Takes You

by Nicola C. Priest

  He pushes off the car as I get closer, and before I have chance to say anything, he pulls me against him and his mouth covers mine. The kiss is over before I have chance to react, and it steals the breath from my lungs. All I can do is smile at him as he opens the car door for me to climb inside.

  I take a few deep breaths as I wait for him to join me and see the smile on his face is equally as big as mine.

  “Morning, Miss Walker.”

  “Good morning, Mr Roberts.”

  I’m grinning like an idiot at the moment. You wouldn’t think we’d been together just over three months now. Every time I see him it’s like the first time. I still get the butterflies in my tummy and the quickened pulse, and don’t even get me started on how I react when he touches me. He seems to be able to play my body like a conductor leads an orchestra; with ease and skilled control.

  “Ready to go get those results?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I respond, knowing my nerves are apparent in the sound of my voice. Caleb obviously hears it too, because he reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing gently.

  “I’m sure you’ve breezed through them. You’ve done all the hard work, now you just need to go get that piece of paper to show the world that Crissie Walker is going places. I believe in you.” Caleb's words wash over me, erasing my nerves and leaving me feeling calm and relaxed. His confidence in my abilities soothes me, and I nod at him. Squeezing my hand again before he releases it, Caleb starts the car and puts it into gear before pulling away.

  We are at my old school within five minutes, and I can see all my former classmates crowded together, waiting for the doors to open. I take a deep breath and gaze at them through the car window, the nerves Caleb had earlier banished beginning to resurface. I feel Caleb’s hand on mine again as I turn to look at him.

  “You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ve done great.” I see him look behind me, and then his gaze shifts back to me. “You should get going. I think some people want to see you.”

  Furrowing my brow, I turn to see Missy, Pippa and Tasha all waiting for me, and I smile at them as they all wave. Ever since I started seeing Caleb, they’ve managed to rein in their obsession with him. They all still think he’s hot and have called me the luckiest bitch alive more than once, but they respect that I’m with him and have toned down the inappropriate comments—at least, they have when I’m with them. God only knows what they say when I’m not there.

  “I’ll call you when I know,” I say with a smile, but he shakes his head.

  “Oh no, I’m waiting right here.”

  “But I could be a while. Apparently, they’re doing it alphabetically this year, so I’ll be towards the end.”

  “Don’t care. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be parked right here, waiting for you when you come out.” He grins at me, and I sigh, wondering what I did to make him fall for me. Leaning across, I kiss him lightly on the lips, stopping myself from laughing when I hear the wolf whistles from my friends, who are still waiting outside the school gates.

  “I should go. I’ll see you later.” I quickly kiss him again before grabbing my bag from the backseat and getting out the car. I watch as Caleb pulls the car into a nearby parking space and shuts off the engine. He makes no move to get out of the car. Instead, he turns to wave at me, blowing me a kiss that I pretend to catch.

  I’m grinning like the Cheshire cat when I turn and see my friends, who are all staring at me with goofy smiles on their faces. I secure my bag across my body and walk towards them. They’re all looking at me, none of them saying anything, before Tasha breaks the silence.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but you are one lucky bitch.”

  I link arms with Tasha and glance over my shoulder at Caleb, seeing he’s still watching me, a smile on his handsome face. It’s then I realise just how right my friend is.

  “Crissie Walker?”

  I approach my old form teacher and she hands me the white envelope that contains my future. She smiles kindly at me, keeping a firm grip on the envelope, before leaning in to say, “Good luck, Crissie. Of all my pupils, you are the one I see doing great things.”

  “Thank you, Miss Grant.” I smile back at her as she releases the envelope, and then I walk back over to my friends. Even though they’ve had their results for a while now, they’ve not opened them yet. We all agreed to open them together, and now I’ve got mine, that moment is here.

  We look at each other and then back to the envelopes in our hands. Why am I so nervous about this? I revised for all my exams. I came out of each one feeling confident that I’d done enough to get the grades I need to get into college. So what’s the problem?

  “Okay, after three. One, two—”

  “Hold on, Pip,” I say, stopping my friend’s countdown. “I know we said we’d do this together, but would you guys mind if I leave you to it?”

  “Yeah, if you want,” Missy replies. “Is everything okay, Cris?”

  I nod and smile at my friends, before stuffing the envelope in my bag and hurrying out of my former classroom. Within a minute, I’m back outside in the fresh air and I see Caleb’s car parked in the same spot he was in when I left him to come inside.

  He stayed. He didn’t leave me.

  I mean, he told me he would wait for me, but part of me had expected him to get bored and drive off somewhere to wait for my call. I wonder what he’s been doing for the last ninety minutes. For some reason, the fact he's still here brings tears to my eyes. I know it’s a stupid reaction, but I can’t help it. Before I know it, I’m crying in the middle of the school car park.

  My vision blurs with tears. I try and blink them away, and before I know what’s happening, a pair of strong arms wrap around my body and a familiar scent engulfs me. I circle my arms around his waist and just hold him as he gently strokes my hair. I can feel the tension in his body as I lift my watery eyes to his face, seeing the concern in his furrowed brow and the hard line of his mouth.

  “What is it, baby? Are they bad?”

  I try and smile at him but fail miserably, which only makes him look even more concerned. Why am I still crying?

  “No, I’ve not opened them yet. I wanted to open them with you. You’re still here?” I’m not sure whether it’s a question or a statement as I peer up at him, tilting my head into his hand as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “I told you I’d wait for you. Is that why you’re crying—because I waited for you?”

  He’s confused; I can hear it in his voice. I feel silly for crying over something so trivial. I know I should explain it to him, but truth be told, I don’t think I can.

  He waited. No one has ever done that before.

  Suddenly, the words become easy to say. “No one has waited for me before. I know that sounds silly—it does, even to me—and I can’t explain the tears. I know my parents love me, but there was always something they had to rush off to, so wherever I went, I had to find my own way home or someone else would have to bring me home. Seeing you parked there, where you were almost two hours ago... it just hit me that I have someone now who’s willing to wait for me.”

  Caleb just nods and pulls me back into his arms, holding me against him tightly. I take a few deep breaths and the tears begin to subside as we just stand there in the middle of the car park. I can hear people walking past us, some happy and excited about their results, others the complete opposite.

  I know I should open mine. That envelope is burning a hole in my bag, and I promised I’d call my mum and let her and Dad know as soon as I found out. I’m surprised they’ve not driven over here to find out what the delay is. Impatience is a family trait we are all blessed—or cursed—with, depending how you look at it.

  After a few minutes, Caleb releases his hold on me and takes my hand. “Come on, let’s go back to my place. I can sort us some lunch and you can open that envelope. I bet your parents are chomping at the bit to find out how you’ve done.”

  I laugh and follow C
aleb to his car. We’ve only been together three months and already he knows what my parents can be like.

  When we're both buckled in, Caleb drives us to his flat, and less than ten minutes later, we're sat on the sofa. I have the envelope in my hands, staring at my name neatly printed in the clear window.

  This envelope contains a piece of paper that will decide how my future will progress. I haven’t given any thought to what I’ll do if I don’t get the grades I need to get into college. My placement is dependant on me achieving at least three B grades, which must include Maths.

  Just open the envelope, Crissie. You’re never going to know if you just sit staring at it.

  Taking a deep breath, I begin to rip open the envelope, being careful not to tear the contents. When I have the folded piece of paper in my hand, I glance over at Caleb, who is watching me closely. I can tell he’s trying to figure out what’s running through my mind, while at the same time, trying to be supportive. Thank God he's here with me.

  Turning back to the piece of paper, I unfold it and read the neatly typed words, and it’s in that moment, the future I had planned, changes forever.

  Chapter 8

  Present Day

  I fix my hair for what must be the tenth time in the last hour. It looks fine, but ever the perfectionist, I’m always finding something wrong with it. Not just with my hair, either; with everything. As well as being a perfectionist, I learned pretty early on that I’m also a pessimist.

  I always find the negative in any given situation. My brain goes to the worst-case scenario, and no matter what anyone tells me, it won’t budge. I’ve tried to change my way of viewing things, but I’ve had no luck so far. I’m twenty-eight now, so I can’t see it changing anytime soon.

  People are used to my negative ways now. My natural pessimistic streak is why I found it so difficult to understand what Caleb saw in me. I’m by no means beautiful, and I have a tendency to speak before I think, but he stuck by me all these years. Even when I tried to push him away, insisting that he shouldn’t wait for me.

  That is one conversation I will never forget.

  Chapter 9

  Crissie

  September 2006

  I knew I hadn’t done enough. Even though everyone around me kept telling me I’d be fine, deep down, I knew. My chance at going to college went out the window when I failed to get the GCSE grades I needed to get on my chosen course.

  Two B grades and eight C grades just wasn’t enough to do the A Levels I want to do. The college offered me alternatives, but none of them are what I want, or need, if I want a career in Forensic Science, and I refuse to settle for second best.

  Then, a week later, the phone call came.

  Ever since I was old enough to know what a college was, I’ve dreamed of attending one particular college and heard older siblings of my friends raving about it all the time. As I knew their entry requirements were ridiculously strict, I never expected to get it, but applied anyway.

  As expected, I never heard anything back, not even an acknowledgement of my application. I took that as a sign it wasn’t meant to be and put it out of my mind.

  Until today.

  To say I was surprised to hear from them is an understatement. Apparently, due to a poor acceptance rate on my chosen subjects, they had adjusted the eligibility criteria, which meant my grades were now good enough for them to offer me a place.

  Now, I’m never usually speechless, but that phone call came as such a bolt out of the blue that all I could do was thank them. They said they’d send all the information to me via email and I had up until the end of the week to decide, as the course started the following week.

  That was three hours ago, and I’ve thought of nothing else since—unless you count how I’m going to break the news to Caleb. Having to decide between my boyfriend and my career isn’t something I ever thought I’d have to do, especially at only seventeen.

  I know he'll be over the moon to hear I’ve been offered a place at college, but when we live in Chester and the college is near Birmingham, that might put a proverbial spanner in the works. I know exactly what he’s going to say, though. He’ll tell me we can make it work and that we’ll still see each other at weekends and during holidays, but I’m not sure I want that.

  I love him and don’t want to lose him, but I can’t expect him to wait for me, or ask him to make the two-hour trek from Chester to Birmingham every time I want to see him, or him me. I mean, it’s not like Birmingham is just down the road. Yes, it’s only a two-hour drive, but still… After a while, that can become tiresome, and the last thing I want is for him to get fed up with me and the effort it’s taking for us to see each other.

  I know relationships aren’t easy—I’m not that naïve—but they shouldn’t be super hard either, and us being so far apart isn’t going to make our relationship any easier. My mum thinks I should take the college up on their offer. She knows how I feel about Caleb, and she’s confident we will survive the travelling and distance, but just the thought of not being able to go round to his place whenever I want, doesn’t sit well with me.

  At the moment, we’re seeing each other almost every night. In fact, he’s on his way round to pick me up right now. We’re going to the cinema and then back to his place. Tonight is going to be the first night I’m sleeping over.

  Regardless of what’s going on with college, thoughts of spending the night with Caleb have turned me into a nervous bundle of excitement. It made me so happy when my parents finally decided they were okay with me staying at Caleb's.

  My parents aren’t stupid; they know we’re sleeping together—despite how adamantly my father refuses to admit I’m no longer his little girl. My overnight bag is packed and waiting by my bedroom door. Now all I need to decide is when to tell him about college.

  I could tell him when he picks me up, but that has the potential to completely ruin the evening. Or I could wait until we get back to his place, but then he might not want me to stay over. I know the reasons against both ideas are purely selfish; I want a nice evening with my boyfriend, and I want to stay over at Caleb’s house. I want to lie happy and content in his arms while he holds me close to his side.

  After I weigh up my options, I decide to tell him the next morning. A few more hours aren’t going to make a difference. Besides, I’ve still not received the information from the college. Until I receive that with the specifics I need, it’s not a foregone conclusion that I’ll be going anyway. No, I’ll wait until I have all the facts before saying anything to Caleb.

  Happy with my decision, I glance at myself one more time in the full-length mirror, pleased with my choice of outfit. The dark jeans are simple and the off-the-shoulder pink top I bought earlier today is cute and will keep me cool in the unusual autumn heat.

  I slip my feet into my baby-pink ballet flats before I hear my mum call from downstairs, “Crissie, Caleb’s here, honey.”

  I smile at the mention of his name and grab my handbag and overnight bag before leaving my room and descending the stairs. I kiss my mum on the cheek and shout a goodbye to my dad, who just grunts from his position in front of the TV. I smile at him and shake my head as I open the front door, meeting Caleb halfway down the path.

  I rise to my tiptoes and kiss him lightly on the lips as he takes my overnight bag from me and grabs my hand. As we walk towards his car, I’m amazed at how, after nearly four months, his touch still sends shivers through my body. Part of me hopes it’s always like this between us.

  Every time I'm near him there's a spark and it makes me want to see him every day. It’s probably what I’ll miss the most if I decide to accept the college placement.

  I put that thought from my mind as Caleb releases my hand and tosses my bag onto his backseat. As I climb in the passenger side, I glance around the interior of his car. Maybe I should start taking driving lessons? I’m seventeen now, so I can apply for my provisional licence. Driving lessons don’t come cheap, but I’m sure if I get a part-time
job, I’ll be able to afford them.

  It’s definitely something I should consider, especially if I do go away to college. Caleb and I could split the travelling then, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad. Yes, that’s something I will look into when I’ve decided what to do.

  We’re at the cinema complex within fifteen minutes. I’ve no idea what we’re here to see; Caleb just said his friends had been going on about it for days and he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. He doesn’t even let me see the tickets. He just buys them, leads me to the queue to get popcorn and drinks, and then we go through to take our seats.

  Caleb seats us right in the middle of the cinema, central to the huge screen in front of us. We put our drinks in the cup holders set in the arms of our seats, and he holds on to the tub of popcorn, placing it in easy reaching distance for me.

  “So, are you ever going to tell me what we’re here to see?”

  “You’ve just got,” he pauses as he checks his watch, “twenty minutes to wait.”

  I frown at him as he grins at me. He’s really dragging this out for some reason. We’ve watched dozens of movies since we started seeing each other. Action, romance, thrillers, even some westerns. In fact, I think we’ve watched all genres except horror. I draw the line at horror.

  Ever since I was six years old and walked in on my mum and dad watching Dracula, I’ve not been able to watch horror movies. The sight of Christopher Lee with blood dripping from his mouth and those horrible bloodshot eyes glaring at me through the TV screen has put me off those kind of movies for life. I shiver as the image pops into my head, and Caleb looks at me.

  “Are you cold?”

  “No, I’m good. Just remembering an old movie and the reason why I hate horrors.” When Caleb’s face falls, I know instantly why. “This is a horror movie, isn’t it?”