Heartbeat

Eleven

Hi! So, I promised you another update yesterday, but a lot of stuff was going on, so it's only now I'm getting around to posting! Bad, Sarah. But this chapter is one of my favourites, only because of Jordan's little (Big? Huge?) speech at the end! <3

Sarah, xx

P.S. Do I need to even say who this is dedicated to? *cough* Kate *cough*

*

JORDAN

Since my declaration of love Emma had been avoiding me. The plans we’d made to meet after school on Monday fell through when she never arrived at Joe’s. I’d tried calling her a couple of times and stared at the curtains of her room that had been closed most of the week, but I hadn’t been able to catch her so I could explain.

After her monumental freak out she’d done everything to avoid me. She was always the last in for class and the first to leave as soon as the bell rang. Even Peer Class on Tuesday she sat as far away as possible so I couldn’t speak to her.

I tried talking to Holly about it Monday lunch time as she sat in smug happiness with Sam, but she refused to give me anything but a confused look. Emma hadn’t told her, but even if she had Holly was always going to put Emma first over a guy like me. I tried to talk to Zoe in French on Tuesday but she had no idea what I was talking about, or maybe she was just pretending. Sam tried to give me some advice, but he was too loved up to say anything useful, while Adam told me to man up and move on.

Out of desperation I almost asked Coach as I passed him on Wednesday, but then just before the words came out, I mumbled something incoherent and hurried off. By Thursday it was almost killing me not speaking to Emma. She sat with Zoe for English in the row behind mine so I couldn’t see her. It had been the same in every class this week, and by now I was desperate to see her. We didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to, but I just had to see her.

We had hockey practice tonight and I thought maybe she’d come along as she always did, but as we walked into Bowman’s Ice Rink it dawned upon me that it would only be the boys here tonight. I changed quietly and did all the drills that Coach Lane demanded from us, and I even managed to get a shot at goal despite the fact that my head wasn’t in the right space for hockey.

When practice came to an end, Coach Lane kept me behind and asked for my help in evaluating the team. We’d just gotten through the list when my name came last.

“So, Jordan,” Coach turned to me and nodded slowly. “What’s going on? You were like a zombie out there tonight. You were going through the motions but not really here in mind.”

Should I tell him? He wouldn’t understand anyway and he’d probably kill me for making eyes at Emma. Everyone knew the coach’s daughter was off limits. Coach Lane would rip us a new one if he though any of his players was fooling around with his daughter, and Coach is one scary guy.

“You know,” Coach continued. “You’re the second person this week that I’ve seen like this. Is that a coincidence?”

I shrug. “I don’t know,” I tell him truthfully.