The Castle of Gold [Bk 2]

ch.13 Something golden

We had the specials from the menu and Harry kept picking up strands of spaghetti from my plate and decorating my arm like the streamers on the ceiling. So I got back at him by eating all the green peppers on his plate.  

Then Danny stood up to make a toast.

He cleared his throat carefully, but I knew he was trying to fight back some of those emotions ne couldn’t name but that came in the form of water in your eyes…

“Angie, I just wanted to congratulate you again. You’ve really accomplished something amazing and you deserve to make the most of today” he grinned as he held up a glass of wine, especially since he knew that I couldn’t drink any.

“Just like that blonde kid has said in his speech: don’t blink because it’ll all be over” he added slowly and more seriously.  I looked down quickly as he mentioned Liam’s speech.

“I’ve blinked one too many times and I don’t remember when you ditched pigtails or liked boys, but you did and you do, so I’ve got to the spend the next couple years wrapping my head around these things before you start changing some more” he teased.

I shook my head slowly and smiled.

Harry kissed my cheek.

The rest of the crowd laughed and held up their glasses.

“To Angela” he declared.

Everyone turned to look and hold their glasses up at me.

“And Danny” Harry added in a deep rasp.

Everyone cheered clinked glasses with other even though I had coke and they had the wine.

Harry tapped his glass to mine and held it close to my lips teasingly.

“I pushed at his chest and he took a sip of his drink.

I turned my straw in my coke and shook my head.

“Just three more years” Harry reminded me as he saw my momentary disappointment.

I was the youngest person in the room.

“Maybe if I blink, it’ll pass faster” I joked.

Harry laughed.

Then he delicately took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes.

“Maybe” he whispered and he pressed those red petal-like lips to mine, showing me what “maybe” tasted like.

We finished eating and the casual cocktail conversations resumed.

Mrs. Fitzgerald approached me as I made my way to the bathroom.

“Angela, may I have a word with you?” she asked.

“Of course” I nodded.

She smiled and we walked to a quieter end of the room.

I saw Harry glance over at me.

I nodded at him.

He returned to his attention back to Tony, who held his arms out as he seemed to be describing a really big engine he was working on.

“Angela” Fitzgerald began slowly.

“Where are you planning on furthering your writing career?” she asked me quite bluntly.

“Writing career?” I asked with slight confusion.

Career? I was going to go to school nearby and study the general requirements before I set my heart on a career.

“Yes, your writing career. Angela, I know you should be celebrating right now, but the future doesn’t take a break. It doesn’t escape you and neither does your past” she reminded me and she sounded like the judge from court last year.

I swallowed hard.

“Angela, I was very serious about my comments on your assignment from last year and your writing has improved a great deal since that already wonderful essay on Dally” she told me.

“Thank you” I nodded slowly. I guess she meant my improvement was a compliment.

“And I have been contact by a university whose creative writing department is absolutely magnificent” she told me gleefully.

I swallowed even harder.

She placed a hand on my shoulder, as if bracing me for what she was about to tell me.

“The University of Connecticut is offering you a scholarship, Angela” she told me slowly.

“Connecticut? A scholarship?” I asked.

She nodded.

“But, but that’s in Connecticut” I stated obviously.

Connecticut….that’s where Liam is going.

“Yes, Angela!” she cheered in pure joy.

“You could train with the best professors and get your work published!” she continued. But she was only telling me the good things. What about leaving Westwood? Sure, I would leave Westwood in a heartbeat, but it’s still my home, despite its setbacks.

And what about Harry??

“But I can’t leave” I reasoned poorly again.

“As amazing as a scholarship sounds, Mrs. Fitzgerald, I can’t leave Westwood. My whole fam-” I started to explain and then I stopped momentarily. “Family” was a term I used rarely and loosely. Danny was my only blood family, but Tony, Niall, and Zayn were like my brothers and Harry, Harry was my knight in shining armor. And I wanted stay in Westwood and live in a fantasy castle with him and our children and not worry about anyone like Liam or the cops or anyone intruding on that.

“Everyone I care about is here, in Westwood. I can’t just leave” I tried to explain.

Mrs. Fitzgerald shook her head of dark puffy hair and smiled like she had the key to Narnia and it was only a matter of time before I realized that I had the key, too.

“Isn’t that what college is all about?” she asked me rhetorically. “You’re supposed to leave home in search of something new, something golden” she spoke dreamily.

I was quiet a moment as I realized that she was right, but if she was right, I wanted to be wrong.

My gaze fell to Harry, who still stood talking to Tony.

He noticed me watching and he smiled. I tried my best to return his smile, but it came off as very weak and Harry took it as a signal to come to me.

“Everything ok?” Harry asked me and he looked at Fitzgerald briefly.

Fitzgerald blinked and looked at Harry again, trying to take in his very resolute and charismatic presence.

“Everything’s A ok” she grinned and she watched Harry look at me.

She smiled to herself and walked off.

“Something golden” she half-whispered as she walked off.

I nodded slowly.

Harry took my hand in his.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Harry asked and he raised my hand to meet his lips.

I shook my head.

“Just talking about an old assignment. Fitzgerald’s one of my favorite English teachers” I told Harry. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t want to tell him about the scholarship. I was afraid he would push me to go out of his own self-lessness, but then I would feel self-sh.

A knock came at the door, stopping me from continuing to have to explain myself.

“Liam?” I asked, even though I could clearly see the crinkles by those warm brown eyes.

He nodded.