AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d rather torture myself by staring at Daisy in the office for a solid fifty minutes, knowing I don’t have the right to touch her or kiss her any longer.
I’m also a glutton for punishment, I swear to God.
It’s Tuesday afternoon and the last class of the day. Statistics with Mrs. Nelson. The moment I settle into my desk, I peek underneath it, always hoping I’ll find a book that Daisy left behind. It never happens.
Wait a minute…
Until now.
Glancing around, I make sure no one is paying attention to me before I pull the book out and settle it into my lap. I stare at the cover. It’s another one of those cartoonish illustrated covers, and this one features a couple standing next to each other, him looking down at her while she smiles up at him. She’s blonde and has braids. He’s tall and has golden brown hair.
Huh. The resemblance is pretty spot on.
Nelson is talking to a couple of students who surround her desk, so I thumb through the book, checking to see if she’s left me any notes. I know this is Daisy’s book. She’s annotated a few passages and she’s doodled in the margins. There’s one section that gets me near the end of the book. It’s highlighted in pink and pretty simple, but it feels like a swift kick to my heart.
I realize that in this very moment I still love him. I’m still in love with him.
And I don’t know what to do about it.
She’s drawn little hearts all around the two sentences, and every single one of them has a jagged line down the middle.
All the hearts are broken.
Did she mean for me to see this? Did she want me to know? Or was this an accident and this all means nothing? What if this isn’t even Daisy’s book at all? Hey, another girl could sit at this desk and like reading romance books. She could even enjoy drawing inside them and highlighting all of her favorite parts. You never know.
Weirder things have happened.
“Hey, Mrs. Nelson,” I call to the teacher when the students leave her desk and she’s all alone.
“Yes, Arch?”
“Who sits in this desk sixth period?” I shove the book back into the storage slot. I know what her answer is going to be, but I asked the question anyway.
“Daisy Albright.” She tilts her head, her gaze narrowing. “Didn’t you two have a little…thing going on?”
I shrug, playing it cool. “We were friends. Now we’re not.”
A frown forms. “That’s too bad. I like the idea of the two of you together.”
“Why?”
She seems taken aback by my question. “Why?”
“Yeah, why do you like that idea?” I need to know her opinion.
“Well…she’s quiet. You’re not. She’s sweet. You’re not.”
“Hey,” I protest.
Nelson smiles. “I’m kidding, but you know what I mean. You two are opposite personalities and I think you would balance each other out nicely.”
“I’m not her type.” I lean back in my chair, kicking my legs out. “She wasn’t into me.”
“Really?” She sounds like she doesn’t believe me.
I nod, enjoying this conversation. Nelson seems a little stunned by my confessions, and it goes to show that faculty gossips about us. Not that I’m surprised. “Sometimes people can be a little too opposite, you know?”
Her smile is thoughtful. “Interesting.”
