by James Ramos
I wheeled around and darted toward the cafeteria, possibly the worst place to try to find someone. Passing time was only five minutes, and I had just wasted three. She wasn’t there either.
One minute left.
I ran back to the front concourse. There were plenty of people here. I scoured the faces for all of thirty seconds before I found Bridget.
Flying in the face of all logic, Jake was once again with her. Slowly, in complete and utter disbelief, I walked toward them. The two were sitting on a bench facing one another, their hands locked together, staring into each other’s eyes with such naked affection that I felt like a voyeur just looking at them. Bridget was the first to notice me, and when she did she hopped up and raced toward me with arms outstretched. I braced myself as she flung herself onto me.
“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice was muffled as her face was pressed into my chest. “I’m so, so, so, sorry, I never should have left. It was a stupid thing to do; please, please, don’t hate me!”
I peeled her off and held her at arm’s length. “Wait, what?” I looked at Jake, who was approaching with a giddy smile on his face. I looked at Bridget again, and she wore the same expression. When Jake joined us they instantly latched onto each other like magnets. I took an involuntary step back lest I be caught in the vortex of all that lovey stuff.
“I take it the two of you are a, um—”
“A couple,” Jake finished.
“Officially,” Bridget added. He pulled her closer, and she grasped him even tighter. I averted my eyes as they started kissing. I cleared my throat, and they stopped long enough for me to ask, “How did this happen?” only to realize the answer as soon as I asked the question. “Never mind. Where’s Darcy?”
Bridget shrugged. “She’s at home, I think. She said she wasn’t feeling good.”
“Right. Thanks.” I turned and raced off, shouting, “Congratulations!” over my shoulder. I bounded through the concourse, bulldozing whoever was in my way. I knew exactly what my goal was, I knew exactly what my tactics were, and I knew that the only obstacle between me and that goal was the time it would take me to get to the Manor.
Chapter 31
I hopped on the first bus that passed. My mind was reeling. What would I do when I found her? What would I say? How would she react? What the heck was I doing?
The bus rolled along at a painfully slow pace, and it seemed like every new passenger took an hour to board. I stared impatiently out of the window, watching the terrain crawl past with the silhouette of the mountains ever present in the distance. The sun wasn’t shining as brightly today, and the sky was clouded and gray. Whether or not it would rain was anyone’s guess, but if the recent weather was any indication we would be seeing some moisture in the valley today.
Finally I could endure no longer, and I pulled the stop cord while we were still a block away from my neighborhood. I got off and started running. It was surprisingly cool outside, and as I ran a breeze began, turning into a wind that rushed against me. I zigzagged through the golf course, nearly twisting my ankle on a knoll and splashing mud all over my pants. I felt a heavy plop on my forehead, then two more. The rain started in sparse, fat drops, then increased to a steady drizzle. I pressed on, ignoring the slow dampening of my clothes. I reached the Manor and knocked quickly on the door.
No one answered. I waited, then knocked again, embarrassed by the urgency in my pounding. More time passed, how much I couldn’t tell, but it seemed to be hours. At last the door cracked open. Calvin.
“Elliott? What are you doing here?”
I glanced past him, struggling to catch my breath. There were a few lights on inside, but no noise coming from within. “I, um . . . nothing. Later.”
I turned and hurried away from the door. It didn’t seem Darcy was here, and I had no desire to stick around shooting the breeze with Calvin.
“It’s Darcy, isn’t it?”
I stopped. His words weren’t really a question. I turned back around. Calvin was glaring at me. “You like her, don’t you?”
Again, his question didn’t come off as a question at all, but an accusation. “What’s it matter to you?”
He took a menacing step onto the porch. “Darcy is mine,” he growled. “I’ve worked too hard to have some nobody like you to ruin it.”
I came closer, anger bubbling in my chest. “Ruin what, Calvin? She’s not your property.”
Calvin stalked closer, his fists clenched. He was a good five inches taller than me, but I held my ground.
“Leave Darcy alone,” he seethed.
I craned my neck to meet his eyes. “Or?” I hoped he attacked me. I’d wanted to punch Calvin since the day we’d met, and now, finally, it looked like I’d finally get my wish.
“Then I will kick . . . your . . . a—”
“Are you stalling?” I blurted. The realization dawned on me even as I said the words, melting away any desire to fight I had.
Calvin frowned. “Stalling, why would I be—”
“Because Darcy isn’t here, and you don’t want me to find her.” I smiled, a wave of relief washing through me. “You’re totally stalling.”
Calvin took a step back. “No, I’m not.”
His voice betrayed his lie. I laughed, because I suddenly saw him for what he really was: in denial. Because if he felt so threatened by my being here, then surely it was because he knew that there was a chance, however small it may be, that Darcy still felt something for me.
“You take care, Calvin.” I turned and bounded off the porch. I had to find Darcy, wherever she was. I would find her if my search took me to the edge of the valley.
Only I didn’t know where to look.
It didn’t make any sense for her not to be home if she hadn’t been feeling well. Unless her being sick had only been a ruse, or Calvin had simply lied about her not being there. For all I knew she could be asleep inside. I stopped and turned around. By now I had made it to the park at the other end of the golf course. I looked up at the sky, letting the rain patter down across my face. I should go back. I should march straight there and demand that Calvin tell me the truth. If I had to fight him to get to her, then all the better. But if she was sick inside, how rude would it be of me to intrude with my petty feelings? I closed my eyes and stood still. I felt the wind rush around me, the rain coming down over me, the cold seeping through me.
I heard someone approaching. It was Calvin. I knew it. He was coming to fight me after all. I kept my eyes closed and waited. If I couldn’t find Darcy now, I’d have to settle for a chance to throw down with the insufferable oaf. At least this trip wouldn’t be entirely worthless.
“Hey,” said a voice that was definitely not Calvin’s.
For a moment I couldn’t move. Her voice coursed through my mind and body. I forced my eyes open. Darcy was standing three yards away. Her hair was a dripping mess, strands clinging to her brow and hanging limply to her shoulders. Her clothes were damp, her breath came in quick, deep gasps, and she was shivering. And she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I took a disbelieving step toward her. She didn’t move. She didn’t vanish. I wasn’t dreaming. Not this time.
“You got Bridget and Jake back together, didn’t you?” I asked her when I finally found my voice.
“What else was there to do?” This time it was her who moved closer. “Did you ever read my letter?” she asked.
“About a thousand times, actually.”
She bit her lip. “Calvin told me you came by.”
“He did?”
“I made him.”
“Did he say why?”
She shook her head. “I wanted to hear that for myself.” She took another step toward me, and I matched it with one of my own. “When he said you’d come by, I thought—I mean, I hoped—that maybe . . . maybe something had changed.”
We were standing an arm’s length apart now. I shook my head. “See that’s the thi
ng. Nothing’s changed at all. I was wrong about you Darcy. I was utterly, completely, abysmally wrong about you.” I reached out and touched her cheek. Her skin was cold, but I still felt heat spark along my finger. “I thought that you were the last person I could ever be with,” I touched her chin and nudged her closer to me. I could feel the cool of her breath and smell the damp of her hair. “But Darcy, you are the only person I want to be with.” I felt the weight of her arms as she draped them over my shoulders. “You have every right to hate me. But please know that I love you.”
Her fingers laced behind my head and she pulled me toward her. Our lips met, and then we were kissing, softly at first, but then urgently, like this was the last time we would ever have to do this. I realized that this was what I had always wanted, always needed. In that kiss I knew, I felt in every cell in my body, that all was right. For the first time in my life, I was complete. When she pulled away it felt like the world was ripping in two.
“Wait, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said breathlessly before our lips found each other again. Our kiss was feverish now, but she pulled away again. “I know why now.”
“Why what?” I asked as I pulled her closer, unwilling to ever let her go again. She smiled, and took my hands in hers. “I know why I like you. You braved a dust storm just to check on your cousin. You tried to fight a guy who’s easily twice your size for one of your friends. You’re one of the only guys I’ve ever met who isn’t intimidated by me.”
“That part isn’t all the way true,” I added.
She put a finger to my mouth. “You care about other people. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re—”
“Sexy?”
She grinned. “I was going to say adorable.”
“Ouch.”
“Seriously. You’re a good guy, to your friends, to your family, to me. That’s why I like you.”
I felt myself blushing, and I really hoped she wouldn’t notice. But she grinned and tugged me closer. “By the way, I think it’s cute when you do that.”
“You noticed?”
“I’ve always noticed.”
“Great.”
She laughed, and kissed me again.
“So, what happens now?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” she said with a grin. “Not sure I want to go back to school, though.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I kicked Calvin out. We could go back to my place.”
“Isn’t it his house?”
“Yes, but I still kicked him out of it.”
I laughed. Classic Darcy move. “What will we do there?”
“Watch a movie, maybe,” she smiled. “I have a few I haven’t seen yet. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Go to the winter formal with me?”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of going with anyone else.”
As strange as I was sure this was going to be, I was ready. I wasn’t going to run, not anymore. I didn’t need to. I wasn’t lost. I knew exactly where I wanted to be. Right here, with Darcy, because in the end she hadn’t been a mystery or a puzzle, something I needed to solve or figure out.
In the end, Darcy was a person. And I loved her.
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About the Author
James Ramos is a native Minnesotan who has called Phoenix, Arizona his home for the past five years. He has been writing since the age of nine. He is a professional dork and lover of all things geeky. When he isn’t writing he can be found cosplaying as Spiderman or conversing with his extraordinarily brilliant cat. The eleventh Doctor is his favorite.