It was a little before mid-evening when I'd finished my homework, and since I had plenty of free time afterward, I found myself deeply engrossed in the book of Matthew, writing note after note in the margins until my hand was cramping from the constant writing. No matter how many times I read the book, somehow I always ended up finding something new that I hadn't caught in my last reading of it. It was intriguing.
I was writing down my last few notes when I heard the distant, familiar sound of Holden's truck pulling into the driveway across the street.
In an instant, I was up on my feet and made my way down the stairs, where my mom and dad sat on the couch. My dad was watching TV, and my mom was reading her devotional with her reading glasses perched up her nose.
"Where are you going, young lady?" Dad looked away from the TV, turning his full attention on me as I had my hand on the doorknob.
"Holden is here. I'm just going to go say goodnight, really quick," I explained, waiting for a word or nod of approval, but instead got a wave of the hand from my dad as he turned his attention back to the TV.
"Be back in ten minutes, Heather. It's a school night, and it's twelve minutes till eight." My mom warned, looking up from the top of her glasses. For a moment, she looked Ms. Jenkins, the mean second grade teacher I had in elementary school. I wanted to laugh at the thought but thought better of it.
"K, mom." I turned the knob and then finally made my way outside in the freezing cold and made a run for it across the street when I saw no cars in sight in our street.
I had made it right on time when Holden stepped out the truck and completely caught off guard, he stumbled back a few steps when I jumped in his arms for a hug. His arms immediately went around my waist, holding me tightly before I could slip. "Oakley." I heard him whisper down my shoulder as he breathed out a short laugh. "Missed you too," he said, mirth laced in his words.
"My bad." I pulled away, patting him slightly in the chest to remove the creases on his very dirty stained shirt. What was once white like three hours ago now held dark stains of grease all over.
"I'm in much need of a shower." He leaned over a hand on the rem of the truck bed and I smiled at the very agitated look on his face as he looked down to analyze his clothes.
I was still staring down at Holden's greasy shirt when I heard another car door slam to my right. It was then I realized that Holden's dad had also pulled into the driveway at the same time as Holden and I hadn't noticed. His dad, realizing I was standing beside Holden, walked over to us. I was honestly flabbergasted the whole time we watched him make his way closer to us. He looked as if he was going to acknowledge me for the first time ever.
I looked up at Holden for a moment to see if he looked as surprised as me, but he instead looked complacent as he continued to watch me intently, not even caring to look at his dad. I looked back at his dad, who finally stood beside us, nodding his head in greeting. "Heather," he said, extending his hand toward me. "Shaun." He introduced himself, and I smiled politely, still a little bit caught off guard that he had actually acknowledged me, and even more now that he had introduced himself to me.
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Meant To Be: A Christian Romance
RomanceHeather Oakley Beltran an innocent Christian girl, the most purest and Holden Parker a quiet and serious boy who's completely lost and hurt by his past. How can two such different souls learn to love one another? Sometimes all God does is let two c...