The Road is not Mislaid

Four

                                                                                Four

                The next week goes by in the same boring manner it always has. The new kid has been a complete recluse. I haven’t seen him since I was at the shop last Wednesday. I’ve tried discretely asking my parents about our new neighbors, but they know about as much as I do: our neighbors aren't friendly at all. No one has seen them in town. If they had, the entire town would know about it. I wish they would leave their house. I wish I could find out if he lived there or not.

         The memory of his perfect body is still clearly imprinted in my mind. His beaming eyes. His broad shoulders. Everything. I still find it hard to believe that I’ve allowed myself to get so caught up over him. It’s not like me to simply glance at someone and feel my heart drop to my feet.

--

        My home phone rings with an obstreperous chime. I rush down the stairs to answer it, expecting one of my mom’s friends to be on the other end.  I'm surprised to hear Emily’s voice.  She has only called the house once before when my little brother broke his arm outside the shop. Whatever compelled him to ride on his bike down a hill of that scale at full speed is still a mystery to me.

         “Amarie! I know I told you I wasn’t going to call you but, he’s here. That mysterious beauty is here!” Emily screeches into my ear, nearly blasting it off. My heart freezes in place. This could be my chance to see him again, maybe even talk to him… But it would mean giving in to Emily. I cringe at the thought. She would nag me about him for weeks if I showed up.

        “That’s great news, but I can’t go to the shop right now.” I say, trying to shrug off my joy.

        There is a long pause before she continues talking.

        “Wait a second." She no longer has excitment in her tone. Somthing must be wrong. "Savanah just walked in the door. Get here now before she lures him into her little web.” All of my joy dissipates. If she’s there than all hope is gone.

        “I can’t Em, sorry, I have some things I need to do.”  Seeing them would only bring me jealous pain.

         “But Marie she's going to…" Emily hesitates, "Okay. But at least let me call you if anything happens."

         “Okay, thank you for thinking about me,” I say with little to no emotion in my voice.

         “You’re welcome sweetie. Let's hope for the best.” I can hear her disappointment. Typical of Em to get worked up over an unrealistic fantasy only to be dramatically dissapointed.

        However, not so typical for me, so why did I let it happen? I suppress my foolish depression.         Savanah is going to impress him with her charm.

          She’s going to win him and there’s nothing I can do about it.

        Win him. As if this was a game. Games require opponents. I hardly count as one.

--

        I spend the next few minutes lying face down on my bed. Doing nothing. Nothing but pushing unpleasant thoughts out of my head. Thoughts about him. Thoughts about her. Thoughts about them. What they are doing. What they are talking about.  I push them from my head as I would push a pesky bug off my arm. With full force. But I do it to no avail. I can't stop my worries and suspicions until I have proof. Proof that she stayed away from him. Proof that he is free from her unrelenting grasp.

         I lay in bed for a split second more before deciding to pull myself up and go the the shop. Just as I do, the phone rings. It rings and rings and rings. It's probably Em with news I don’t want to hear.  I don't hurry to get it. In fact I pick it up just as it's about to come to an end. A different voice is on the other end.

        It’s not Em.

        It’s not one of my mom's friends.

        It’s someone I don't know.

       "Hello is this Amarie?" A deep husky voice inquires.

        "Y-yes. Who is this?" I stammer in response.

      "My name is Jayce. Emily told me you might be able to help me." Emily. Emily was at the shop with the new kid. She was going to watch him and report news to me.

        Jayce His name is Jayce. No one in town is named Jayce. No one has this voice. No one. Could it be my mystery boy?