The First Love Anthology: A collection of novellas

by Amy Sparling

  The thought alone sends a pain through my chest. Jaxxon is probably exactly like those guys at school. He’s hot, and he knows it. Which makes him think he’s above me. Whatever. It’s not like we’re friends or anything.

  I take a deep breath and walk to the front doors of the museum. I know I just saw Jaxxon push on them to no avail, but I do it anyway. I shove hard on the heavy door and it doesn’t budge. The handles don’t even wiggle because they’re locked. I bang on the door with my fists, but it’s such a solid wood that it barely makes a sound. I look up and down at the massive and ancient doors. They’re like twenty feet tall, going all the way to the ceiling. These things look like they were built to withstand the apocalypse.

  “My mom will be here any minute,” I say, pounding once more for posterity. “She’s probably finding someone to unlock the doors.”

  “The museum has been closed for fifteen minutes,” Jaxxon says. There’s a tone in his voice that says he doesn’t believe the same thing I do about my mom coming back for me. He’s wrong, though.

  “So?”

  “So…” he says, his eyes meeting mine. I resist the urge to look away. I’m pretty sure a guy this cute has never laid eyes on me before. “It’s been a long time. Don’t you think she would have come back for you by now?”

  I picture my mom and David holding hands while walking back to the car. Could she actually forget about me? Her own daughter? No. There’s no way.

  I fold my arms over my chest. “Of course she’ll come back for me. She’s probably looking all over the place for me right now.”

  “Cool,” Jaxxon says with a nod. He starts walking away.

  “Where are you going?” I call after him.

  “I have to find something.”

  He walks to an exhibit of ancient letters from the revolutionary war and starts looking under the cases.

  “Well don’t go too far,” I say, pounding on the door again. “You should be here when they come back for us. I don’t want you to get lost again. This place is a freaking maze.”

  “No one’s coming back for me.” His voice is tinged with a darkness that sends a chill up my spine.

  “Why not?” I ask, turning away from the doors to look at him. He bends around a display case and checks underneath it.

  “No one gives a crap about where I am.” He walks to another display.

  Whoa. Moody Guy Alert.

  I should just give him space. I turn back around and bang on the door some more but it’s pointless. Even I can tell my fists aren’t making much noise, just a soft thump against the solid surface. Surely there’s an emergency exit around here. I look around the museum from my vantage point, but there’s not much to see. All the exhibits are sectioned off with walls and displays so although the building looks like a perfect square from outside, it’s like a maze inside. I’ll have to explore to find an emergency exit.

  I don’t know why, but I’m scared to wander around alone because I don’t want to get lost again. Having the lights go off was scary, and then wandering around this place with its ancient relics was just plain spooky. I mean, I don’t think I believe in ghosts, but when you’re surrounded by so much old stuff, including revolutionary war guns and the clothing the soldiers wore, it’s kind of creepy.

  Jaxxon is still walking all around the displays, stepping past the velvet ropes that you’re not supposed to cross when you’re a museum visitor. I guess it doesn’t matter now. I walk over to him, staying on the right side of the velvet rope.

  He’s looking around a mannequin that’s dressed like a pioneer. “Do you want to help me look for an emergency exit?” I ask.

  “No point in that,” he says, moving to search another area. “I already tried the emergency exit. It was locked.”

  “But it’s an emergency exit! Aren’t they supposed to be unlocked all the time? I’m pretty sure it’s a law.”

  He shrugs. “Not if the building is closing down, I guess.”

  Chapter 4

  Jaxxon

  As crazy as it sounds, I’m grateful for this extra time in the museum. If I had left when it closed at exactly six o’clock, then I definitely wouldn’t have my dad’s necklace. Now, I have a little extra time to find it. I’m searching like a crazy person, I know, but I can’t slow down. There’s only so long until this girl’s mom comes back for her and then I’ll have to leave as well. So even though she’s pretty cute and under any other circumstance, I’d be flirting with her and trying my luck at getting her phone number, I can’t right now. I have to find this necklace.

  I keep focused as I move through every single inch of this museum. At first, I’d started randomly looking but then I decide to make a plan. I start at the corner of the room near the front doors and I’ll make my way around the entire place. Hopefully I have enough time.

  In my experience, there’s never enough time in life. Not for finding lost necklaces, and not for being with your loved ones. My dad is gone now. He only had a few months to live after discovering the stage 4 cancer, and it all happened so quickly. I’ve always been close with my dad and we’ve had a great relationship, but if I had known back then that my mom would just straight up leave once he passed, I would have cherished the time even more.

  These are the things I have to keep to myself. I can’t tell my friends about how much I miss my dad. I’m seventeen years old, dammit. They expect me to be “a man” and with that expectation means I can’t cry or show any sad emotions at all. It’s easy for my friends to think like that. They didn’t lose their dads.

  Emma smells like strawberries and vanilla. I know it’s her when she walks up behind me because she’s the only person in this place beside me. “What are you looking for?” she asks, her voice soft. “Maybe I can help.”

  “A necklace.” I turn to face her, and when I do, I really see her for the first time tonight. I’d been so preoccupied with finding this necklace that I’d barely paid attention to her earlier. But she’s not the kind of girl who should be overlooked. She’s a bit shorter than I am, with dark hair and kind eyes. It doesn’t look like she’s wearing any makeup, and yet she’s beautiful. I wish she could tell my ex-girlfriend that it’s okay to not have a face full of the stuff. I don’t mind makeup, but it’s annoying when we’re late to everything we do because the girl has to spend an hour getting her face ready. Somehow, this girl doesn’t seem like one who would make me wait on the couch before every date.

  “What kind of necklace?” Emma asks.

  “It’s silver, with a cross pendant.”

  “Hmm,” she says, pressing her lips together while she thinks. She glances around. “Someone would have probably stolen something like that.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I run a hand through my hair. “But I can’t give up searching until I know for sure.”

  She nods. “When did you lose it? And where were you standing?”

  I bite my lip. “I don’t know. And… I don’t know.”

  “What?” she says with a smile. “That’s pretty vague.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I say. I exhale and look away. She’s too pretty to think straight. I need to look anywhere else but at her. “The last time I remember wearing it was when I was here last week with my brother. So, I came back today to find it. It’s not in my house or my car or anywhere else, so this is the only place it could be.”

  “Last week?” she says, her eyes wide. I know what she’s thinking. It’s been entirely too long to hope to find my necklace again. Someone found it already, and if it’s not in the lost and found box, then it’s gone for good.

  “I know it’s a long shot,” I say, walking toward the next area I haven’t searched yet. “But there’s nothing else to do while I wait for someone to come unlock the doors.”

  “Let’s be quick,” she says, joining me the search. “My mom will be here any minute. I’ll take this part of the room, and you take that part.”

  “Thanks,” I say under my breath.

  I know we probably won�
��t find this necklace because people don’t just leave jewelry laying around. I know it’s probably a complete waste of my time, but I don’t feel like being logical right now. The odds are against me, but I figure that looking for something is better than beating on a door. Emma’s mom will be here soon and it’ll all be over.

  This is my last chance.

  Chapter 5

  Emma

  We search in silence for a long time. I don’t have a watch or my phone so I have no idea how much time has passed. Since Mom isn’t here yet, I’m guessing it hasn’t been long at all. It’s probably like how the last fifteen minutes of the school day seems to take two hours. When you’re waiting for something, time slows.

  I move past a walled-off partition into an exhibit I didn’t see when I was here as a visitor. “Hey, Jaxxon?” I call out. “Have you seen this room yet?”

  The entire exhibit is filled with jewelry. It’s all under glass cases, but it’s still jewelry. And I see cross necklaces. Jaxxon finds me. I point to the cases. “Maybe someone found the necklace and thought it belonged to the museum so they put it here?”

  He touches the glass, staring at an ornate cross necklace. My heart races with anticipation that he’ll find what he’s looking for. But he frowns. “Nah, this isn’t it.”

  We search the rest of the jewelry on display and my excitement wanes with each time he shakes his head. It’s not here.

  “Sorry,” I say, when we’ve finished searching the jewelry room. “I really hoped it would be here.”

  Jaxxon presses his forehead to the wall and lets out a sigh. His shoulders are slumped. He slams a fist against the wall. “Dammit.”

  I can’t tell if he’s sad or angry, or maybe a combination of both. It’s just a necklace, and even if it was kind of expensive, necklaces can be replaced. Right? I feel like there’s something more going on here. He backs away from the wall and lowers his head into his palm.

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “Jaxxon?” I say. He stands still, his head dipped down. He doesn’t say anything. I take my hand off him because it suddenly feels weird to be touching a stranger, even if he is gorgeous. He’s clearly in pain, and I don’t know why.

  “Are you okay?”

  Chapter 6

  Jaxxon

  “No.”

  The word hangs in the air. I know it’s making us both uncomfortable. Here we are trapped in a museum together and I’m on the edge of a panic attack. I just can’t stand knowing that I’ve lost something so important. Worse, is the thought that some random stranger found my necklace and kept it and doesn’t even care about the sentimental value. I could scream. I want to punch something, but I don’t want to freak out Emma.

  I take a deep breath and stand straighter as I turn to her. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t look fine,” she says, her lips sliding to the side of her mouth. “Was the necklace really valuable?”

  I shrug. “It’s not about the monetary value… it’s…” I take a deep breath and force my eyes to meet hers. I haven’t told anyone how important this necklace is to me. Only my brother knows, and we don’t exactly talk about it. We don’t talk about anything anymore. He spends all his time with his girlfriend and I might see him for half an hour when he comes home to wash clothes on the weekends. Now I’m thinking of telling this complete stranger about my dad’s necklace? That’s stupid. I shouldn’t bring her into my drama.

  “It’s what?” she says softly. Her head tilts to the side and she looks like such a sweet person. I’ve never seen her before and I’ll probably never see her again, so why not tell her the truth?

  “It was my dad’s.” I put a hand on the wall next to me to steady the emotions that are swirling around in my mind. “It is the only thing of his that I have left after he died.”

  Emma is silent for a few seconds. Then she takes a deep breath. “We’re going to find this necklace.”

  I chuckle, and I don’t even know why. This isn’t a funny moment. Her lips press together in determination and she resumes looking all over the place.

  “It’s fine,” I say, trailing along behind her. “You can go wait for your mom.”

  “If she hasn’t come back by now, she’s probably not going to.”

  I look up at Emma and find her staring at the floor. “You okay?” I ask. Now she’s the one looking upset.

  She shrugs. “My mom has this new boyfriend and they’re all over each other. They probably left and completely forgot that I even existed. They’re probably hooking up at home right now and I’m not even on her mind.”

  “Dang, I’m sorry.”

  Her eyes drift up to mine and she smiles a little. “Let’s find the necklace. This is my mission now, too.”

  “Why’s that?” I ask with a small grin.

  She shrugs. “I don’t want both of us to be sad.”

  We go back to looking around every piece of furniture and every display, but the air is thick with all of our emotions. I can tell we’re both thinking about the stuff that’s bothering us. I don’t want her to be sad, and I can’t even imagine what it feels like to arrive somewhere with someone and then have them leave and forget you.

  “My mom forgot about me too,” I say. I don’t know why I’m even reaching into the depths of my screwed up life for conversation, but it feels right. “After my dad died, she just left. She said she wanted to live her life and I guess that didn’t include living it with her two freaking children. So she went God knows where and I haven’t heard from her since.”

  “Wow.” Emma bends down and looks underneath a log bench that’s a replica of something from the 1700’s. “My dad is kind of like that. He left my mom for another woman and now he’s with her and helping to raise her kids and I only see him through Facebook posts. He doesn’t even text me or call me. What is wrong with our parents?”

  I chuckle. “Who knows.”

  Emma stands up and her mouth opens wide. “I have a great idea!”

  “What’s that?” I ask, feeling her excitement rushing through the room.

  “There are offices in the back,” she says, pointing toward the back of the museum. “If someone turned in the necklace, it could be sitting on someone’s desk. Or maybe there’s a bulletin board or something with a flyer asking if anyone lost a necklace.”

  “It’s worth a shot,” I say, feeling a little surge of hope spring up in my chest.

  We make our way to the back hallways near where the lost and found is located. In this small space, I can smell Emma’s shampoo. I find myself noticing little things about her, like the cute way she tucks her hair behind her ears, or the way she chews on her bottom lip when we’re next to each other.

  “So what brought you to the museum?” I ask because it’s the safest question. I really want to know if she has a boyfriend and if she lives around here and if I’m the kind of guy she might consider dating one day.

  “My mom wanted to see this place before it closes,” she says as we turn down a hall that’s labeled as employees only. “We’ve lived here forever and never bothered coming in until tonight.”

  “Same thing for me,” I say. “My brother and I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about before it closed. It’s a cool place, I guess. It’s not as good as the museums downtown but it has some cool artifacts.”

  “I’ve never been to the museums downtown,” Emma says.

  “Really? You should totally go sometime.” I’ll take you. I want to say those words, but I don’t. I know better than to start hitting on a girl I don’t even know. She’d probably think I’m a creep.

  Emma tries to open an office door but it’s locked. “Figures,” she mutters under her breath. She moves to the next one and tries it. There are eight doors down this narrow employee hallway and we both get to work trying to open them. They’re all locked. This place really likes locking doors.

  The door at the very end opens. I reach in and flip on the light. It’s an employee break room.

  “Maybe ther
e’s a bulletin board,” Emma says, pushing past me to check out the room. But it’s just four walls with a small table, a fridge, and some lockers next to an old couch. My necklace isn’t in here.

  “Ugh,” Emma says, spinning around to take in the room. “I’m sorry.”

  “We could break into the offices…” I say. “There’s probably phones in there.”

  “That’s a good idea. We can’t really get in trouble for breaking and entering if we’re locked inside, now can we?” She gives me a cute smile then pulls open the refrigerator door. “Ooh!” she says, reaching inside. She pulls out a carton of cupcakes and sets them on the table. “Hungry?”

  “I’m always hungry for cupcakes,” I say. I take a frosted chocolate one and sink into one of the chairs around the table. Emma fishes around the drawers and finds a plastic fork. I lift an eyebrow at her.

  “What?” she says with a shrug.

  “You’re gonna eat a cupcake with a fork?”

  “I always eat them like this.”

  “Why not live a little?” I say teasingly.

  “Live a little?” she says. “How do you live while eating a cupcake?”

  I peel off the wrapper of my cupcake and shove the whole thing in my mouth.

  She laughs as I struggle to chew it all up, and I feel like a complete idiot, but at least it’s making her happy.

  “If you choke, I know the Heimlich maneuver,” she says between laughs.

  I shake my head and hold up my hand while I chew. “Done,” I say after a few minutes. “Now I want another one.”

  She shoves the box toward me. “They locked us in here. I say we’re owed all the cupcakes we want.”

  I reach for another one. “Agreed.”

  I eat my second cupcake in a more normal way and I catch Emma staring at me between bites of her own. I smile at her and she smiles back. This whole crazy event is starting to feel like fun. It’s the first night I’ve actually gone out and done something in a long time. And I’m with a beautiful girl.