The Sound of Him

06 | oh, baby!

Chapter Six | Oh, Baby!

Winter break was over now, and I had spent the remainder of it hanging out with Warner.

No touching. No kissing. No sweet words or compliments. Just a few accidental grazes when his hand would brush against mine.

It was nothing major, really, but we were starting to get to know each other really well.

I knew about his mother, who had passed away after a car crash when he was twelve. She survived the crash for a short amount of time and was rushed to the hospital. She died two days later, unable to recover from her injuries.

It hit him hard, and I remembered the way he looked that entire year in seventh grade, like he never slept. His dark circles represented that, too.

"I'm sure it must've been hard," I replied. "I remember her, kind of. She was always showing up to the bake sales, right? With those chocolate chip cookies?"

He nodded, smiling. "She loved to bake. She always talked about how much she wanted to open up a bakery in Paris, but Dad always thought it would be hard for us having her there and not with us. I wish I could've told her she could go, you know? That was her dream, Daisy."

"I'm sure she was more than pleased with how her life turned out," I reassured him. "After all, she had your dad, you, and Wesley to show how great her life was."

"I guess you're right," he said. "In the four years she's been gone, though, I realized something—you never stop missing someone. You just get used to them not being around anymore, and I used to feel so guilty for that. Then I realized that it wasn't something bad. You can miss someone and still go on with your life."

* * *

When Monday morning rolled around, I was less than excited. I had spent my last night on winter break going to the movies with Warner and then catching dinner with him and his brother.

It felt weird—a good kind of weird. The kind of weird that makes you feel like something new is happening, like the beginning of a new chapter in your life. The only reason it feels weird, though, is because you've never experienced it before. It's new, unfamiliar, but overall, it's good.

"Everybody, I'm glad you guys made it back to Vanderbilt in one piece," Mr. Simmons said, snapping me out of my thoughts. He had on the outfit he wore everyday—black slacks and a plaid button up, sometimes with a tie, other times without. "I hope you all enjoyed yourselves over the break, but it's time to get back to work. Pair up, everyone."

My home economics class was one of the only classes that Warner and I shared. I had taken it last year and decided to take it again this year because it was a pretty fun class, plus I needed something to fill up my schedule. He was the only person in this class I actually spoke to, so it was no surprise to me when he made his way towards my desk.

"Hey, Wilmington," he said, giving me a small smile. I smiled back, not saying anything in fear that I would be too awkward.

"The person you have paired up with will be your partner for the much dreaded Baby Project," Mr. Simmons said, groans coming across the classroom as he grabbed a baby doll out of a cardboard box. "This will be your child for the next week. I expect you to take care of it as if it were real. The child may not be real, but the grades you get from this assignment sure are."

"I guess we're parents now," he said to me, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

I laughed, lightly shoving his shoulder. "You wish."