Save Me

Thirteen

“You two got into a fight?” Robbie said, taking a sip of his coffee. It was the morning after the barbeque night. After Shaira and Monica’s forceful interrogation about what’s going on between me and Danielle, she and I avoided each other at all cause and it seemed like Shaira and Monica understood why she seemed so insistent on avoiding me that they even helped her. So all night long, I was stuck with the guys, drinking beer and talking about sports and girls.

“Yes,” I said, nursing my coffee and hangover. I think I drank too much beer last night. It wasn’t like me to get so hung up on a girl because she’s avoiding me.

“What are you gonna do?” Angel asked, handing me an Advil that I gratefully took.

“I don’t know,” I replied truthfully, “I don’t get why I’m so hung up on it. Normally it doesn’t bother me, girls don’t bother me. But Danielle, she’s so different.”

Both adults look at each other with a knowing smile and Robbie spoke, “Tell you what, I’ve known Camille since she was a kid. She’s a sucker for sweet guys and heartfelt apologies alongside with good singing.”

“You want me to sing to her?” I asked, fear creeping up inside me. I know how to sing, I even know how to play a guitar but I never, ever, sang outside the confines of my room in Australia.

Angel shrugged, “You want her forgiveness?”

“But,” I said, finding my voice to speak, “It’s not like I’m her boyfriend or anything!”

Robbie glanced at Angel and both of them shared a knowing look, before he turned to me, his green eyes shining, “Falen, if you’re okay with avoiding and ignoring Camille, then that’s your choice. We’re just trying to help.”

I thought of Danielle. Her black hair always cascading past her shoulders, her tan skin glinting every time the sun caught it, the way her lips would curl into a playful and lovely smile and of course, her blue eyes that always haunted me, in my dreams or even when I’m wide awake. Sure she was complicated, and her background story wasn’t all that perfect but everybody had their flaws. And despite the fact that I’ve never been too interested in a girl, it seemed like she was a whole new story.

Finally, I sighed, “Do you have a guitar?”

Sheresh and Kristina stared at me as I gracefully waltzed around their kitchen at the bakeshop. After Robbie had lent me his guitar, I headed to the grocery and bought the ingredients for my specialty, chocolate cake. I asked the Smith sisters I they’d allow me to bake in their kitchen for just a few hours and they graciously let me, after I told them the reason behind my cake.

“How do you-“ It seemed like Kristina couldn’t put out her sentence so her younger sister spoke for her.

“Where the heck did you learn to bake?” Sheresh asked incredulously.

I chuckled and expertly mixed the mixture for chocolate cake. I shrugged, “My Mom’s good at baking. My Grandma taught her. Back home, Mom would always bake us food if she had time. One summer I ended up being her student and so now, I can make a mean chocolate cake.”

Clearly still amused, Kristina smiled and stared at me, her brown eyes glinting with teasing, “You're lucky that my best friend’s a sucker for chocolate.”

“I guess that makes it easier for me to apologize,” I replied, putting the mixture in the oven and starting to mix the chocolate icing.

Sheresh raised a brow, “I don’t think you have anything to be sorry for, Falen. That part of Cam’s past, it’s just a bad memory for her. It’s not your fault that she just gets reminded of it by you.”

But it is my fault. I’m Seth Andrews. I hurt her. Whatever I did.“But she wouldn’t start avoiding me if I didn’t press her to tell me.”

“How are you gonna do all this?” Kristina asked, “You can’t just march up in the café, bringing a cake and guitar asking for her forgiveness. Cam may be sweet, but she’s a hard person to get around with the word sorry.”

“Why?”

“To her, it’s just a word,” Sheresh said softly.

“Did she come up with that on her own?” I asked, whisking the chocolate icing slowly over the fire.

Sheresh shook her head lightly, “No. She learned it the hard way.”

“Seems to me like she had to learn everything the hard way,” I replied softly.

Kristina leaned on the counter, looking sad for a moment and she shivered, “You don’t know what she’s been through. Well, maybe you do. But you weren’t with her when she was going through those things. And trust me, no one wants to relive those moments.”

With her words spoken, I again wondered what I had done to hurt her. I tried thinking about it again, but no, they never really seemed to piece themselves together or no memory ever popped in my mind. But I was sure, that whatever I had done to her, broke her more than any of what she had been through ever had.

“So back to the question,” Sheresh said, snapping me out of my reverie, “How are you gonna do this, Falen?”

I shrugged, “I’ve already called Ciara and asked her to make an excuse for Danielle just to get her out of the café and to their house for a moment, and then Shaira would get her to go to the lake. Whatever they’d think of how to make her go there, I have no idea. But I trust them enough.”

I headed back home to change. I smelled of chocolate cake and pastries. I changed into dark blue denim jeans and a black polo, rolling the sleeves up to the elbow. Ciara had texted me and told me that she already sent Danielle back to their home where Shaira would get her to go the lake, after making her wear something pretty. It all seemed pretty much of a big deal, it’s like I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend when all I’m asking for her is to give me a chance to be her friend, to let me in and to let her know that I wouldn’t hurt her, at least not again.

I arrived at the lake, stashing the cake just beside the big rock before sitting on top of it and playing the song on the guitar. It’s not exactly a love song, well, maybe it is. But I’m not going to sing it to her because I’m in love with her. I like her, no doubt about that, but I’m not just gonna go running around the streets screaming I’m in love with her when I can’t even pinpoint what I’m feeling towards her.

My phone rang and I saw it was Monica, “Hey.”

“Shaira and her are one their way there,” she replied.

I smiled, “Thank you both so much.”

“We’re expecting a month supply of chocolates on this, Rose,” she replied.

I chuckled, “Promise.”

When I hang up the phone, I could faintly hear a car coming it’s way to the lake. I stashed my phone in my pocket and hid behind the rock. I heard a car door being slammed, “What are we doing here at the lake, Shai?”

“Just trust me on this, Cam.”

“I thought you said we were meeting someone.”

“We are,” her sister replied. They came to view and I felt my breath caught up in my throat. Danielle looked beautiful. Her black hair was placed delicately over her left shoulder, she had minimal make up on and she was wearing a silver dress with silver ballet flats. Her blue eyes scanned around and she turned back to her sister.

“Shai,” she said, “If you’re setting me up on a blind date, this isn’t gonna work.”

Shaira rolled her eyes and grinned at her sister, “You can start now.”

I placed the guitar strap over my shoulder and started to play the intro of the song as I watch Shaira back away, Danielle looking at her retreating figure and telling her to come back to explain.

“Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself. He was always there to help her; she always belonged to someone else.”

Danielle whipped around just in time for me to come out of the rock, “Falen.”

“I drove for miles and miles and wound up at her door. I’ve had you so many times but somehow I want more. I don’t mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain. Look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay awhile. And she will be loved. And she will be loved.”

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

I gave her a smile and placed the guitar down, “You’re mad at me. And maybe I didn’t exactly do something for you to get mad. But I reminded you of someone you tried desperately to forget.”

She stood still and her blue eyes never left mine. With her silence, I continued, “I’m sorry, D. All I want is for us to be friends. To be your friend. I’m not gonna deny that maybe I want to be more than that someday, but I’m not just gonna jump to that ship especially when you won’t even give me a chance to be your friend.

“I know I remind you of him,” I paused, “Of Seth. But I’m not like him,” At least not anymore, “I’m not Seth Andrews. I’m Falen Rose.”

She pursed her lips, “What makes you think I’ll give you a chance?”

I bit my lips and headed back to the rock and pulled out the chocolate cake that was still inside the box and covered by clear plastic so it can be seen, “Because it would be a shame for all my efforts in making this cake goes to waste.”

She looked at the cake, staring at the word sorry written in blue icing. She looked at me surprised, “You made that?”

I balanced the cake on my right hand and placed my left hand over my heart, “Way to bruise my ego, Rivers.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment and finally, she smiled at me, this time, it wasn’t the same bitter smile, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“We’re cool,” she replied, “But only if you take the first bite of this cake.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, “Why?”

She looked at me seriously, “Because I won’t take any chances of you poisoning me, Rose.”

I laughed and peeled the plastic off the carton and took the two plastic forks that I had laid just a shy beside the cake. I handed the first one to her. I chuckled when I took the first bite and I looked at her, “Nope. No poison.”

“Good,” she replied, “Because I’m hungry.”

I chuckled and we finished the cake, well, we did leave some for DJ. And I was glad that Danielle liked it, Grandma would be proud. We didn’t even realize that it was almost twilight because we were so caught up in our conversation about anything and me playing various songs for her. It seemed to me like this was always supposed to happen, like the way my life should be. Being with Danielle.

“I’ll walk you home?”

She looked at me. We were already standing and she was holding what was left of the cake and the guitar was slung lazily over my back, “That sounds so high school.”

“Oh shut up,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

A few blocks from their residence, Danielle turned to look at me. Her blue eyes, pale and looking like the ocean because of the faint glow of the posts, stared at me and it seemed to me like she was reaching to my soul. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and gave me a sincere smile.

“Thank you.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, “For what?”

“For trying,” she replied, “Most guys I turn down, even with just the offer of friendship, would quickly back away and give up. You’re the first to do that, after I gave birth to Daniel.”

I smiled and we finally reached their gate. She smiled at me, a full smile that showed her perfectly white teeth. She looked so beautiful under the faint glow of the fluorescent and I had the resist the urge to kiss her right there and then, “No problem.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I was about to respond when she leaned over to me and kissed my cheek. She then turned to open the gate, giggled at my shock state and waved me goodbye. I stood there dumbfounded, until I finally felt the heat rose to my cheeks.

I was blushing, I thought,For the first time, because of a girl.