My Heart To Hold

Chapter Two

Suzie and I were on our way to the cafeteria. Since I didn’t get the chance or have the time to eat breakfast, I was starving. We were tuning a corner, heading toward the staircase that leads to the first floor.

She was going on and on about the new guy—Ryan. I blocked her out trying not to think about him. About the note, or the necklace he gave me nearly eight year ago that had mysteriously made its way around my neck this morning, when I haven’t seen or thought about it for almost three years now.

I hadn’t realized how out of it I was until a voice broke through and startled me to the point of missing a step on the stairs, making me fall forward in what would be a nasty face plant. But before I could react, a hand took hold of the belt of my jeans pulling me back up onto solid ground. I swung around ready to thank whoever for saving both my life and the likely chance of being extremely embarrassed. But before the words could escape my lips into super babble, they were caught in my throat at the sight of him.

Ryan, my mind whispered, and my heart yelled. Being this close to him after so long, it felt so different, nothing like it had when we were eight. There was swelling electricity between us. He took a step back and glanced down at the necklace I didn’t have the nerve to take off, his eyes making their way back up to my eyes.

“Jewels! Are you alright?!” Suzie was standing next to me in no time. I hadn’t even realized she wasn’t there until now.

I turned toward her, “Suzie, I’m fine.”

I turned back around to find that Ryan had disappeared. I felt this odd ping in my chest as if I was missing something—something important. It was almost sickening, I grasped at the necklace trying to catch the breath I didn’t realize I had lost, and instantly the feeling was replaced with the same sensation I had felt before.

Suzie placed her hand on my forearm and said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I turned back toward the stairs and grasped the railing for safety. “Yea, I’m fine, let’s go to lunch,” I said, even though I had lost my appetite.

The cafeteria was buzzing, as Suzie and I made our way to the table that already sat Mary, Lizzie, and Sophie. As we approached them I immediately caught on to the topic of their conversation; Ryan.

I slowly sat down, “What are you guys talking about?”

“The new guy,” Lizzie said, rocking back in forth in her seat, no doubt having some serious dish on the new guy.

“What about him?” I tried to sound nonchalant about it; even though it was eating me up inside.

“Well,” she looked around the table making sure she had every ones attention, “he isn’t exactly new; he was here like eight years ago. He only moved back after some Jeremy guy died.”

I stopped listening to her at that point and glanced around the room searching for Ryan. My eyes landed at his table, he sat alone staring out the window with a faraway look on his face. I turned toward the window curious of what he was looking at but all I seen was the empty field and the woods just beyond it. When I turned back to him his face had creased into a scowl, with his hands balled up into fists resting on his thigh I knew something was going on. But I didn’t know what could have happened in such a short length of time. Before I could think about it too long his eyes flashed in my direction and I instantly turned away my hair falling forward like a curtain hiding my face from view.

“Jewels?”

I looked up to find the whole table looking at me—no more like past me. I had the urge to turn around to see what they were looking at but Suzie’s spoke up and told me before I got the chance.