myself away. And as silly as it sounds, I could feel the stare that she was describing. It was similar to the stare I had felt the afternoon that Mr. Griffin almost made me a permanent mark on Main Street and the stare I felt last night when I ran into Abby and Blake after the party. The stare felt as if two lasers were boring into me, drilling some crazy feeling inside me.
“Really, Meredith, I don’t know how you are so oblivious to your gorgeousness. I’m actually kind of glad that there will be one less bombshell to compete with me next year at BU.”
I shook my head, trying to play it off as I glanced in the direction she said—and saw Blake sitting in the booth directly to my right. Could he have been there the whole time? How could I have missed him? As our eyes met, everything in the room stopped: no noisy chatter from the other guests, no sound of banging dishes, nothing but silence. His blues eyes pierced me, causing my breathing to pick up speed.
“Meredith, don’t be so obvious,” I heard Rebecca mumble, sounding appalled.
“What? Oh, sorry.” I shook my head, embarrassed that I had been caught staring at him.
“He is super cute but based on his build he is probably just some stupid football jock. But you could at least try and play hard to get.” She laughed. “Unfortunately, he’s probably just a tourist; he will be gone in no time. That is one thing I won’t miss about the summers here, the tourist season is miserable. Ugh, it gets so claustrophobic in this town.”
“No, he and his family actually just moved here for the summer. I met him yesterday.”
“So, you know him? Well, introduce me, please ,” she squealed in excitement.
“Uh, it’s not like that. Let’s just change the subject to something else.”
“Fine, not like it’s going to do me any good now. Leaving town and all.” She shrugged.
Rebecca was like most other girls our age in the sense that all she cared about was boys, hair, and clothes, but she was also the most loyal, sweetest person I knew. The rest of lunch we spent talking about old times and how much we were going to miss one another when she left. The feeling like I was being watched eventually faded, and the next time I glanced toward the booth where Blake had been sitting, he was gone.
As Rebecca and I hugged goodbye, I felt like I was losing a part of myself.
“Call me when you get back, and maybe we can meet up before you leave for Boston.” I sighed as we squeezed each other tightly.
“Promise,” her voice cracked, and I hoped she would not turn the moment into a sob fest. I was not good at dealing with those types of situations.
As she walked away, I felt an ache of sadness in my heart. It was at that moment that I knew my life was about to change, that all I ever knew was fading away, and soon I would be leaving, too. I still had not heard from Roger, and it was starting to annoy me that he was mad at me for something so stupid. I had warned him I hated parties and all the stupid crap that went along with them. He shouldn’t have pushed me so hard to go.
When I got home, Aunt Rose was still sleeping, so I decided to take advantage of the day and do some grocery shopping. Before I left for the grocery store, I left Aunt Rose a note, telling her I had borrowed her car and I would be back by six. I knew her shift started at eight, so I would have to have dinner ready to go pretty quickly after I got home.
The grocery store was not packed, making it easier for me to get through my list more quickly. As I walked the aisles, I constantly looked over my shoulder, feeling as though someone was right behind me. It can’t be the heat now, I thought. I’m in the meat department, and my arms are covered in goose bumps. Could just be my nerves, I figured. With the nightmare from last night still fresh on my mind, I guess there is a reason to be a little jumpy.
Then it occurred to me that I was making a lot of excuses. It was not in my nature
“Really, Meredith, I don’t know how you are so oblivious to your gorgeousness. I’m actually kind of glad that there will be one less bombshell to compete with me next year at BU.”
I shook my head, trying to play it off as I glanced in the direction she said—and saw Blake sitting in the booth directly to my right. Could he have been there the whole time? How could I have missed him? As our eyes met, everything in the room stopped: no noisy chatter from the other guests, no sound of banging dishes, nothing but silence. His blues eyes pierced me, causing my breathing to pick up speed.
“Meredith, don’t be so obvious,” I heard Rebecca mumble, sounding appalled.
“What? Oh, sorry.” I shook my head, embarrassed that I had been caught staring at him.
“He is super cute but based on his build he is probably just some stupid football jock. But you could at least try and play hard to get.” She laughed. “Unfortunately, he’s probably just a tourist; he will be gone in no time. That is one thing I won’t miss about the summers here, the tourist season is miserable. Ugh, it gets so claustrophobic in this town.”
“No, he and his family actually just moved here for the summer. I met him yesterday.”
“So, you know him? Well, introduce me, please ,” she squealed in excitement.
“Uh, it’s not like that. Let’s just change the subject to something else.”
“Fine, not like it’s going to do me any good now. Leaving town and all.” She shrugged.
Rebecca was like most other girls our age in the sense that all she cared about was boys, hair, and clothes, but she was also the most loyal, sweetest person I knew. The rest of lunch we spent talking about old times and how much we were going to miss one another when she left. The feeling like I was being watched eventually faded, and the next time I glanced toward the booth where Blake had been sitting, he was gone.
As Rebecca and I hugged goodbye, I felt like I was losing a part of myself.
“Call me when you get back, and maybe we can meet up before you leave for Boston.” I sighed as we squeezed each other tightly.
“Promise,” her voice cracked, and I hoped she would not turn the moment into a sob fest. I was not good at dealing with those types of situations.
As she walked away, I felt an ache of sadness in my heart. It was at that moment that I knew my life was about to change, that all I ever knew was fading away, and soon I would be leaving, too. I still had not heard from Roger, and it was starting to annoy me that he was mad at me for something so stupid. I had warned him I hated parties and all the stupid crap that went along with them. He shouldn’t have pushed me so hard to go.
When I got home, Aunt Rose was still sleeping, so I decided to take advantage of the day and do some grocery shopping. Before I left for the grocery store, I left Aunt Rose a note, telling her I had borrowed her car and I would be back by six. I knew her shift started at eight, so I would have to have dinner ready to go pretty quickly after I got home.
The grocery store was not packed, making it easier for me to get through my list more quickly. As I walked the aisles, I constantly looked over my shoulder, feeling as though someone was right behind me. It can’t be the heat now, I thought. I’m in the meat department, and my arms are covered in goose bumps. Could just be my nerves, I figured. With the nightmare from last night still fresh on my mind, I guess there is a reason to be a little jumpy.
Then it occurred to me that I was making a lot of excuses. It was not in my nature
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