Love Is More Than Skin Deep (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 4)

by Mary Crawford

  Quietly, I walk up to the young man and tap him on the shoulder before wordlessly offering him my box of tissues. He punches wildly and almost knocks them out of my hand. Instinctively, I duck.

  He blinks rapidly and slaps the side of his face as if to stop it. Finally, he takes a deep breath and looks at me as if he is just now noticing that I’m not with the same group of kids that just beat him up. “Jigger… sorr — jigger, jigger—”

  Usually, context helps me figure this stuff. I still tend to rely on lip-reading even though I have the implants — but this just isn’t making any sense. What I think it sounds like doesn’t even remotely apply to me. I must have misheard. Maybe I’m getting some odd feedback or something. Whoever this guy is, he doesn’t look like he’d be in a position to mess with me. If I thought my day was off to rough start, his is far worse.

  I pull a Kleenex from the box and stuff it into his hand, “This will help. Hold some pressure on your nose.”

  “Jig, Jigger if you want to survive in this school jig jigger, you should pretend jigger you don’t know me and I need to act like I don't know you. Thanks for the help, though.”

  WELL, THAT’S JUST GREAT. SO much for my dad’s lectures all summer about how this was going to be a fresh start for me; about everyone was going to have a new level of maturity. It will be different, they said. You all are high schoolers now. Kids know more now because of the Internet, they’ll understand Tourette’s syndrome. They’ll know that you’re smart and that your tics are just a difference, and don’t mean that you’re stupid.

  Yeah, not so much. It’s been that way ever since Scotty McDougall decided to make Cub Scout camp all about torturing me. From that moment on, Elijah Fischer became synonymous with, wimp, target, weirdo, retard, stupid, reject and my favorite of all, defuct-o-matic or maybe Jigger-nut because of my tic. I thought that the new medication I tried over the summer was doing pretty good job of controlling my tics, but I guess I was wrong. Again. What else is new?

  Really? Did I have to fall to pieces in front of one of the prettiest girls I’ve seen in forever? I had one chance to make a good first impression and I practically biffed her in the face. I look down at my shirt and see a growing spot of red. Great! This was a brand-new shirt that I just got at an Aidan O’Brien concert. It even has an autograph on the back. I’ll never get the blood out.

  I walk to my first period class — of course because I’m late, there are no seats in the back. The only seat in the room is right next to new girl. FML. I try to slide into my seat before the teacher notices. Just my luck, it’s somebody new. “Mr. Fischer, I presume?”

  I nod tightly and inexplicably, New Girl smiles at me and gives me a little wave.

  The new teacher gives me a look of sympathy just shy of pity as she comments, “Mondays are tough on me, too. I have an extra copy of the syllabus and handouts for you.”

  As the new teacher cheerfully tells us about her attendance policy and all the exciting things we’re going to do this year, New Girl slips me a note. I honestly don’t know how to react. I don’t have a very good history with notes. Usually, they involve threats to bodily parts that I’d rather not lose. I open this one with extreme trepidation. Surprisingly, it just has a few random doodles on it. Okay, so it’s not fair to call them doodles — they’re pretty much works of art. Among all the doodles is a note:

  Her handwriting is almost a work of art in itself.

  I tear off a piece of paper from my tablet and scribble.

  After looking at Sadie’s note, I wish my handwriting was better — but it’s not. Usually, I am in such a rush to get my ideas down that I don’t take the time to focus on my writing. If I do focus on my writing then I can get too focused and start to repetitively count the strokes in the letters and that’s bad. It’s easier for me just to rush through and not pay attention to the actual physical act of writing. I am just weird that way. I carefully fold the note up and pass it to her.

  I watch as she visibly rolls her eyes while reading my note. I cringe because I am afraid that the teacher is going to catch on to her body language if she’s not careful. Sadie seems completely oblivious as she hurriedly scribbles an answer to me. I’ve never seen anybody write as fast as she does. It’s awe-inspiring.

  In no time flat, a note appears on my desk. As if the speed writing wasn’t impressive enough, there is a whole new doodle. It is astonishingly accurate for the amount of time she had to draw it.

  I can’t believe that she had enough time to write that whole thing in what seemed like a few seconds. I wonder if she heard the rumor about Kaylynn. She supposedly tried that cinnamon trick and almost died from an asthma attack. She and her friends were trying to make a viral video. It almost went viral for all the wrong reasons.

  I take a second to watch her as she writes down something the teacher says, but to be honest, I don’t think I’ve heard more than about four words of what’s been said in class for the last forty minutes. I try again to dissuade her as I pass her another note.

  I surreptitiously watch for her reaction behind by a binder. She very visibly rolls her eyes at me and presses her lips together in frustration. Subtlety is not her strong point. The new teacher starts to talk about her grading policies and I tried to pay attention for a change, but it’s just no use. I’m totally distracted by everything that’s going on this morning. Suddenly, a new note appears on the edge of my desk.

  Being an author is a very isolating endeavor, since by nature we live in a world of fantasy. I take fan input seriously and I would love to hear yours. Sites like Amazon and Goodreads give you the opportunity to rate this book and share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this book, please take a moment to share your review and encourage your friends and family to share in the love of reading.

  Thank you so much.

  ~Mary

  Copyright?

  Dedication?

  Foreword?

  Chapter 1: Shelby?

  Chapter 2: Mark?

  Chapter 3: Shelby?

  Chapter 4: Mark?

  Chapter 5: Shelby?

  Chapter 6: Mark?

  Chapter 7: Shelby?

  Chapter 8: Mark?

  Chapter 9: Shelby?

  Chapter 10: Mark?

  Chapter 11: Shelby?

  Chapter 12: Mark?

  Chapter 13: Shelby?

  Chapter 14: Mark?

  Chapter 15: Shelby?

  Chapter 16: Mark?

  Chapter 17: Shelby?

  Chapter 18: Mark?

  Chapter 19: Shelby?

  Chapter 20: Mark?

  Chapter 21: Shelby?

  Chapter 22: Mark?

  Chapter 23: Shelby?

  Chapter 24: Mark?

  Epilogue: Shelby?

  Acknowledgments?

  About the Author?

  Previews?

  Preview of Hearts of Jade (A Hidden Hearts Novel #4)?

  Preview of Sheltered Hearts (A Hidden Hearts Novel #2)?

  Preview of If You Knew Me?

  A Final Note?