The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance

by Chantal Gadoury

  “Yeah,” I said as I dug out an extra toothbrush from underneath the sink. I watched as Micah popped it from the plastic wrapping and used a bit of my toothpaste. He had changed back into the clothes he had arrived in.

  “Are those still wet?” I asked between brushes.

  “Huh?” He scrubbed his teeth, creating white foam behind his lips.

  “Are those still wet?” I asked again, pulling the toothbrush from my mouth. Micah grinned as I felt a bit of the toothpaste dribble down my chin. Embarrassed, I quickly turned and began to rinse my mouth, keeping my hand up near my lips to cover my spit. Micah came to stand beside me, making quick brush strokes and then finally cupped his hands under the faucet, bringing the water up to his mouth to rinse. This was such an intimate thing to do together. I had never imagined brushing my teeth in front of someone, let alone him. When Micah was done, he smiled brightly, flashing his pearly whites at me.

  “Minty fresh.”

  “Minty fresh and most likely late.”

  “Eh, live—”

  “If you say ‘live a little,’ I might pinch you.” I laughed and pushed him out of the bathroom.

  “I have to get the car back to the trailer,” Micah confessed softly. I felt remorse and guilt. I could only protect him so much. “My dad will probably get pissed off seeing that the car isn’t there this morning.”

  “Can I go with you?” I asked abruptly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind my ear. Micah looked a little unsure and shrugged.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure if that’s the best idea…”

  “I can handle it,” I promised.

  “It’s not that I don’t think you can handle it, Charlie,” Micah explained. “I just don’t want you to—”

  “Don’t want me to what?” I interjected. “See where you live?” I thought about Josh’s comment the day he drove Micah to Sully’s place. Micah wouldn’t let us take him all the way to his house.

  “If you think I’m going to think differently of you,” I shook my head, “you’re wrong.” There was a pause. A moment of silence between the two of us as Micah stared at me. There was that something lingering between us again. My hands began to feel a bit clammy as I watched him approach me, filling in the gap between us. My mind began to race, wishing I knew his thoughts. His hands came to rest on my shoulders as he continued to gaze down at me. My heart was beating faster. I stared up into his warm and rich eyes, lifting my hands to his sides, where I clung to his T-shirt. It was still a little damp.

  “You know this means we’d have to skip school for the day,” he said softly.

  “Okay,” I said with a small shrug. “I’ll tell my mom I’m not feeling well.”

  Micah shook his head and chuckled. “It should be harder to persuade you to skip school. Where has this version of Charlie been the whole time?”

  I didn’t know how to reply. I was surprising myself, too.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, pulling myself out from his arms. I slipped past my bedroom door before I could change my mind and tried my best to think of a good excuse as I walked toward my parent’s bedroom.

  I WAS PRETTY SURE JOSH didn’t believe me at all. He had some sort of sixth sense like my dad. He eyed me as I stood in the kitchen, pretending to have a horrible stomachache, while my mom tended to me with Tums and crackers.

  “Just go back to bed, honey. You’ll feel better soon enough,” she said, patting my back gently. Josh wrinkled his nose and shook his head as he left. For being a dumb football player, my brother was smarter than I gave him credit for. When I returned back to my bedroom, Micah was sitting on the floor, near my bed, glancing over the copy of Frankenstein he had borrowed from the library for me.

  “So?” he asked as I shut the door, and glanced up at me.

  “We just have to wait for my mom to leave,” I replied. “Which should be in a matter of minutes.” I took a seat on the edge of my bed and watched as he continued to leaf through the novel quietly.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked, breaking the silence. Micah shrugged.

  “Just…thanks for helping me out.” As he peered over his shoulder at me, I knew he was saying so much more.

  “You’re welcome,” I said with a nod.

  We heard my mom call out to me to feel better, and then shut the door to the house. The car pulled out from the driveway moments later. That had been way too easy.

  I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me as we finally decided to leave. I had enjoyed our little sleepover, more than I wanted to admit. I knew I’d never be able to ask him to do this again. Not without something changing between the two of us. We found the car down the street, right where I had told him to leave it. Micah weaved through the development and out toward the main road of Grand Lakes. We drove past the old Sully’s diner and down a long, winding dirt road that led to a set of trailers. An old wooden sign greeted us with a patchy image of “Greenboro Trax.”

  Micah pulled up next to a small, white, red-roofed trailer. It was quaint and looked homey enough—at least for two men living together. The yard was well maintained despite the colored leaves scattered all around.

  “This is where you live?” I asked a little shocked. This hadn’t been at all what I had expected. I felt a little guilty in assuming Micah’s house wouldn’t be so nice.

  “It’s home,” Micah said with a shrug. It was then that I noticed a blue, Ford truck parked in the small gravel space near us.

  “Is that your dad’s?” I asked, gesturing to the vehicle. Micah nodded.

  “I’m going to go in and change. Maybe we can grab something to eat. Make a day of it,” Micah suggested. “I’m certainly not the type to sleep with a girl and run off.” He winked at me as he unbuckled his seat belt. “Sit tight,” he said, climbing out of the car before I could respond. I watched Micah closely as he went into the house. I wondered what it looked like from the inside—including his room. Micah emerged quickly, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and a new pair of jeans. He was carrying the dark brown, leather jacket from the other night.

  “Ready to go?” he asked as he clamored back in.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, hesitantly, gesturing toward his trailer. Micah gave a curt nod and started up the car.

  “We should play hooky the right way. You like pancakes?”

  THE HOURS OF THE DAY flew by. After one of the best stacks of pancakes at the Grand-Dine (short of the perfect pancakes my dad makes), Micah and I headed to the mall and wandered around. I tried to dash away my worries of being caught by someone who might know my parents; the last thing I needed was to be in trouble. In my head, I could hear Micah mocking me with his motto: live a little.

  The shops were decorated for the fall festivities, which made finding props for our English project easier. Halloween was only a week away. Micah tried on nearly all of the scary masks in the Spencer’s store, and had me in a fit of giggles.

  “You look great! A real chick magnet,” I said, pushing a zombie-looking mask into his hand. He yanked the werewolf mask off of his face and took the one I offered.

  “Chhharrrliieeee…” he playfully moaned and reached out for my arm. “Chhharrrlliieeee…”

  I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud. The sight of Micah in a zombie mask, moaning and walking around the store, nearly put me to tears.

  “If I’m a chick magnet, you have to play along! You can’t be laughing like that,” Micah chuckled, lifting the mask just enough to look at me with a goofy grin.

  “That’s okay,” I said, moving toward the exit of the store. Micah set the mask back on the shelf and followed me out. I hadn’t expected to feel his hand grab mine.

  “Come on,” he said, tilting his chin in the direction of the golden carousel in the middle of the mall.

  “Aren’t we a little too old for this?” I asked, a little disbelief
in my tone. He pushed a few quarters into the token machine and rolled his eyes.

  “This is called living a little. The safe version. It’s been Charlie-certified.”

  “This is for five-year-olds.”

  “Exactly. Safe. Charlie-certified.” He pushed a token into my hand and jerked his chin toward the entrance line.

  “Come on. Have some fun with me.”

  We didn’t wait long in the line, thankfully. Micah and I, and a few other children, climbed onto different styled horses once the attendant allowed us in. Micah chose a horse near mine and winked at me. I leaned my cheek against the cool, metal pole and watched as he interacted with the little kids around us.

  “I’m totally going to race you and win,” he teased one of the girls, who was dressed in rainbow colored overalls. She giggled and shook her head.

  “Not-uh! My horse is faster!”

  The ride started with a jolt, and we all began to bob up and down. I enjoyed the slight breeze the ride created, blowing my hair from my face. This was a better alternative than school, at least for the day. The little girl in front of Micah continued to giggle as he called out, “I’m catching up! I’m catching up!”

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. He was so good with children. Where had he come from? I was sure there weren’t very many guys our age who would entertain random kids on a carousel, let alone get on one with a girl. Micah was special.

  The ride eventually came to an end, and the little girl with the colorful overalls gave Micah a thumbs-up as she jumped down from her horse.

  “Good riding, little lady,” he said, giving her a high-five before she ran off to her mom. I grinned, basking in the adorable scene that had just unfolded.

  “You were staring at me for a bit there. You good?” Micah grinned.

  “I’m fine!” I said, trying to look indifferent. Micah tugged his phone from his pocket and let out a deep sigh. “You’re just really good with kids.”

  “Yeah, I have a big family on my dad’s side. I don’t see them often, but when I do, there are a lot of little ones. I like to horse around with them.”

  “It shows.” I smiled.

  “I guess I should get you home before your parents and Josh get there and start questioning your honesty.”

  “I do have a reputation to uphold,” I said with a feigned sigh. What reputation?

  We walked quietly back out to the car. Micah turned on the radio as he drove me back to my house, winding through the town. The Car’s “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend” played softly in the background.

  “Thanks for today,” I said, keeping my gaze on my hands in my lap. I could feel his eyes on me.

  “I think I should be thanking you,” he murmured.

  “This was fun.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a smile. “It was.”

  We arrived back at my house with just enough time for me to get inside and change my clothes without being detected by Josh. I started to reach for the door handle when Micah touched my hand. I lifted my gaze to his, unsure of what he was about to say or do next. His eyes were melted chocolate. I could feel the pulsing of my heartbeat in my ears as he eased closer toward me. Was Micah Jacobs going to kiss me? Did I want him to? I was almost sure I did. Micah paused and looked down at my hand, his fingertips brushing over the top of my knuckles.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmured and pulled away. I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath until I finally felt air emerge from my lips. Hazily, I turned back to the door, and pushed myself from the car.

  “Never Be Alone”

  Shawn Mendes

  WE STARTED TO FILM FRANKENSTEIN in my backyard, the Saturday before Halloween. It was the only place we could find that was free from fall decorations. I wanted to laugh at the costume I had been able to borrow for Micah from the school’s theater club. He definitely looked the part of Victor Frankenstein. I, on the other hand, wore a leftover costume from a previous Halloween. That was the year I had been obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera and my mom’s co-worker made a Christine Daaé gown for me.

  “You look fancy.” Micah smirked, scanning the length of my dress. I blushed as I adjusted his necktie. My dress was soft pink, adorned with small roses around the skirt, and a lacy bodice. As I slid my fingers over the fabric, I felt as though I had been transported to a different time.

  “You’re one to talk,” I replied with a playful smile.

  “Let me assure you, you will never catch me wearing anything like this, ever again,” Micah said, tugging down the sides of his tweed jacket. He looked as though he had stepped right out of an old Victorian film. Most of his hair was slicked back, with exception to his bangs, the same way Leonardo Dicaprio’s hair looked in Titanic.

  “Enjoy it while it lasts.” He sighed.

  “Oh, I will.” I turned my attention back to Paul and Marshall, who were working on the finishing touches of the first scene. Victor would propose to Elizabeth and promise to return to her after he completed his schooling. Victor wanted to become a doctor, at least in our version. Similar to the Robert De Niro film, we would pretend to be at a party, which explained the costumes. My stomach twisted with nerves as Paul finished setting up the flower archway he had built. Because it was autumn, we weren’t able to find fresh flowers; everything was dying. It was also too expensive to buy real flowers from the hardware store or the florists, so we resorted to decorating it with what we found on the clearance rack of the craft store.

  “Are we ready to get this part over with?” Marshall asked the two of us.

  Micah gave Marshall a thumbs-up as he went to the small outdoor set. “Come on, Charlie.”

  I got in place. Micah stood beside me, looking unsure of where to put his hands. I suddenly felt as though we were back at the fire hall, about to slow-dance again. My stomach clenched tightly as I took another step, closing the space between us. The air was almost electrifying. The same mysterious and powerful something had returned to Micah’s brown eyes. I almost said his name when Marshall suddenly called out, “Action!”

  On queue, Micah carefully took my hands in his, reciting his scripted lines. I became lost in the scene as I watched his lips move, listening to everything he—or rather, Victor—had to say. When I finally realized it was my turn to speak, Marshall shouted, “CUT!”

  “I’m sorry.” I pulled my hands out of Micah’s. “Let me try that one more time.” Marshall did something to the camera and motioned for us to get closer again. Micah took my hands and repeated the lines. This time, I did everything in my power to focus and get it right. We flew through the first scene after that, and before I knew it, Marshall was giving Paul the camera. Then, Marshall slipped into a long black cloak and slid a mask over his face.

  “Really? A Frankenstein mask?”

  “It’s all we have,” Micah said. “It’s fine, we’ll make do.”

  “Come on, Micah!” I laughed. “I could paint lines on his face or something. I thought you wanted David to do the makeup.”

  “He wasn’t available today. It’s fine,” Micah assured me. “It’ll give it an element of comic relief.”

  Marshall, dressed as the monster, started to make grunting noises. What a joke. Paul filmed a few scenes between Victor and the monster, which would appear later on in the movie. I stood back and watched as the two of them really got into acting. When I finally glanced at my phone again, almost four hours had passed. It hadn’t felt so long.

  “Do you want to wrap it up for now?” I asked as Paul replayed some of the scenes on the mini-screen.

  “I thought we could do one more. We just have to kill off Elizabeth, and then we can take a break until tonight when we do the burning raft scene. Monday, after school, we’ll only have to film the ‘he’s alive!’ scene.”

  My eyes darted to Marshall, standing near the burner barrel on the edge of th
e yard, smoking. I’d have to remember to pick up the cigarette butt before my dad saw it in the lawn.

  “I guess it’s time to get my throat ripped out,” I said, wondering just how imaginative the three of them would get with the scene.

  “In the novel, he strangles her. I figured we should stick to the original, rather than the movie version.” Micah grinned. “So, no fake blood needed.”

  “This’ll be the first and only time I’ll be grateful to hear those words.” I muttered. “I don’t want to ruin this dress.”

  Marshall pulled a long string of rope from his pocket. “I came prepared,” he said. “Now we get to cuddle up while I pretend to kill you.”

  I wasn’t thrilled about that idea. I wasn’t crazy about Marshall to begin with anyway. How was I supposed to trust that he wouldn’t actually strangle me?

  “Be careful, man,” Micah warned him. I was sure he had read my facial expression.

  Marshall led me to a section of the backyard where a tent was set up. I had been wondering what it was for. This was where I was apparently supposed to die. Micah came to stand in front of the tent, ready for the next scene, as Paul started up the camera again.

  “Stay here. It’ll be safe for you, Elizabeth. Just wait for me,” Micah recited the lines. Originally, Micah had included the kissing scene here, after Victor’s dialogue. I had been quick to scribble it out. But now…now things were different. Things felt different. Instead of walking away like he was supposed to, Micah leaned forward. My eyes widened at his movement. What was he doing? He wasn’t…was he?

  His warm lips brushed my forehead as he reached for my hands and squeezed them. I wanted that squeeze to mean something between us. Maybe he had been afraid I would resist and push him away. But as he eased away from me, I knew I wouldn’t have. I would have welcomed the opportunity to feel his lips against mine. My eyes closed and I allowed myself to enjoy our physical connection, even if it was only for the camera. No matter how real I wished it to be.