Heart to Stone

Chapter 4

Picture of Matthew Heart above.

What do you guys think of the book so far?? :) <3 <3 

My alarm clocked blared in my ear, causing me to slap my phone. "When does school end?" I mentally asked myself, sliding out of bed. I went downstairs to the kitchen, and grabbed some cereal from the cupboard. As I poured the milk into my bowl, I heard footsteps come down the stairs. My father walked into the kitchen, wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, not his usual pajamas and robe. "Morning" he said, as he sat down across from me. "Good morning" I replied, before taking a spoonful of cereal to my mouth. "I'm sorry" he said, taking my free hand "Iv'e been selfish. Iv'e forced you to be strong, when you're still so young. Jessica, I have been the worst father in the world. Instead of helping you, and caring for you, I have left you alone in the world, to grow up too fast. And for that, I'm forever sorry." Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, and finally, I let my own tears come out. "I forgive you dad" I said, looking him in the eyes. He shook his head "but you shouldn't." I smiled "but I will."

After my dad and I had a good long talk, and we ate breakfast together, I went upstairs to get ready. I was feeling so happy, and on top of the world, because I knew my dad would be okay. I got dressed in a black skater dress, and black high top Converse. I applied some simple makeup, straightened my hair, and walked to the coat rack downstairs. I grabbed my backpack, and went outside to my car.

"He ate breakfast, and we talked, and I feel amazing" I said to Meghan, as I took some books from my locker. "That's amazing!!" she said, jumping up and down "I'm so proud of you guys." I smiled "thanks, Meghan" she smiled back, and we walked to math class. "Have you and Gale talked since yesterday?" Meghan asked tapping a locker that we walked past, I looked at her "yes, we were texting all night" I replied, sarcastically. "I'll take that as a 'no'" she said, hitting me on the arm. "Were you guys taking about me?" someone asked. Meghan and I turned around so quickly, we almost bumped into Gale, who was now standing in front of us. "No, we were not Gale" I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yeah, we were" Meghan told him, blushing. I punched her in the arm, and glared at her. Gale looked from Meghan to me "wow Heart, I never knew you were a liar." Meghan laughed, and Gale gave me his signature smirk. "'Heart'?" I asked, I know that he knows my first name, so why is he calling me by my last name? He nodded "yup, it's your new nickname" he said, smiling. "Great..." I said, dragging out every last letter. He walked away from us, leaving us standing alone in the halls. "We should probably get to class" Meghan said, shaking my arm, I turned to face her "yeah, you're right."

"He was sitting beside me!!" Meghan squealed, as we made our way to our second period class. "I know, you just said two minutes ago" I replied, drawing swirls with my fingers on my textbook. "Yes, but he's so, so, cute. And I think he looked at me a couple of times!!" She said, hopping up and down. "Who's cute?" Gale asked, as he jumped in front of me. "Not you" I replied, punching him in the arm, and smirking. "Look who's becoming a bad girl" he said, grabbing my books out of my arms. "And look who's becoming a gentleman" I said, gesturing to my books in his hands. He grunted "whatever." I smiled at Meghan, and she winked back at me. Once we arrived outside of my English class, Meghan waved goodbye, and Gale handed me back my books. "What, not gonna bring them to my desk?" I asked him. "You've got hands, use 'em" he replied, walking into the classroom.  I rolled my eyes, and followed him in. 

"Are you finally free, tonight?" Gale asked, flipping through some papers in his notebook. My dad and I just went through a lot, and I don't know if I wanna leave him alone tonight. "Uhhhhh..." I said, trying to grab my phone from my backpack. "Just give me a minute" I said, as I ran to Mrs.May, to ask to call my dad. Once she allowed me, I ran out of the classroom, and dialed my dad. 

"Hi dad, it's Jessica"  I said, after the ringing finally stopped, and he picked up. 

"Oh, hello Jessica, what's wrong? Why are you calling me from school?" He asked, with a worried tone in his voice. 

"Oh, uh, my partner for my English project, invited me over to their house, to work on our project tonight." I said. 

"Of course you can go, but, who is your partner?" He asked. 

"Gale Stone." I replied. 

The line went silent. Until I heard his deep voice. 

"A boy."