Status: Read, Stay with me... Please!
Look at Me
6.
Real life really does suck, Hayden thought angrily as he looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms.
He finally got the chance to kiss her, to touch her, and what did he do? He pushed her away. He just… couldn’t do it, because it wasn’t real. Not the way he wanted it to be. When Paige whispered his name, Hayden wanted her to know it was him. He needed for her to want him to really be there. Maybe, someday, she would…
After a few minutes, Hayden made himself slip out from beneath her, because there was no way he could spend the rest of the night with her. His emotions were too volatile to shift back into his other self and the next time she woke up Paige would know she wasn’t dreaming. So, he got off the bed and tiptoed to door.
Dressed in cloths that belonged to Paige’s Dad, Hayden stepped into the night. He made it to the end of her driveway, before he was forced to glance back.
And as he looked at the darkened second story window, he whispered, “Don’t forget me.”
He didn’t really mean to. It just slipped out. And right then Hayden knew the secret he’d been keeping from everyone, including himself. He loved her. From the first second he saw her he felt it. Something inside him changed. Something he didn’t know existed was suddenly there, filling every corner of his emptiness. He tried to hide and ignore it, but the truth could only lay dormant for so long. And now he knew.
Typical, he thought, completely freakin typical. The girl he loved was the one he wanted so badly to hate.
***
Paige eyes popped open and she snapped into a sitting position. She glanced quickly around the room and he wasn’t there. Hayden wasn’t there. The morning had chased away the night and in the dawn’s blinding light it was hard to believe that it had existed at all…that he had existed at all…
But he does, Paige thought as she shoved the blankets away.
And why did that matter? Would she talk to him? Would she try to find out if he was like the boy in her dreams? Her cheeks burned red as she recalled the taste of his lips and the texture of his skin beneath her fingers. It had seemed so real. Would it feel the same if it was actually happening?
I am not having fantasies about Hayden Pierce, Paige told herself. And I AM NOT going to talk to him today at school, because he’s scary and…and I’m just not!
She forced her thoughts in other directions and that’s when she realized her bedroom door was open and the dog was gone.
Paige looked upstairs and downstairs and she searched every corner of the house, but it was just gone. Too worried to even think about Hayden, she dressed for school and wondered if she should put out fliers. It wasn’t really her dog, but she still felt responsible. It made her sick to think of it wandering alone through the woods that bordered her neighborhood.
***
Pale light had just begun to paint the sky in pink and orange when Hayden creeped into his house through the back door. He softly shut it behind him and made his way to his bedroom to change for school.
But as he slipped past the living room, a voice said, “Boy! Is that you?”
Hayden froze mid step and prayed he’d fall back asleep. He prayed his mother’s boyfriend would not step into the hall. But his prayers went unanswered, because seconds later he heard footsteps.
He finally got the chance to kiss her, to touch her, and what did he do? He pushed her away. He just… couldn’t do it, because it wasn’t real. Not the way he wanted it to be. When Paige whispered his name, Hayden wanted her to know it was him. He needed for her to want him to really be there. Maybe, someday, she would…
After a few minutes, Hayden made himself slip out from beneath her, because there was no way he could spend the rest of the night with her. His emotions were too volatile to shift back into his other self and the next time she woke up Paige would know she wasn’t dreaming. So, he got off the bed and tiptoed to door.
Dressed in cloths that belonged to Paige’s Dad, Hayden stepped into the night. He made it to the end of her driveway, before he was forced to glance back.
And as he looked at the darkened second story window, he whispered, “Don’t forget me.”
He didn’t really mean to. It just slipped out. And right then Hayden knew the secret he’d been keeping from everyone, including himself. He loved her. From the first second he saw her he felt it. Something inside him changed. Something he didn’t know existed was suddenly there, filling every corner of his emptiness. He tried to hide and ignore it, but the truth could only lay dormant for so long. And now he knew.
Typical, he thought, completely freakin typical. The girl he loved was the one he wanted so badly to hate.
***
Paige eyes popped open and she snapped into a sitting position. She glanced quickly around the room and he wasn’t there. Hayden wasn’t there. The morning had chased away the night and in the dawn’s blinding light it was hard to believe that it had existed at all…that he had existed at all…
But he does, Paige thought as she shoved the blankets away.
And why did that matter? Would she talk to him? Would she try to find out if he was like the boy in her dreams? Her cheeks burned red as she recalled the taste of his lips and the texture of his skin beneath her fingers. It had seemed so real. Would it feel the same if it was actually happening?
I am not having fantasies about Hayden Pierce, Paige told herself. And I AM NOT going to talk to him today at school, because he’s scary and…and I’m just not!
She forced her thoughts in other directions and that’s when she realized her bedroom door was open and the dog was gone.
Paige looked upstairs and downstairs and she searched every corner of the house, but it was just gone. Too worried to even think about Hayden, she dressed for school and wondered if she should put out fliers. It wasn’t really her dog, but she still felt responsible. It made her sick to think of it wandering alone through the woods that bordered her neighborhood.
***
Pale light had just begun to paint the sky in pink and orange when Hayden creeped into his house through the back door. He softly shut it behind him and made his way to his bedroom to change for school.
But as he slipped past the living room, a voice said, “Boy! Is that you?”
Hayden froze mid step and prayed he’d fall back asleep. He prayed his mother’s boyfriend would not step into the hall. But his prayers went unanswered, because seconds later he heard footsteps.