A Summer's Disruption

A Locked Passion

"Do you wanna come over?"

Her words echoed in my head like a beating drum. My heart palpitated. There was no way she couldn't hear the sound of my heartbeat. Tripping over my words, I eventually formed a sentence. "Sure. I'm down."

With my hand still interlocked with Michaela's, we walked towards her house. The police car had turned left, towards Ms. Santos' home.

So she did get locked out again. I smiled, thinking to myself.

Michaela kept looking behind us, and I assured her that commotion like that doesn't happen often. She smiled and said, "I've lived here for a few days and that's the first noise I've heard. This is a really quiet community, huh?"

It is. That's why I'm glad you're here. I thought.

We continued on our walk and eventually made it to her house. I stood frozen on her porch, completely nervous about whatever was about to happen next. She looked down at our interlocked hands and quickly released her grip. I chuckled nervously and looked around her house. Luckily, the early morning breeze filled the awkward tension between us.

A minute passed and a small, white kitten appeared. Michaela exclaimed and went to the other side of her house. She returned with a small bowl of cat food. She then crouched on the floor and placed the food in front of the cat and watched happily as the kitten ate. She then extended her hand out to pet the cat, but it jolted back.

"Aww, is this your cat?" I asked.

"No. But, he comes by my house often." She paused. "He doesn't let me touch him, though." Michaela said standing up, still focused on the animal eating. "They say that cats can sense energy. Maybe he senses something off in me."

"You're just in your head. He's probably not friendly." I said, reaching to pet the cat. Contrary to my remark, though, the kitten softened his body and embraced my touch. I slowly turned my head to face Michaela.

"See. I told you," She said, rolling her eyes.

We eventually went inside Michaela's house, and she led me to her room. Her house was pretty empty, but after all, she did just move in. In her room, I tried to identify objects that I had seen from a distance from my own room. Michaela plopped comfortably onto her bed and told me to feel free to look around. My eyes were brought to her small bookshelf. There weren't any actual books on the shelf, just countless journals. I picked one up, but it was locked. Kind of like a diary. I looked at the other journals and they were all locked as well.

Michaela, noticing my confused expression, said, "I used to love journaling. Writing about everything and anything in detail made me so happy."

Michaela's eyes had widened in excitement when she talked about journaling. It made me wonder why she stopped.

"You used to? How come you don't journal anymore?" I asked.

She looked off to the distance, as if she was recalling fond memories. "Well, it's not an easy answer. I guess it was just time to leave it all behind. Journaling was exciting to me, and too much excitement could get you in trouble, y'know?"

I wasn't sure if we were actually talking about journaling, but I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well, I'm sure you know best. But, seeing you talk about journaling just showed how passionate you are. Maybe you should pick up the hobby again." I said.

"Do you really think so?" Michaela tilted her head and asked with such seductive eyes.

"Y-Yeah. I do." I responded nervously.

She smirked and walked towards me. She eventually stood inches away from my face, so close I could clearly smell the lavender scent of her perfume. She slowly picked off a piece of lint on my shirt and whispered, "Thanks for the suggestion. I'll think about it."

It was like I was in a drunken daze. I watched as she walked back to her bed slowly, delicately swaying her hips. A wave of thoughts rushed through my brain at that moment. Thoughts that will not be spoken of.

Michaela closely observed my expression and laughed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing. You're just cute." She giggled, holding a finger over her lips.

I became flushed, suddenly feeling hot. I looked away, embarrassed, when Michaela noticed something and said, "Oh, you have a Stork Bite below your ear."

"A what?" I asked.

"A Stork Bite. It's a type of birthmark. They usually disappear when a person gets older, but you still have one. That's pretty rare."

I touched the area below my ear. "Huh, I guess I do. How'd you know that anyway?"

"There's only a few people I've met with Stork Bites like yours. It's interesting." She said, looking off to the distance as if she was calculating something in her head.

Before I knew it, two hours had passed. Michaela, looking at the clock on her dresser, said, "My parents should be home soon. You should get going."

I stood up from where I was sitting and walked to her door. I couldn't help but think about how happy I was. For the first time, life was colorful, and I was hopeful. Pausing at her door, I turned to ask, "If you don't mind, can I come over tomorrow?"

Michaela contemplated for a moment and responded saying, "Um, I'm pretty busy tomorrow, so I don't think so."

I frowned, feeling slightly defeated. However, I thanked her for hosting me, and turned the knob of her door.

"Wait, Tyler."

I turned around expectantly.

"I am busy tomorrow, but you can come around evening time. I should be free then."

I danced wildly in my mind to a beat only I could hear and smiled.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."I said excitedly.