vertical dimples reaching his eyes, just like Dad. “Okay, Isaac is like our manager too, but he is the best with a guitar.”
“Better than you?”
“Way, better.”
“Okay.” I chuckled. “And a manager, so you do gigs?”
“Yeah, we do.”
“Why haven’t I seen you on YouTube or any place before?”
“Opposite side of America, remember.”
“With your talent, there’s supposed to be at least one YouTube video.”
“Oh, there is. Yesterday’s.”
I laughed at the way his face slacked from all emotion when he said it.
“Then there is Ty, but he is a bit of a horn dog and a complete idiot. Jamie is Jamie.” He chuckled. “It’s hard to sum them up.”
“Fine, so when am I going to meet them?”
“One of these days.”
“You put some thought behind this, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, your dad is going to love me when he meets me.”
I chuckled, doubting that.
“You want to bet?”
“Bet you don’t know my dad.”
“I know enough.”
Why on earth did that sound like he knew something I didn’t?
“Okay fine. What do you want to bet?”
“Oh, not much. Just that you will be stuck with me if I’m right.”
I couldn’t help but to laugh at that. “You better mean every single word, Blake Leaf.”
“Oh, I do.”
I grabbed his chin and kissed him. Where the confidence came from, well, it must have been his excellent skills of serenading on Valentine’s day in the cafeteria.
The kiss broke as the bracelet jumped into my mind.
“Oh, before I forget.” I reached down into my bag and opened the front pocket, taking out the bracelet.
I showed it to him and his eyes lingered as his eyebrows furrowed.
He rubbed his thumb over the leather straps and something else replaced the wonder and curiosity in his eyes. It was very similar to fear.
He took off his bracelet and held the two next to each other.
He flipped it around as I kept staring at his gaze. His eyes flickered to mine and the concern or fear or whatever glazed his eyes vanished and got replaced with a smile. “What?”
“I told you, I’m not crazy.”
He handed mine back. “Why don’t you wear it?”
“Yeah, my dad is not a fan of this one, so I guess it was a present from my mom.”
“Your mom?”
“Yup.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“I think around two. I can’t remember her, but I have a picture of her.”
“What does she look like?”
“She is beautiful. She has summer blond hair with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. To be honest, I look nothing like her. Sometimes I feel my parents stole me and ran away and that my dad is running away from my birth parents.”
Blake raised his eyebrow at me.
“I’m joking. Believe me, my dad showed me my birth certificate and everything.”
“Oh, okay.”
“What?”
“I’m sure they can fake a birth certificate if they want.”
My body froze as I looked at him.
“I’m joking, Elena.”
“Yeah, don’t.”
“Why do I get a feeling that you are not sharing everything about your life with me?”
“Like what?”
“You said your dad is running away, and not leaving because of his work.”
Shit, Elena.
I sighed and lowered my head, staring at my shoes that kicked a weed growing through the stones.
“Elena?”
“Okay, I lied. My dad isn’t leaving because of his work. He is leaving because something is chasing him. I just don’t know what?”
He shook his head. “Three months is the mark?”
“Yeah, we never stayed longer than three months. If he is really paranoid, sometimes earlier.”
“You don’t know why?”
I shook my head and Blake nodded as his gaze sort of faded out, remembering a memory. “I’m sorry that you go through that. It can’t be an awesome life not having friends.”
“Yeah, well. He keeps on telling me he will tell me when I’m ready. I’m just afraid that he thinks I’m never going to be ready.”
“It might be sooner than you realize.”
“I hope.”
The bell rang and Blake got up from the bench first and walked with me to my locker.
He moved side to side, staring intently at the locker, looking up at the ceiling, before opening it. Nothing happened.
“You didn’t look so sure about that one. I thought you made it clear to Chloë.”
He chuckled. “Just making sure.”
I grabbed my books and shoved it in my bag.
He kissed me fast on my lips as our paths split.
My cheeks flushed when all the girls stared dreamily at me as I walked into the first class of the day.
