Unraveling Her Secrets

Chapter 4: The school terrace

Riya's POV:

"The new school really sucks, Ms. Ann," I said, helping her arrange the books on the shelves.

" Why, dear?'' she asked, looking at me, her face filled with concern.

"Uh huh, it's really nothing. Just the regular high school drama you know, that Queen bees and bad boy things," I shrugged dusting an old book.

She relaxed, whispering a small ," Oh," before saying "Let me know, if you're facing any issues. I'll talk to my friend and ask her to look into it," she said, keeping her hand on my shoulder.

I smiled nodding my head before we continued to arrange the books making small talks about the upcoming birthday memorial of Ms. Ann's grandmother.

That night when I laid on the bed, I thought about the conversation I had with him. After hearing Theo didn't see any pictures inside the book I was devastated. The only last picture of my mother I had was gone. I was sitting on the school terrace silently crying to myself and that's when I heard some shuffling sound on the other side. I got up and walked quietly towards the sound, only to see a guy standing on top of the railing unsteadily holding a phone in his hand. I rushed to his side and pulled him by his shirt which made us stumble and fall down. I groaned, rubbing my head.

"f**k," he whispered and that's when I saw his face. It was Theo. I rolled my eyes trying to get up but it was almost impossible so I did what I had to do. I rolled him off of me before sitting up straight. He sat up after a few seconds muttering something before his eyes focused on me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Nobody cares," he whispered softly. My gaze softened hearing that. I felt the pain behind those words as I had been there myself.

"It's going to be alright," I said trying to get up but he grabbed my hand pulling me down which made me stumble and fall down on his lap.

"I miss her," he said, gazing at my face. I smiled softly looking at him. And that's when he did something unexpected. He kissed my cheeks softly saying, "I'm sorry for hurting you. I have that picture," he said smiling sheepishly which made me giggle.

I heard footsteps approaching us before I saw two guys standing in front of us and one of them asked loudly, "Are we disturbing something?" Which made me get up from his lap hurriedly.

"Your name?" Theo asked, holding my hand yet again. "Riya," I said looking into his eyes before walking away quickening my steps. I touched my cheeks and an involuntary smile played across my lips. I took my phone from the nightstand and texted Theo asking for my picture.

The reply was instant, asking, "Who is this?" I facepalmed myself before typing "Riya," and hitting the send button.

I almost dropped the phone when it rang loudly. I looked at the caller ID and it was from "Theo" I panicked not knowing what to do. The call got disconnected, making me sigh. It rang again and this time taking a deep breath I answered the call. "Hey hi Riya" he said

"Hi," I said softly, tucking the strands of hair behind my ears. "Thank you," he said before continuing "For today, you know?" I smiled to myself before saying, "It's alright, I guess."

"I'm sorry for being a jerk and hurting you," he said, pressing on each and every word. I rubbed my face, sighing. "It's fine. So when can I get the picture?" I asked, coming straight to the point.

I heard him chuckling before answering, " Tomorrow I'm having football practice by morning and evening I'll be free? He asked unsurely.

" Yes. I'm having a day off tomorrow evening. Can you meet me in the evening somewhere? Maybe to the park near the library?" I asked, hoping to get the picture soon from him.

"Alright, I'll be there by 3 pm" he said after a pause.

"Okay then, good night?" I asked, pulling the blanket over me.

"Yeah, sure Good night," he said and I disconnected the call snuggling into my pillow.

My phone rang with an incoming text message. I squinted my eyes in confusion. It was from Theo but we just spoke. Opening it I saw "You look cute in that picture with a wink emoji." I smiled facepalming myself. Keeping the phone down I closed my eyes. There was this funny feeling inside me whenever I thought about Theo. He is handsome and charming, I agree but I feel like there is something more between us which pulls me closer to him. I sighed turning to the other side, with everything happening in my life I can't be feeling all this. It will end up getting him hurt too. "Tomorrow after getting the picture I should cut every type of interaction with him," I thought. With that decision made I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, I got up and helped Ms. Ann with the birthday memorial. When it was nearing 2 pm I excused myself and went to get ready. Wearing grey jeans and a red tank top, I grabbed my hoodie before walking out of the house. I reached the park and sat on a bench before looking around. Taking the sketch book in my hand I started to draw…