Chapter 4
Hailey
The drive from New Orleans to Bourg didn’t take long.
It sucked this time though because I didn’t want to go back, only forward.
As soon as I woke from the night out with Jolee the following day, I called her and told her about the invitation.
She pushed me to attend, and now here I was, heading toward my hometown.
One of the biggest issues plaguing my mind was why I wasn’t asked to walk in my sister’s wedding.
I knew we weren’t close, especially since I left so early in our lives, but weren’t most family members known to be part of the wedding party?
Maybe I watched too many movies or read too many books that focused on that part of the story.
I also couldn’t help but think if a certain somebody was invited.
Zayne was once my best friend and known to be part of the family and our gatherings.
He treated Rose like a younger sibling. There was no way she would get married and not invite him, which meant I would have to come face-to-face with the guy I tried so hard to forget.
Although I tried, there wasn’t a moment where I could actually erase Zayne from my thoughts. In each memory, I replayed the night of prom over and over, wishing I could go back to before it had all happened.
“Here ya go,” Darcy said, “Ya dropped this.”
Her face was a mask of innocence, but I knew Darcy.
She hung out with the popular girls, and everywhere she was, there was trouble.
As soon as she handed me the envelope, she hightailed it out of the school parking lot.
It was prom day, and everyone couldn’t wait to get home and prepare for the night ahead.
Even though I had no date, I was looking forward to spending the evening eating with my best friend and dancing the night away.
I couldn’t believe Darcy would be nice just to be nice, yet here she was, handing me something as if she had no ulterior motives.
I knew I didn’t drop anything, at least on purpose, but my curiosity won out. I stood in front of my locker, glancing around me, but everyone seemed to have left the building. Since I was alone, I opened the envelope. Inside was one thin sheet of paper with words written in black ink.
The note read, “Our time together has always been amazing. Ya bring out the best in me like the sun giving light to a rose, keepin’ it alive and thrivin’ for more.
Ya probably don’t know this, but I love you and have always felt this way since the first time I laid eyes on ya.
So, will you do me the honor of going to tonight’s dance with me?
If so, I’ll wait for ya outside the school building. Love, your secret admirer.”
My heart picked up as if I’d run a marathon.
Darcy handed me the note. A note with no other information than revealing true love and wanting to be my date.
The only person that would give Darcy the note would be Adrian, the jock.
Almost everyone in the school suspected I had a crush on him.
But it was hard to believe he’d want to be my date after never once striking up a conversation with me.
I wanted this badly. I told myself I would dress to the nines, with whatever hand-me-down dress my mother owned since I didn’t own any nice clothes, and we didn’t have the time to go shopping.
I would enjoy my night with Zayne, and when I arrived at the school, I would find out who wrote the note.
I hoped, with everything in me, that Adrian was the person behind the secret.
For once in my life, I wanted something to go my way.
Adrian would’ve made me feel like the most popular girl in school.
I got home, snuck into my mom’s closet, and picked a blue dress adorned with rhinestones around the waist. It was a pretty dress and the only one that would fit me, but not the best I’d seen my mother wear.
I had no other option, I grabbed the article of clothing, ran to my bedroom, and got dressed for the best night of my life.
When six rolled around, Zayne never arrived.
My mother worked the night shift at the hospital.
She was the cleaning lady and worked various odd hours.
My father ran a series of food chain stores, though he didn’t own any.
Nevertheless, he managed to be home for the night of prom.
My mom told him to take lots of photos before we left, but that didn’t happen, since things didn’t go as planned.
“Want me to bring ya to the school, Pumpkin?” Edward asked before leaning in and hugging me.
I saw the pity in his eyes as he noticed I didn’t have a date, but he didn’t bring it up.
I hated that look, but I still wanted to go to the dance.
Not only because it was one of the most memorable nights of my senior year, but because I wanted to find out who wrote the note.
Adrian was so close to being mine, I couldn’t stay home and pretend the note never existed.
“I’d like that very much, Dad,” I replied before snatching my purse and heading out the door.
Those memories wouldn’t cease no matter how hard I tried.
My dad brought me to school and asked if I’d be okay before driving back to the house.
I could see the worried look on his face, eyebrows drawn in as if he contemplated ignoring the dance altogether and taking me home.
No matter what he’d do or say, I wouldn’t budge on my decision.
I wanted to see Adrian so badly that I tried my best to ignore the pain Zayne caused by standing me up.
I closed the passenger side door before waving to my dad as he slowly drove away.
Then, steeling my resolve, I seemed to grow a backbone as I walked to the front door of the school’s building.
I stood there for at least thirty minutes, constantly looking around to see if I could spot Adrian. But he was nowhere to be found.
I observed many of the students, some alone while others were with dates, waltzing through the front door.
I started to become ill at ease, the feeling of being stood up crawling along my skin once again.
How could someone write such a sweet note, revealing their heart yet not show their face?
I was just about ready to give up and head inside the building when I heard the whisper of my name behind my back.
I couldn’t make out the voice, but I didn’t care because I couldn’t wait to see Adrian’s face. I grinned with anticipation before meeting the love of my life.