Falling (10 page)

After supper, I excuse myself to my temporary bedroom to finish up some homework. I am working on my math, when there is a knock at the door.

Leah sticks her head in the door, “Hey, since there is a teacher workday on Wednesday, Miles and I are going to go to the movies tomorrow night. We thought you might want to tag along. Would you like to go?”

“I hate to be a third wheel, but I haven’t been to the movies in a while. Is it okay if I come along?”

“Of course it is. I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise, silly.” Leah
laughs and leaves the room.

**********

I am just changing clothes when I hear the doorbell ring. Miles must be here to pick us up to go to the movies. I grab my wallet and head downstairs just in time to see Connor come in from football practice. I know he hurt me, but he has really been sweet to me lately. My heart still flutters at the sight of him.  He is all sweaty and dirty, but somehow it is still attractive. I try to glance away before he catches me checking him out.

He spots me coming down the steps then looks over at Miles and Leah. “So where are you guys going?”

“Movies,” Leah responds without taking her eyes off of Miles. I grin as I continue to watch them together.

“Could I come along?” Connor asks with a look in my direction.

“It’s up to Abby. She would be the one talking to you mostly,” Leah replies.

“So Ab, can I come along and hang out with you?" Connor asks hesitantly. We stare at each other knowing if I say yes, I am forgiving him completely.

“It is okay with me,” I say as I smile at him. He lets out a deep breath as he hears my answer, like he was expecting me to say no. He grins back at me then dashes upstairs to change clothes. As he passes by me, he squeezes my arm before continuing on to his room.

Once in the theater, I sit down beside Leah and await the beginning of the movie. Before I can blink, I see Connor slump down in the seat next to mine. My heart flips from his nearness. He is so close I can smell his cologne. Goodness, he smells good. I glance toward him and he is watching me with a genuinely happy expression.

“What are you thinking about right now?" I ask him because he looks so happy at that moment I can’t resist.

“I am just thrilled to be sitting beside you and hear your voice,” he blushes and looks away from me.

“I don’t think I have ever seen you blush before Connor,” I chuckle. It feels so good to be teasing him again.

“So what have you been up to this past week?” I ask.

“Besides missing you, you mean?” he winks. “Nothing much, just football and the normal stuff." I wonder if the normal stuff is Samantha, but I refuse to ask. We are just friends, and this time I will try to keep that in mind.

“Abby, can I ask you something?” I nod at him and look at him, waiting for the question.

“What happened with Blake?"

“We were just friends, that’s all. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I was just surprised that he didn’t snatch you up when he had the chance. He started dating Sarah shortly after your date. Were you okay with that, or do I need to beat him up?" I laughed and shook my head.

“No, Blake and I are just friends. It wouldn’t have worked out with us," I say. Connor looks more confused than ever. “What about you? Are you and Samantha still together?”

“No, that ended right after the fall festival. She wasn’t a very nice person. I should have listened to you and Leah.”

“I am always right Connor. You should always listen to me,” I laugh when I see him roll his eyes. We glance at each other as the lights dim and the movie starts. I shiver as I think about sitting next to Connor at the movies.

“Are you cold?” he says as he puts his jacket over my legs. I cuddle down into his jacket knowing this is definitely not helping my crush. His jacket carries his scent, and I rest my nose against the collar so I can inhale it more fully. As I shift around to get the bag of candy I snuck in from my pocketbook, my wallet falls onto the floor and my change scatters under our chairs. Leah and Miles are laughing and shushing me at the same time. Connor and I kneel on the floor and grab all the coins we can find. We both lean forward to reach the same coin and end up bumping heads hard.

“Ahhh, that did not feel good,” I say, rubbing the spot over my left eye where his head connected with mine. We move back into our seats and he looks at my forehead. He rubs his fingertips over the red spot then slowly lowers his hand so he is cupping my cheek. I lift my hand and run it lightly over the red spot on his cheek where I hit him.

“Abby, I really want to  . . . ” he starts, but is interrupted when Leah throws a quarter she found on the floor at me. We drop our hands and lean back in our chairs. Leah is eyeing me questioningly.

“What is going on?” she mouths. I just shrug and turn back to the movie. Connor looks over at me and grins. What the heck is going on? Did Connor just make a move on me? I don’t understand him at all. Didn’t he insult me last week?
And now this. What is going on in that head of his?

After the movie, I check to make sure nothing else fell out of my wallet onto the floor. When I head toward the exit, I see Connor waiting for me. Miles and Leah are already walking toward Miles’s car. When I reach Connor, he smiles and we walk together towards the car. We are so focused on each other, we don’t see Samantha watching and walking toward us.

“Connor!  Hey, what are you doing?” she runs over and links her arm through his.  She looks me up and down, then laughs. “Are you actually here on a date with her?” she asks with a sneer in my direction.

Connor glances in my direction uneasily then clears his throat like he is having a hard time coming up with an answer. She is so insulting with her looks and words, yet he says nothing. That actually says a lot to me. I walk towards Leah shaking my head. What was I thinking, Connor interested in me, yeah right. I peek back towards Connor and he is still talking to Samantha. He is probably telling her another excuse about why he is walking with me. It wasn’t a date, I shouldn’t even be upset. He didn’t do anything wrong, but he is still talking to her. I get in the backseat and listen to Miles and Leah make plans for tomorrow, since we don’t have school. Before long, Connor slides into the seat next to mine and looks at me. I keep my eyes focused out the window, even though I feel him staring at me. The car ride home is one of the longest of my life. I never really understood how quiet silence can be until this moment. As soon as we stop in front of the Spark’s house I jump out of the car, waving bye to Miles as I head up to the front door. Once inside, I head straight to my temporary bedroom to check on my sister and get away from Connor. My sister looks up from her book when I come in the room.

“Hey, how was the movie?”

“Good. What did you do tonight?” I ask even though my mind is on the boy across the hall in his bedroom.

“I watched some television for a while, then started reading my book for school. I am a bit behind and it has to be read in two weeks,” Allie says looking at me strangely. “Are you even listening to me, Abby?”

“What did you ask? Sorry, my mind was wandering.” I head towards the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.

“So what are your plans for tomorrow Allie? A whole day without school,” I call to her.

“Oh, my friend Kristy invited me to go to the mall and hang out for a while. The Sparks said it was okay,” she shrugs. “Oh by the way, Mom and Dad called while you were at the movies. They said they were having a great time and taking lots of pictures. They went hiking today. They said at least three times how much they missed us and that the next trip was a family one,” she
grins. I smiled thinking about my parents in Hawaii. They have changed over the last month. This week they have called to check on us daily. I used to go days where I thought they didn’t even care about Allie and me. They are really trying to do better and I love them all the more for it.

My mind feels overwhelmed and confused by Connor and his actions. I grab
Salem’s Lot
, hoping to get lost in the pages. After reading the same page three times, I give up and close my eyes. Maybe everything will be more clear in the morning.

Chapter 12

I automatically panic when I wake up and glance at the alarm clock. It’s 8:30, I have overslept. I jump out of bed and start grabbing clothes to put on.

“What are you doing, Abby?” my sister mumbles from her side of the bed.

“We overslept. We are really late for school. Get up!”

“Abby, it is a workday remember, no school,” I hear a quiet
titter even through her face is covered by her pillow. “Now shut up so I can go back to sleep.”

I jerk on sweat pants and a sweat shirt, and then head downstairs to eat breakfast. I notice a note from Mr. and Mrs. Sparks saying that they have already left for work and for us to have a great day off.  I guess it is just the teenagers in the house. I pour myself some cereal then head towards the living room, so I can eat breakfast while I watch television. As I turn to sit on the couch, I notice that Connor is already lying on it. It is too late to run, so I sit in a nearby recliner.

“You’re up earlier than I thought you would be,” he says as he sits up on the couch. He is so cute when he is rumpled from sleep. His shaggy blond hair is sticking up in places and he is barefoot. I know feet are usually ugly, but not Connor’s, even his feet are sexy. He is wearing a T-shirt and shorts. I wish I looked that cute when I wake up. There is no telling what I look like, I barely looked in the mirror. I just threw on sweats and pulled my hair up into a knot on the back of my neck.

“Yeah, forgot it was a workday. I actually panicked about being late for school. Allie basically kicked me out of the room so she could sleep some more. You are up early too. I figured I was the only one awake.”

“Nope, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I keep thinking about last night and Samantha." Oh, now that is just what I want to hear from him.

“Wishing you hadn’t broke up with her?” I ask, as I take a big bite of cereal.

“That thought didn’t even cross my mind,” he chuckles. “She really is a horrible person, and she really seems to dislike you.”

“Yeah, fruit punch has that effect on people,” I force myself to laugh.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with fruit punch this time,” Connor answers.

“Well, I don’t even talk to her, so she really needs to back off. Plus, what is with all the little insults all the time? I would defend myself, but I don’t think that will help. I think she would look at it like a challenge coming from me. It’s better to just walk away I guess." If Connor was really my friend he would say something to her, but I just can’t figure him out lately.

“That’s not what I meant, Abby,” Connor corrects. “I think she has another reason to dislike you.”

“Like what? She is one of the prettiest girls in school, while I am little miss plain Jane. She is popular and dates hot guys, while I am probably the biggest dork in school. Yeah, I am really something to be jealous over." Connor starts laughing and rolls his eyes at me.

“Are you really that clueless? You are smart and funny and . . . ” he stops talking and swallows like the words are stuck in his throat.

“You left the part out where I can barely walk. That is probably my most attractive quality.” I
smile at Connor, who still looks flustered by some unseen force.

“You o
kay? You look like you are having a hard time breathing. Do you need some water or something?”

“Something,” he says uncomfortably. I hear footsteps and turn to see Leah staggering in the room not fully awake. She wanders over to the couch and flops down.

“So what are you guys doing today?" She mutters against the couch cushion.

“I don’t really have any plans besides doing some laundry. My mathletes shirt is dirty, and I need it tomorrow, so I figure I will wash some of mine and Allie’s clothes. Other than that, just reading and watching television. What about you two?" I look at Connor and Leah.

“Miles invited me to go on a picnic. He is just so romantic sometimes,” she sighs.

“I have football practice in about 30 minutes, other than that I really don’t have any plans, probably just hang around the house.” He says with a glance at his watch. “Guess I should
get ready and head out, football starts soon. I will see you both later,” he says as he gets up and heads toward the stairs. As he leaves the room, he looks back over his shoulder at me with a grin as if he figured something out. I smile back because I can’t resist and give him a little wave good bye.

***********

After Leah and Allie left the house, I wondered from room to room aimlessly. I looked at the Spark’s bookshelves where their family photos were set out. Leah and Connor through middle school and into high school were all there like a photo timeline. As I look from picture to picture, I knew I needed to get away for the day. I couldn’t spend the day here in Connor’s house. I grabbed my car keys and headed down the driveway towards my Jeep before I realized I hadn’t put on shoes. I ran back and put on my shoes, and grabbed a jacket and my purse. On my way out the door, I wrote a note that said I would be back later.