Confessions of the Fragile Heart

Chapter 5

I could feel Denver's lips brush against my forehead. I instinctively wrapped my arms around him. He laughed quietly. I could hear Heather laughing as well.

"What happened?" she asked laughing quietly. Denver placed his hands against the bed to hold him up.

"I don't know," he replied in a whispered. I tightened my arms and tried to pull him down. It worked. He fell beside me. Heather came over and tried to loosen my grasp. I smiled. Opening my eyes, I could see I was in my room. Heather and Denver laughed at me. I finally released him and fell back to sleep in my bed.

~

The next morning, Denver picked me up to take me to school. I climbed into his car and pecked him on the cheek.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked. I turned the heater on. It was starting to get cold outside.

"Like a baby," I sighed dreamily. He gave a little chuckle before he drove off. "What?"

"You wouldn't let me go last night," he smiled. "You fell asleep during the movie, so I carried you upstairs. When I tried to set you down, you put a death grip on me, and then fell back asleep. It was funny. Heather and I had a good laugh about it." I sat back and put my bottom lip out in a small pout. He kissed my hand and parked the car at the school. He pulled my chin to him and kissed me. I smiled as his lips traveled down to under my jawbone. I laughed and stopped him.

"We're going to be late for class," I smiled. We went through the first half of school without any complications. Everyone was excited about winter break coming up in two weeks. Lunch went normally. Denver and I were careful around Claire. It was a little uncomfortable to have her staring at me the whole time, but I tried to ignore it. After school, Denver dropped me off at the house. He had soccer practice, so he couldn't stay today. Heather was on the phone when I walked in.

"Yes, yes, she just walked in," I heard her say. "Here." She handed me the phone. It was my parents. I put the phone to my ear and acknowledged them.

"Darling, we had a great idea. You know how we always go to the Summit together?" They started. "What if you go with your friends to the Summit this year? Heather tells us you're getting along great there. She told us you even have a boyfriend." I blushed bright red. Heather just laughed at me. I quickly composed myself and smiled.

"Yeah, it's great here," I replied. "That sounds like a great idea, but are you sure? It's usually our family tradition." I could hear my father laugh on the other line.

"Of course sweetheart," my father confirmed. "It's time we let you have fun with your friends." I quickly thanked them and hung the phone up. Heather laughed at me. I called Denver and told him the good news.

"That's great! Who are you inviting?" he asked. I considered this for a moment.

"Probably Ryan, Ashley, Sydney, John, and you, of course," I answered. I was definitely not inviting Nick or Claire. After talking to him about this for a few minutes, he asked the question I was dreading.

"How is Heather able to afford all of this?" he asked. I sighed. I would tell him the truth... only halfway.

"Heather works for the Michelsons," I said.

"The Michelsons? The famous actor and actress? They are awesome! I love their work," he went on. I sighed and let him ramble on. I rolled my eyes and finally cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. They're fantastic," I cut in bitterly. This only reminded me of why I changed my name. He quickly quieted down. I changed my tone and continued. "I'll text them tonight and we'll talk about it at lunch tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now; I'm tired. Night." I hung up the phone and handed it back to Heather. I quickly said goodnight and dashed upstairs. I got dressed for bed and fell asleep with no trouble.

~

The next morning, Denver picked me up like he did the day before. And like the day before, he greeted me with a kiss. At school, we sat distant in the courtyard. We were very cautious of Claire watching our every move. We were careful not to sit too close. We couldn't let her see anything so we stuck to texting.

This is frustrating!!! Is there any way to get her to leave us alone??? Does she hobby or something? Wonder if she even has a heart, I finally texted him after a morning of talking to each other through texting. After a moment, he looked at me seriously and replied.

She's always wanted to be a professional dancer. She's been dancing since she was little. That and she wants to be an actress, he texted back. A smile spread across my face. Hmm... I shot my mom a quick text explaining everything. They agreed to give her a small part on their next movie. She would be out of Ohio and out of my hair. I slid my phone down and placed it back in my pocket. I skipped over to him and placed my hands on his neck. I brought my lips to his. His arms wrapped around me. I laughed and pulled back.

"The Michelsons agreed to give Claire a role in their upcoming movie. All I have to do is get her number to them," I smiled. He smiled too and kissed me quickly. Things were finally looking up. Lunch only made it better. Claire and Nick were off somewhere, so we were all free to discuss the Summit trip. Everyone was excited about it. And with only one week away, everyone was anxious for the trip. I explained the details. We would all meet at my house and go together. We would only stay for a week and come back a day after New Year's Day.

The week flew by. Claire was gone. My parents got her an acting coach to prepare her. She checked in daily with Nick, but he could care less what Denver and I were doing. Denver drove us to the house in my car. On our way inside the house, Heather greeted us. The air smelled of a sweet aroma. Heather was making a snack for us. Our group was going to meet up at my house in two hours. Denver's things were already in the van waiting. Heather was driving us to the airport in a van she rented. The others would come here in two hours.

"Hey Heather," I yelled across the house. "Denver's here! We're upstairs!" We sprinted upstairs to my room. He sat in the chair next to my dresser. I sat down on my bed.

"I'm really excited to be going to the Summit," he smiled truthfully. "I've never been, but it sounds like fun."

"Me too; I mean, I've been before, but not with friends. I mostly go with family," I explained. He walked over and sat next to me. He laid back and looked up at the ceiling. I curled my legs under me and rested my head on his chest. I closed my eyes and sighed as his arm wrapped around me. He gently kissed my forehead. My eyelids felt heavy. Every blink lasted longer and longer. I tried to stay awake, but finally, I fell asleep.

~

I woke to a soft murmur of my name. It was Denver. He gently rubbed my shoulder. I heard a doorbell and shot up. It was time. I was asleep for two hours. I looked over at Denver. He just laughed. I could hear Heather greeting them as they all came in. There were a total of six of us going. By the noise going on downstairs, I could tell they were all here. I rested my head on Denver's shoulder and sighed. After a few seconds, I got up and stretched. Denver held my hand as we went downstairs. Everyone was sitting on the couch. They were all talking excitedly and eating the pastry that Heather made. Everyone quieted a bit when they saw Denver and me. We sat on the couch with them.

"Nice place," Sydney smiled. I nodded and smiled back at her. I was still a little groggy from my nap. Sydney was starting to become my best friend. Heather finally came in once everyone had their fair share of talking.

"Hi, I'm Heather. I'm Amber's guardian," she announced. "When you guys are done eating, you can head to the van; alright?" I reached out and grabbed a pastry. After taking a bite, I realized that my coat was still upstairs. I quickly went up to my room and grabbed my coat. I turned to head back out. I jumped when I saw Heather standing in the doorway. I noticed that she was smiling sadly. She had her hands clamped together in front of her. I walked closer to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked. By the expression on her face, I knew she was about to give me "the talk". I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Heather, you can't be serious. You don't honestly think that I would-"

"It's just in case," she explained. "I know that things are getting serious, and just because you don't plan in it, doesn't mean it won't happen." I sighed and nodded. By the temperature in my cheeks, I could tell that I was blushing. I walked back downstairs. Heather was right behind me. Denver smiled when I came down. I forced a smile. Everyone else was already in the van. Denver and Heather went to the van. I turned the lights off and locked the door behind me.