Chapter 2
1691 Words
The rest of the lessons after break might as well have been in another language. Teachers talked, slides changed, notes filled the board, but my mind wouldn’t leave my moment with Ryan.
I kept catching myself smiling at nothing and had to duck my head and pretend to copy whatever was on the board. By the time the dismissal bell rang, I already had my bag on my shoulder, half out of my seat, when it hit me.
His name was still saved as Ryan.
I did not know any other Ryan. If anyone ever saw it, it would be too obvious. A tiny wave of panic hit me. Right there in my seat, I opened my contacts, stared at the name for a second, then changed it to something safer.
Ree.
It was soft and harmless, a name no one would think twice about if it ever flashed on my screen.
I let out a slow breath and put my phone away. If I was going to keep talking to him, I needed to be smarter about it.
When I got to the parking lot, Eddy was leaning against the hood, and Rossy was practically glued to his side. Normally, I’d walk right up and ruin the moment just to annoy her.
Today, I did not say a word. I opened the passenger door, got in, and stared straight ahead through the windshield.
When they finally pulled apart, Rossy glanced into the car, expecting one of my snide remarks. I gave her nothing.
“Your behavior today is what I expect from you every day,” she announced as she fixed her hair.
“Noted,” I replied, my eyes still on the front.
She looked a little thrown by the lack of a fight. Eddy climbed into the driver’s seat, Rossy shut the door harder than necessary, and we pulled out of the lot.
A few streets down, Eddy glanced over. “Why are you bouncing your leg like that? You came up with another one of your crazy sketch ideas?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged.
He snorted. “I will never understand how lines on paper and a pile of fabric make you this happy.”
“And I will never understand how swapping spit with Rossy makes you happy,” I shot back.
He burst into laughter, which worked for me. While he laughed, I kept my gaze on the window and my thoughts on my phone.
Dinner felt like every other night from the outside. Mom and Dad talked business, something about a board vote and projections. Eddy was on his phone under the table. No one noticed that my fork kept hovering over my food without actually doing much.
When Dad stepped away to take a call and Mom started answering an email, I cleared my throat. “I am done. I will go up and finish my assignment.”
No one questioned it.
In my room, I lay on my bed with my phone in my hand. For a full minute, I just stared at his contact.
Should I text him first? Call? What did not sound desperate? I had already thanked him once. Would it be weird to thank him again?
I typed: Hi Ryan, thank you again for today.
I stared at it. It looked stiff. I erased it.
I tried again: Hey, I just wanted to say thanks one more time.
I erased that too. It felt worse.
A frustrated sound escaped as I tossed the phone onto my pillow and dragged my hand down my face. “Think, Liora. Use your brain at least once today.”
I pushed off the bed and went to the window. Outside, the sky was darkening, the moon peeking out from behind a thin line of clouds. I rested my forehead against the glass and muttered to myself about sounding clingy, about not sounding clingy, about just going to sleep and forgetting I even had his number.
That was when my phone vibrated against the quilt.
My heart reacted before my body did. I hurried back to the bed, grabbed the phone, and unlocked it.
Ryan.
Hey Liora. Are you still awake?
I almost said yes out loud to my empty room. My fingers flew over the screen.
Yeah. I am awake.
I hope I didn’t wake you.
Not at all.
A tiny laugh bubbled out of me. If only he knew I had been rehearsing what to say like I was preparing for an exam.
Are you feeling okay? Any cramps?
My cheeks warmed. Out of everything he could have asked, he picked that.
I’m fine. It’s usually mild.
What helps when it isn’t?
Something sweet, I replied. Chocolate. Tea with extra honey. Stuff like that.
The typing dots appeared, then disappeared. Time stretched. I watched the screen, waiting. When nothing came through after a while, my shoulders loosened in disappointment.
Maybe he had fallen asleep.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Can I call you?
I sat up straight so fast my mattress squeaked. I grinned at the screen like an i***t and typed one word.
Yes.
The call came in almost immediately. I took a breath, wiped my palms on my shorts, and answered.
“Hi, Liora.”
His voice sounded warmer over the phone, like he was closer than he really was.
“Hi, Ryan.” My voice came out a little thin, so I cleared my throat. “I am still surprised you know my name.”
“I could say the same,” he replied. “You just called mine.”
I smiled and turned toward the window again, as if he could somehow see the way my face softened. Neither of us spoke for a moment. The quiet did not feel empty. It felt like waiting.
He broke it. “So. Tell me you didn’t let your brother off easy for making a beautiful girl like you wait.”
I barely processed the part about Eddy. My mind froze on two words.
Beautiful girl.
“You think I am beautiful?” The words found their way out of me.
“You know you are,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “If your brother wasn’t watching you the way he does, half the boys in Ridgefield would have tried something by now.”
My lips tugged up. “Coming from the golden boy of Ridgefield High, that is all the boost I need.”
He laughed. The sound curled around my chest in a way that made me want to hold the phone closer, like it could bring him into the room.
We kept going from there like we had been doing this for weeks instead of hours. He asked what subjects I actually liked, not just the ones I was good at. I told him Art and English. He complained about early hockey practice and how the ice was always too cold at first. I said I thought ice was supposed to be cold, which earned me another laugh.
He brought up my sketchbook. “You always carry it close. What is in there?”
“Clothes,” I answered. “Ideas. When everything else is loud, sketching makes my head go quiet.”
“I like that,” he replied. “It fits you.”
“Fits me how?”
“Because you look… calm. Angelic, kind of. Like someone who finds peace in small things.”
My stomach fluttered.
A small pause settled between us. Not awkward, just full.
“So,” Ryan teased, “who started us? Pretty sure it was you.”
“Us?” I repeated, feeling my pulse jump.
“Yeah. You asked for my number. What did you plan to do with it? Keep it in your phone and stare at it from time to time?”
“I was going to thank you again,” I muttered.
There was another small stretch of quiet. I could hear him breathing lightly on the other side of the line. My fingers played with the hem of my T-shirt while I waited.
“Liora,” he said, a little lower than before.
“Yeah?”
“I like you.”
His words did something weird to my breathing.
“I have been trying to mind my business because of the families,” he continued. “But it is not working. Today was the first time I had a real reason to talk to you alone. I do not want to waste it. I want to date you.”
Every part of me already knew the answer. My heart was practically yelling it. But fear showed up first, and the wrong words tumbled out.
“I will think about it,” I whispered.
“Okay. I will wait for your answer.”
“Tomorrow,” I added quickly. “I will tell you tomorrow.”
“Alright. Goodnight, Liora.”
“Goodnight, Ryan.”
The call ended, and I did a little happy dance on the rug before I even realized I was moving. Then a squeal burst out of me. I didn’t know it was that loud until my door flew open.
Mom stood in the doorway, slightly out of breath. “What is it? What happened?”
“Nothing,” I said too fast. “I got a design idea. It just came to me.”
She sighed and rubbed her temple. “Liora, you cannot scream like that. I thought something was wrong.”
“I am sorry, Mom.”
She shook her head as she left. “This design thing is getting out of hand. Your father will not listen to me.” She pulled the door shut behind her.
As soon as it clicked closed, I dropped back onto the bed, covered my mouth with my hand, and laughed into my palm.
Ryan Prescott had just asked me out.
I stared at the ceiling, the room suddenly too full of secrets. Today felt like the start of something beautiful.
Or a step into the trouble I’ve been raised to fear.
- Writer
