(Him)
I watched as she walked hastily away, wondering if she picked up on my reference. She clutched the book like it meant something to her, so I assumed she had read it before. Perhaps I was too bold in my approach but life is short and she was hot.
Something about her intrigued me. As cliche as it sounds, it's true, I couldn't help myself. It had been a confusing past few weeks, and amongst all the chaos she was clarity.
As her silhouette receded beyond the bridge headed back towards downtown, I finally willed myself away from my spot on the sidewalk and back to my car. On the drive back to my apartment I drummed my fingers along my steering wheel, and hummed to the top 40 hits playing on the radio. Despite the blatant rejection I just faced, I couldn't have been in a better mood.
My glee followed me through the front door of my apartment, greeting my roommate as I kicked off my boots and hung my jacket up. I grabbed a beer from the kitchen fridge and made my way upstairs to my room. There was a small fire escape off my window I liked to perch on while I smoked, except today I didn't smoke. I didn't need the clarity. So I took shallow sips of my beer and watched the street beneath me move along without disruption.
Life seemed less complicated when you were looking at it from such a distance. I couldn't help but think of what was unfolding in front of me.
The hours passed and the sky darkened, and the tiny people on the street scattered and retreated. But as I started to get more and more philosophical, a curt buzz from my back pocket snapped me from my thoughts.
A message from an unknown number, all it said being:
"So you do read after all."
My mystery girl.
"I've flipped through some pages here and there." I messaged back, smiling down at the screen. The text bubble floated up and down as she typed, probably unaware that I was on the edge of my seat awaiting her response.
"Tomorrow at The Drip, 10am. Maybe I misjudged you."
My heart rate quickened slightly as I reread the message thinking I had imagined things. I hastily typed out a "see you then" and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I went to bed in anticipation of the tomorrow that was about to arrive. I was excited. I was terrified.
If only I knew then what I knew now. Had I been aware of the incredible, unstoppable, miracle of a journey we were about to embark on together–
I would have thrown that fucking phone onto the streets below me and never picked up another book in my life.
YOU ARE READING
tethered hearts
Novela Juvenil"Why can't you just leave me alone?" "I've tried," he paused as he caught his breath, looking up at me with eyes all too familiar, "I've tried before and it almost destroyed me." • A story in which two souls intertwined try everything they can to cu...
