A tear rolls down her cheek and I wish I was smart enough to think of exactly the right words to change her mind. “Mom…We don’t have to sell the store. We can find a way to pay off the debt.”
“No we can’t,” she snaps. “We need over twenty thousand dollars to pay it off and we’ll never get that without selling. I’m sorry, but it’s over. I’m signing the papers next week.”
She storms into the house, the door slamming closed behind her. I rest my elbows on my knees and stare out at the front yard as tears slide down my face and splash onto the stairs below.
***
It’s late. Too late. I know this, and I should turn back around and pedal my bike back home. But here I am, riding through town just a little before midnight on a school night. Jonah said he lives on 4thStreet, and that’s where I decided to go when I couldn’t sleep.
I feel like a stalker as I ride my bike slowly down the middle of the road, checking each house on both sides, looking for his car.
It doesn’t take long to find it parked at the end of a driveway. Jonah’s house is big. So big you could probably fit three of my own inside of it and still have room to live in. It’s two stories tall and red brick with white shutters. I park my bike behind his car and send him a text.
Me:are you awake?
Jonah:Yes, what’s up?
Me:I can’t sleep
Jonah:What did your mom say when you got home?
I still haven’t told him. Now I don’t think I can text it. Saying the words means admitting the truth; that I’ve failed myself, my mom, and the store.
I must take too long to reply because my phone starts ringing, and I hadn’t turned off the sound so it blasts this dark street with what feels like the loudest ring in the world. I quickly answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Why are you whispering?” Jonah says.
My heart skips a beat as I realize how pathetic this is. I biked over to a guy’s house without being invited. He never even gave me his address. Way to be a weirdo, Natalie.
“Um…I don’t… I’m outside.”
“Outside? Is anyone with you?”
“Technically, no…”
“Natalie…what’s going on? Are you okay?”
I sigh. This is embarrassing, but I really want to see him. “I couldn’t sleep so I got on my bike and the next thing I know, I’m on 4th Street and—it was totally a coincidence—”
“Are you at my house?” To my relief, he doesn’t sound like he’s creeped out. If anything, he sounds excited.
“Sort of.”
A light turns on upstairs. I watch the curtains, waiting to see Jonah look out of them, but instead, I see a shadowy figure approaching from the side of the house a few moments later.
I hang up the phone as Jonah comes into view. He’s wearing black boxers with little dog bones on them and no shirt or shoes. My pulse quickens when he pulls me into a hug, wrapping his arms around me. His body is warm, his skin soft, and he smells like a fresh shower.
“Let’s get inside,” he whispers as he kisses the side of my head. “Then you can tell me everything.”
Jonah’s house smells really good, like a mixture of laundry detergent and vanilla candles. It’s dark, too dark to see much, so I let him hold my hand and lead me through his house to the stairs, which are covered in thick carpet that masks the sound of our footsteps.
He takes me to his room and closes and locks the door behind us. “Just so no one walks in here and sees a girl in my room,” he explains.
And then his arms are around me again, and I’m sliding my hands across his bare back, pressing my face against his chest. I breathe in deeply, feeling at peace for the first time all night.
Jonah takes me to his bed in the sweetest way. I’m not worried he’ll try to do something I’m not ready for. I feel safe here, laying in his arms.
