The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance Page 2

  I heard my brother, Josh, open the front door, laughing with his friends. He was a senior and did everything he could to avoid me at school, which meant subjecting me to the yellow bus. I was not “cool” enough to catch a ride with him and his buddies.

  “Charlie? You home?” Josh called. A splay of other voices echoed my name. Indeed, my brother’s posse was visiting for the afternoon.

  “Charlie,” he shouted out again. I rolled off of my bed.

  “What do you want?” I made my way out of my room and into the hallway. The familiar faces of my brother’s friends—David, Ben and J—greeted me as I approached the kitchen. Ben and J were on the football team and, in my opinion, were pretty lousy. David was Daan’s older brother and shared a similar passion for art. David was probably the quieter of the two. And then there was my brother. Josh was into football, basketball, baseball—really, anything that entailed a ball.

  “Do we still have pizza rolls in the freezer?” Josh jabbed his thumb toward the kitchen.

  “Needy. Go check for yourself!”

  “I didn’t know if you and your girlfriends ate them all the other night,” he huffed. Ben and J followed and helped themselves to the cans of coke stacked in the fridge. David lingered in the hallway and waved at me with a small, shy smile.

  “Hey, Charlie, did you have a good day?”

  My cheeks burned slightly and I became a little tongue-tied as I tried to manage a reply. David was handsome, in a boyish way. He had dimples when he smiled and was always so polite to my parents and me.

  “It was all right.” I shrugged.

  David grinned. “Want me to save you some pizza rolls?”

  “Nah, that’s okay. Josh might kill you if you share any with me.”

  David laughed and made his way into the kitchen. I stood there in the empty hallway, glancing down at my phone again. Maybe I should text Micah; see what he wants, get it over with. I turned and headed back into my room, pausing only to close my door. Carefully, I pulled the piece of notebook paper from my pocket and started to type the phone number into the text box.

  CHARLIE: Hey, Micah. It’s Charlie.

  I stared at the glowing screen and then hit the SEND button. I sat down on my bed.

  Here went nothing.

  MICAH: Sup?

  CHARLIE: Nothing much, I’m just…texting you!

  MICAH: So…I was really surprised to hear from Sam today that u like me…

  CHARLIE: It’s not true.

  MICAH: Uh-huh…

  MICAH: I think it’s cute, you know.

  MICAH: So, how long have u been going to Grand Lakes HS?

  CHARLIE: Since…forever, honestly.

  MICAH: Really?

  CHARLIE: Why did your parents move back here?

  MICAH: Jobs.

  CHARLIE: You must miss Georgia.

  MICAH: A bit, yeah. I liked going to the beach all the time.

  CHARLIE: If you remember, we have some nice lakes and rivers.

  MICAH: Right. I loved going to the lake when I was a kid.

  CHARLIE: Yeah? I like going there too.

  MICAH: Cool.

  MICAH: So u were asking about me? :)

  CHARLIE: I wouldn’t say that. I was just asking who you were.

  MICAH: U could have asked me, u know.

  CHARLIE: That would have been even more embarrassing than this is.

  MICAH: Aw! Don’t be embarrassed.

  MICAH: I know u think I’m hott ;)

  CHARLIE: I never said that...?

  MICAH: U didn’t have to.

  CHARLIE: Are you always this way with girls?

  MICAH: What way?

  CHARLIE: Nothing, never mind.

  MICAH: Ur the one with a crush. ;)

  CHARLIE: I’m not really sure why Sam told you that.

  MICAH: Probably b/c it’s true, right?

  MICAH: It’s all right to have a crush on me, C. Most girls do!

  MICAH: So, how old r u anyway?

  CHARLIE: 16

  CHARLIE: You?

  MICAH: 17.

  CHARLIE: What bus stop do you get off at?

  MICAH: Just 2 after u. I live pretty close to u.

  CHARLIE: Really? Where?

  MICAH: Can’t tell u that. I might find u at my front door.

  CHARLIE: That’s not going to happen. :|

  MICAH: U sure? ;) Not even tempted?

  CHARLIE: Not really.

  MICAH: Weird. A girl who has a crush on me doesn’t want to come visit?

  CHARLIE: I’m not a stalker, thank you very much.

  MICAH: Oh, phew! I was worried there for a second.

  MICAH: In that case, I live in the Greenboro Trax.

  CHARLIE: Oh.

  MICAH: Well C, g2g. Got stuff to do.

  MICAH: Good chattin with u.

  MICAH: C u on the bus 2morrow. :)

  CHARLIE: Alrighty then. See you tomorrow!

  MICAH: ttyl

  My fingers scrolled through the texts between us, as I read and reread every word again. I wasn’t sure what to make of it all. Micah knew the truth, despite me not wanting to admit it.

  This was all Sam’s fault.

  And yet, it felt strangely thrilling to know he lived close by. I would see him every day on the bus. I wondered if that was something I’d come to look forward to.

  “Hey, Charlie!” Josh opened my bedroom door, peeking his nose in. I jolted in surprise. I hadn’t heard him coming. “We’re headed down to the creek to hang out. David and I were wondering if you’d like to tag along.”

  “Is that an open invitation?” Micah and all my thoughts about him could wait until later.

  “Take it while you have it.” He tapped his smartphone, lifting the screen to show me the time. “Come on, we’re leaving now!”

  “I’m coming.” I pushed myself up from the bed and shoved my phone into my back jeans pocket.

  “No Promises (feat. Demi Lovato)”

  Cheat Codes

  JOSH WAS THE KIND OF brother who used to climb trees to help me hang a swing with a line of rope and a wooden plank. He was the kind of brother who’d hang fake spiders from the staircase to scare me. He was also the kind of brother who brought ice cream home to me if he knew I was having a really bad day. Josh was my best friend. While we often avoided each other during the school year, there was a mutual understanding between the two of us: we were siblings. We might fight occasionally, but we loved each other. A surge of safety whooshed through me as Josh placed his arm over my shoulder, grinning at Ben and J as they joked. Intermittently, as we walked along the trail next to the creek, Josh glanced in my direction to check up on me.

  “Josh! Tell Charlie what happened today with you and Jackie O,” Ben said smugly.

  Josh pulled his arm away from me hastily. “Jesus, Ben. Nothing happened.” He brushed a hand through his dark hair. “You all want something to happen.”

  “What happened?” I grinned. I had been banking on Josh hooking up with the beautiful and elegant Jackie O, as we called her, since eighth grade. Josh had had a crush on her for years.

  “I found out someone else asked her to Homecoming,” Josh groaned. “I’d been planning for months to ask her, but Brent Pierce beat me to it.”

  Oh, man. I gave Josh a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, Josh. You could still ask her, you know. It’s not too late.”

  “Yeah man, it’s not like he asked her to marry him or anything,” Ben interjected. He was right; girls changed their minds about Homecoming dates all the time. Brent by no means had to be her final choice.

  Josh shook his head. “It is what it is.”

  “You can’t just give up like that. You’ve loved Jackie O forever!” I was surprised Josh wasn’t more determined. He had more gumption than that.

  “Brent is hard competition,” J chimed in. “Jackie would be nuts to turn him down. I’m sure he’ll go all-out w
ith a huge limo and dinner, and she knows it. I mean, being a wealthy lawyer’s son has its perks.”

  Jackie Olivia Anderson resided on the east side of Grand Lakes, an upscale section of town. Her family owned one of those fancy houses that had three stories, balconies galore, an in-ground pool and a five-car garage. From the moment Josh first laid eyes on her, he was hooked.

  She was the kind of girl who always had her hair straightened, lips perfectly glossed with something bubblegum colored and smelling of a floral, sugared musk, like she came right out of Victoria’s Secret (I avoid that store all together. I don’t need any of Victoria’s secrets underneath my clothes.) I never really understood what Josh saw in her, other than a pretty girl. I hoped my brother was into more than just looks.

  “Maybe you can ask someone else?” I suggested.

  “Yeah, but who else is the question,” J laughed. “Jackie O was Josh’s dream girl, and now she’s out of his reach.”

  “There are always a few girls on the cheerleading squad you could ask to go with you,” David finally piped in. He had been walking beside Josh quietly, taking time to photograph the foliage, the creek, and sometimes even us. I was impressed by David’s photography. I directed my attention to him as he paused, taking a photo of a large, looming tree and a few limbs as they swayed in the gentle breeze.

  “Who are you going to ask?” Josh asked David. “I figured you had your heart set on Charlie’s friend Rachel.”

  I looked at Josh in surprise, and then back to David. Since when did David have a thing for Rachel?

  “You like Rachel?” I asked. David darted a glare at Josh, and tried to shrug nonchalantly. “I mean, how long have you liked her?” I added.

  “I’ve been going to the same youth group as her for a long time now,” David replied softly as he glanced down at his camera. I could see he was pretending to have more interest in the photos he had taken than in the conversation. “I just got to know her on a new level. She’s pretty great, actually.” So, David liked my best friend, Rachel. I never would have guessed!

  “Maybe you can help David out,” Ben said to me. “Who knows Rachel better than you, right?”

  “I…I don’t know,” I replied, a bit uneasy. I liked David. But did I really need to be involved in helping him ask Rachel to Homecoming?

  “I don’t need your help, Charlie,” David said quickly. “I’d rather ask her myself.”

  I watched David a bit longer, wondering if I could really see him and her together. Rachel never mentioned getting to know David at a youth group. I didn’t even know David went to youth group. I wasn’t sure if I could even ask her about him; it seemed like something that should be between the two of them.

  “It would be a miracle for any girl to take either one of you seriously,” Josh retorted as he looked between his two friends, Ben and J. “You guys are nuts.”

  Ben grinned and started to walk backward, keeping his gaze locked on Josh.

  “You’d be surprised, man. Girls dig my sense of adventure.”

  I couldn’t help but snort. Ben’s ‘sense of adventure’ could be easily summarized into riding around in a shopping cart and jumping onto a pile of snow in a grocery store parking lot. David, too, rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to another photo shot.

  “You keep telling yourself that.” J slapped Ben’s shoulder. “Girls can’t resist my charm.”

  “Whatever,” Ben mumbled and shoved J toward the creek bed. J glared at him and pulled Ben’s shirt, jostling him toward the stream. Josh tugged me out of the way, helping to avoid being trampled over as they shoved each other into the water.

  Boys.

  MY ROOM WAS ILLUMINATED AS my phone buzzed to life. Half-asleep, I turned to glance at my nightstand where my phone was charging. A text. I pushed myself up onto my elbow and reached for my phone. Who was texting me this late? I glanced at the clock as I swiped my finger across the touch screen. It was 11:30 P.M. Usually, I was sound asleep by now.

  MICAH: R U Awake?

  I was surprised to see Micah’s name appear. Why was he texting me? I leaned my back against the wall on the side of my bed, and contemplated texting him back. What did he want? What was I going to say? I could always play it off and claim I hadn’t seen his message until the morning.

  MICAH: U must be. The text window says U just read mine.

  Ugh. Why did I have those “read receipts” still turned on? I had no choice at that point but to reply.

  CHARLIE: Yeah, I’m awake.

  CHARLIE: What’s the matter?

  MICAH: Can’t a guy just text a girl?

  MICAH: I can’t sleep.

  CHARLIE: Oh. Sorry.

  MICAH: What did u do 2night?

  CHARLIE: I hung out with my brother and his friends.

  MICAH: Cool.

  MICAH: I didn’t know u had a brother.

  CHARLIE: We keep him locked up in the basement.

  CHARLIE: When he’s lucky, we give him bread and broth. You know, the basics.

  MICAH: HA!

  CHARLIE: He’s a senior, so he doesn’t really associate with me at school.

  MICAH: Gotcha.

  I glanced at the time again, fighting back a yawn. 11:45 P.M.

  CHARLIE: Look, it’s late and we have school in the morning.

  MICAH: Live a little?

  CHARLIE: I take bedtime pretty seriously.

  MICAH: A bit too seriously if u ask me.

  CHARLIE: I wasn’t asking you.

  MICAH: Harsh!

  CHARLIE: Goodnight, Micah.

  MICAH: Night.

  I set my phone back on the nightstand. This was weird. A little too weird, honestly. Was Micah expecting something from me? I lay back down and sank into the blankets. Was this the start of friendship? Pulling the blanket up over my head, I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to stop thinking about him, and to just go to sleep.

  “Oh No!”

  Marina and the Diamonds

  THE MORNINGS WERE JUST STARTING to feel chilly, which meant fall, my favorite season, was arriving. I was all for pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin spice cookies, cozy sweaters, warm scarves, and most importantly, the stunning colors of dying leaves. Our little town, Grand Lakes, was known for its picturesque scenery in the autumn. The mountains alone were breathtaking.

  My maroon sweater provided me some warmth against the chill as I waited at the bus stop. The sun had just begun to rise, majestic against the soft music of “Kingdom Come” by Coldplay coming from my iPhone. I watched Josh jump into the family Jeep and wave at me with a smirk.

  Jerk.

  I was thankful to see the yellow bus turn down into our neighborhood as Josh pulled the Jeep out to leave. At least I’d get to school before he did. He had a few more stops, picking up J, Ben, and David. (Josh would be more than likely driving by Jackie O’s house, too, out of pure desperation for any sort of attention from her. Poor guy.) The bus door opened for me and I stepped on and turned into the aisle, only to be greeted by Micah’s smiling face. He was dressed in a simple grey T-shirt and jeans.

  “Charlie. Over here.” He patted the space next to him. The bus doors closed behind me and I realized I needed to find a seat before it started to move. Reluctantly, I walked over and sat quietly. Maybe if I just keep my earphones in I won’t have to talk to him.

  Micah tugged at one of my earbuds and smirked.

  “Hey, Charlie.”

  “Hi,” I replied, keeping my eyes on my iPhone. I scanned through a few song titles until I settled on one of my favorite Billy Joel songs. Old school, I know. My mama raised me right. I could feel Micah peering over my shoulder as he reached for the earphone he had just pulled out. I eyed him and snatched the earbud back. “What are you doing?”

  “I want to listen, too,” Micah said. “Do you mind?”

  “Kinda.” But he didn’t seem to care. Micah took the e
arphone from my grasp and slid it into his ear, glancing down at the iPhone. “Billy Joel?”

  “He’s one of my favorites.”

  “Interesting. Isn’t this a lullaby?” He took the phone from my hands and scanned through more of my music. “Kenny Rogers? Really?”

  I reached for my phone and yanked it from him.

  “He’s my dad’s favorite.”

  “So then, he’s your favorite?”

  “No, but I can appreciate his music. Or at least, some of it.”

  “Ah, right.” Nodding, Micah gently took the device back and continued to browse through the many playlists I’d saved in my music library. I watched as he explored the different artists, many I figured he’d never heard of. I enjoyed music most people my age didn’t really know. There was something about finding classics and new indie artists while everyone else focused on the generic Top 40 Countdown.