Chapter 1 #2
The cheerleaders rush onto the track, their pom-poms high over their matching ponytails, and the football team barrels onto the field.
Next to me, my friend’s cheeks are flushed, and she seems out of breath, like she ran here from her house. Then again, this is Addison Lockhart. She’s generally winded from living off stress and caffeine. This week, in particular, has been challenging.
As a high school teacher and Sapphire Creek’s biggest fangirl, she spearheaded homecoming week like her life depended on it. And from the looks of the six bags of popcorn in her hands, she’s celebrating a job well done now that most of the festivities are over.
We just need to survive the reunion tomorrow night, which she also organized as our class president.
“I hope I got enough popcorn.” Addie stares at each bag like she’s counting every kernel.
“For a small army? You got plenty.”
“I haven’t eaten all day—sue me.”
“I will not sue, as long as you share.”
“Only because you clearly need something to keep your hands busy.” She tosses me a knowing smirk. “How bad are you sweating right now after coming face-to-face with the ghost of exes past?”
I scoff. “I’m fine.”
“And I’m super chill,” she deadpans. “You can’t lie to me. You’ve always been an electron, and Nate is your positively charged nucleus.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be an English teacher?”
“I know lots of things, including the fact that you’re lying, so spill, friend.”
I snatch a bag of salty heaven from her, pop a kernel into my mouth, then relent, “If you must know, my ass is sweating like we’re at the river in the middle of July.”
“That’s what I thought.” She shoves another bag of popcorn at me. “Eat up.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t deny it—I’m relieved for the distraction.
I haven’t seen Nate much in years past, but when I did, he tended to cause a riot in my mind and body.
“Have you heard from Caroline?” Addie asks, scanning the bleachers.
I shake my head, my mouth too full to answer.
The whistle blows at the same time a crash of lightning cuts across the dark sky. It’s followed by a clap of thunder that sends a vibration throughout the stadium.
I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding!” Addie screeches, throwing her head back.
“Maybe it’s nothing…”
Another bolt of lightning crackles, and this time, it’s not solely thunder that follows. Raindrops the size of nickels fall from the sky, slowly at first until we’re drenched.
The announcements through the speakers are lost in the sudden chaos. Parents drag screaming kids down the side ramp toward shelter. Addie jumps up and tugs on my sleeve to follow her. I think she says something, but I can’t hear her over this mess.
Strands of my hair stick to my cheeks and forehead, and my shacket soaks up every drop of rain until it weighs three times as usual. Running mascara blurs my vision, and I lose track of Addie somewhere around the bottom of the ramp.
Knowing her, though, she probably teleported in front of the school to guide people to safety. I’ve had my suspicions for years that she’s a superhero.
I shuffle behind a family decked in our school colors of black and gold, along with a couple in matching SC Lions merch as the rain pelts even harder.
I spot Addie up ahead, waving at me. Then she darts toward the maintenance shed, where a man stalls, his hands over his head. As I guessed, she rushes over to lend a hand, helping old Gus first.
I’m almost through the opening in the gate that surrounds the parameter when someone rushing toward the parking lot slams into me. I stumble off the edge of the sidewalk with a yelp, nearly spraining my ankle.
“Hey!” My outrage is lost in the turmoil. Haven’t these people ever been in a rainstorm before? They’re acting like the sky is falling, and this is the end of the world as we know it.
Strong hands wrap around my waist and steady me. “I’ve got you.”
My breath hitches.
I don’t need to look up to know who it is.
Nate’s foreign yet familiar hands span the width of my waist. They’re strong and reassuring.
“Thanks,” I mumble, leaning into him to right myself.
“Are you okay?” he asks directly into my ear, and the scrape of his voice skitters over my slick skin, rendering me speechless.
I manage to nod, stepping aside to let people through.
“Let me help you inside.” Nate grabs my hand and leads me toward the exit.
His mom and daughter come into view, but they quickly veer away from the line of people filing into the lobby of the school.
Once we reach the awning, I tear my hand out of his, desperate to break any sort of contact—no good can come from Nate’s touch.
If I thought one look from him had tilted my world on its axis, one touch would cause far more damage.
With a shake of my hair out of my eyes, I peer over his shoulder and find Evie helping Teagan into a Jeep. “Are you leaving?” I ask him.
“Need to get Teagan home and into dry clothes.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”
With a tight-lipped smile, he inches back out into the rain, and disappointment echoes through the cavity in my chest like a loud noise through a hollow chamber.
I hate that I didn’t hold on to his hand just a second longer.
I hate that he’s leaving so soon.
But most of all, I hate the effect Nate has on me, even after all these years.
Not that I’m entirely surprised. This is what always happens. When he visits, we inevitably bump into each other, where we exchange small talk. His parents. The weather. The annoying pothole on the street in front of my coffee truck.
Although it’s always innocent enough, each encounter leaves me dizzy.
But then he swoops right out of town again for his next worldly adventure, and I have the chance to screw my head on straight.
This weekend will be no different.
After the reunion tomorrow night, he’ll leave, and I’ll carry on with my life, per usual.
I won’t think about the man who once filled my heart with nothing but love, only to shatter it, leaving behind pieces that no longer form a whole.