Forget Me Not
Epilogue
*One year
later*
Her lips were warm and
smooth, and Oliver looked down at the most beautiful girl
he’d ever seen after he pulled out of the kiss.
Randi smiled elusively. The gem in the necklace Oliver had
given her seemed to pulse at her throat. He reached out to hug
her, but she stepped backwards. He frowned as she
turned.
“Randi!” he called as she started turning the
other way. “Randi, wait!”
She turned and threw a smile back over her shoulder, but
continued to lope gracefully away. Oliver tried to catch her, but
it was too much effort to put on foot in front of the other. He
wasn’t getting anywhere, and Randi was getting farther and
farther away.
Oliver awoke with a start. He could almost smell Randi’s
strawberry shampoo. As the dream faded away, sadness grasped his
heart. He forced himself out of bed and took a quick shower
before getting the flowers he’d gotten the night before and
heading out to his car.
The drive to the cemetery was short, and Oliver made it often.
Today he’d gotten up early to go before school.
He went to the grave and sat down cross-legged in front of it. He
stared at the years.
“You were too young,” he murmured and reached forward
to touch the cold, hard stone where her name was carved, wishing
it was Randi’s soft face instead.
His arm had healed quickly, and he was back in peak physical
condition. Emotionally, though, he was still a wreck. Some days,
he would be okay. Then others, it would all hit him with such
force that he could barely move with the pain. On days like that,
he was amazed he even managed to get out of bed, let alone go to
school. It was if when Randi lost her life, he lost his as well.
The only difference was that his heart was still beating, and
hers was lifeless, lying beneath the ground he was sitting
on.
“I should’ve died, not you,” he whispered. He
did that often when he came to visit the grave. He always talked
to her, and he still told her everything that went on in his
life. Today, though, he was silent except for a few brief
sentences.
Finally, the words he was able to choke out the words he came to
say.
“Happy birthday, beautiful.”
He rubbed at his eyes hard, and forced the tears back, and then
he continued.
“You would’ve been seventeen today. You’ll
always be sixteen in my memory though. You’re forever
sixteen, and I have to go on living like a zombie.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I
don’t mean to complain.”
He was silent again until he got up to leave. Before he did, he
laid the blue forget-me-nots on the grave.
“I won’t,” he whispered, and he walked
away.
Author's
Note: I know it took me awhile, and I'm sorry.
I hope you like it, though, even though it's sad.
To answer a question that a few of you asked me on my last
chapter:
Yes, I do plan on writing another story, but I don't know
when because I currently have writer's block and absolutely
no new ideas.
Thanks for reading my story. I really appreciate the support.
(:
Forget Me Not
10
Randi opened the box. On
top was a small piece of paper folded in half, and she picked it
up. She unfolded it and read the note aloud.
“The key to my heart.”
Randi looked at him and gave him a smile before looking down at
the gift.
Inside the box, lay a necklace with an ornate silver key hanging
on a delicate chain. In the cent of the key was a blue
gemstone.
"Oliver,” she whispered and looked up at him in awe.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you,” Oliver murmured and took
the box from her. He pulled out the necklace and went behind
Randi to put it around her neck. She lifted her hair away as he
locked the clasp. He kissed her neck gently before he placed her
hair back where it was. Randi shivered, but not from cold. In
fact, she felt quite warm.
On the drive home, one of Randi’s favorite songs came on
the radio, and Oliver turned it up full blast. They both sang
along at the top of their longs, as off tune as they possibly
could. Randi swung her head back and forth, singing into an
imaginary microphone, and Oliver laughed at her. Randi held the
imaginary microphone out to him. He leaned towards her and began
singing, swerving like crazy.
Neither of them saw the green light change to red.
Neither one of them saw the headlights or heard the other
car’s horn honking until it was too
late.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Oliver was trying to sleep,
but an incessant beeping wouldn’t let him go back to his
dreams. His head was pounding, and he tried to roll over, but
pain shot through him. His entire body felt like a bruise.
He forced his eyes open and found himself lying in a hospital
bed. His right arm was in a cast, and his other arm was hooked up
to an IV. Machines were attached to him everywhere – one of
them was what was causing that relentless beeping.
He frowned, confused. He looked over, and saw his dad sitting in
a hospital chair, head leaning to one side, fast asleep.
“Dad?” Oliver croaked, his voice scratchy from
misuse. Mr. Elliot stirred and his eyes opened slowly. When he
saw that Oliver was awake, he sat forward suddenly.
“Son?”
“What’s going on?” Oliver asked, frowning. He
tried to remember what had happened. The last thing he could
recall was taking Randi home after their date…
Then it hit him. He felt the breath go out of his chest, and Mr.
Elliot flinched, seeing the realization in his son’s
eyes.
“Miranda?” he managed to whisper through the heavy
weight on his chest.
“Oliver,” Mr. Elliot began, placing a hand on
Oliver’s good arm.
“Dad, where is she?” Oliver said, panic entering his
voice. His eyes searched the hospital room. She should be there,
waiting for him to wake up. “Dad!”
Mr. Elliot looked as his hands and back at his son’s face.
His heart was breaking for him.
“Oliver,” he began again. “Miranda didn’t
make it,” he forced the words over the lump in his
throat.
Instantaneously, Oliver’s eyes welled up with tears and he
turned away from his father.
The words confirmed what he had already known. There was an
emptiness inside his chest, a hole that hadn’t been there
before.
As the full impact sunk in, silent tears slid down Oliver’s
face. He tried to hide it from Mr. Elliot, but it was no use.
Miranda was dead, and it was his fault.
Randi was dead.
His Randi.
Gone.
Forever.
Author's Note: This is
the last chapter to this story. It's over. ):
I know it's not the ending you expected, but what do you
think?
There is going to be an epligue. Anyone who comments on this
quote will get a notification for it. (:
Thanks!
Forget Me Not
9
“I was always a
skeptic on that kind of stuff,” Oliver admitted, and
Randi’s heart sank. Oliver turned to face her. “But
the first time I saw you, any doubt I ever had was gone,”
he continued earnestly, taking both hands within his own.
Randi’s fingers tingled, and the feeling went all the way
up her arms until it faded away near her elbows. “I saw
you, and I knew right away that you were the one for me,”
Oliver watched her face closely for her reaction as he continued
his confession, hoping to see that her emotions mirrored his.
“And maybe it’s crazy, I don’t know. I know
we’re young, and I know we just met, but… Miranda,
I’m in love with you,” he finished.
The words were the sweetest Randi had ever heard. Although she
hated being called Miranda, the name coming off of Oliver’s
lips sounded more wonderful than anything she had ever heard.
Somehow she knew that just by using her full name instead of
Randi, he instantly made those words mean even more. They became
even more personal than they already were – and that meant
everything to Randi. Tears filled her eyes – happy tears
– as she tried to think of some response, but how do you
come back to that? How do you answer someone who just told you
the sweetest thing you have ever heard, and probably will ever
hear?
Randi did what came naturally. She took Oliver’s face
firmly between her hands, leaned forward and planted a firm kiss
on his flawless lips.
“I’m in love with you, too,” she whispered
without thinking. The words just flowed out of her mouth,
surprising both of them. Oliver wrapped his strong arms around
her tightly. Randi let herself cling to him, and she felt the
full impact of both of their words.
Every word Oliver had said matched how Randi felt almost exactly.
She couldn’t believe how lucky she was that the feeling was
mutual. She breathed him in, the already familiar scent of his
cologne, wishing she never had to let him go. Oliver felt as if
he were in heaven.
Since they still had some extra time, Oliver asked to take Randi
one last place. Randi agreed, naturally.
“It’s a surprise, though,” Oliver added as he
got in the car. “You have to close your eyes.”
“Really?” Randi said, skeptically, looking at him
with eyes brows raised. He raised his eyebrows back, and gave her
a firm “I’m-not-backing-down” look.
“Fine,” Randi laughed and with a dramatic sigh,
closed her eyes.
Once Oliver was positive she wouldn’t peak, he put the car
into drive and pulled out. Within minutes they reached their
destination.
“Now,” Oliver put the car into park. “You
can’t look yet. Okay?”
“Alright,” Randi smiled and would’ve rolled her
eyes. Oliver turned the car off. “Now?” she
teased.
“No!” Oliver got out. Randi frowned when his door
closed, but just moments later, Oliver opened her door.
“Okay, here,” Oliver took her hand.
“Where are you taking me?” Randi asked as she blindly
let Oliver lead her. He walked slowly and warned her of ever bump
or step in her path.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,”
Oliver grinned, and Randi heard it in her voice. She attempted to
playfully hit him, but missed. He laughed. “Okay,” he
murmured. “You can open your eyes.”
When Randi did, she laughed. They were in the exact spot where
there first kiss had taken place.
“I can’t believe you,” she smiled.
“I have something for you,” Oliver said before her
last word was even out of her mouth. Randi took in a breath of
surprise.
“You didn’t have to –“
“I wanted to,” Oliver said as he pulled out a white
rectangular jewelry box with a blue ribbon wrapped around it and
tied in a bow on top. He handed it to her, but she looked up at
him nervously.
“You’ve already done so mu –“"
Shut up and open it,” Oliver ordered with a grin. Randi
smiled, and obligingly pulled the ribbon
off.
Author's Note:
Here's chapter 9. Opinions?
(:
*Don't forget to
comment if you'd like to be notified for chapter
10*
Forget Me Not
8
When Randi opened the door
to Oliver the next night, she was surprised to see a beautiful
bouquet of assorted flowers, all in different shades of blue
– Randi’s favorite color. She couldn’t believe
Oliver had remembered.
“Happy birthday,” he smiled. He stepped into the door
way and hugged her sideways around the waist and kissed her cheek
as she took the flowers from him.
“Thank you,” she murmured, playing with the flowers.
She went into the kitchen to get a vase, and Oliver trailed
behind, looking around. The house was just as elaborate as his
own, but it was a lot brighter.
“These are my favorite flowers, you know,” Randi
said, fingering a delicate blue flower as she put them in the
vase filled with water.
“What are they?” Oliver frowned, wanting to remember
that as well.
"Forget-me-nots,” Randi smiled, and she sniffed the
flowers. “Mmm,” she smiled at him.
“Well, those are beautiful,” Suzanne said, walking
into the room. “Hello, Oliver,” she smiled when she
saw him. “Are these from you?” she asked, touching
one of the daisies.
“Yes, ma’am,” Oliver replied and winked at
Randi when Suzanne wasn’t looking. Randi hid a
smirk.
“That was sweet. Do you two mind if I get a quick picture
before you leave?” Suzanne asked, and headed to her bedroom
to get the camera without waiting for an answer.
“Oh boy,” Randi rolled her eyes and walked over to
Oliver, who smiled down at her.
“Don’t worry, babe. It won’t take long,”
he leaned down and gave her a quick peck. Randi quickly looked
down as she felt her cheeks redden slightly. Oliver laughed at
her – she was so darn cute, and she wasn’t even
trying.
Within moments, Suzanne was back. A ‘quick picture’
turned into posing for almost ten minutes. Finally, Oliver said
they were going to be late for their reservations, a polite way
of getting out of the house.
He took Randi’s coat from her when she got it from the coat
closest and helped her into it before they went outside to his
car.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Randi said, referring to
all the pictures.
“Don’t worry about it,” Oliver smiled. He
hadn’t really minded. His own father had barely even asked
where he was going. He’d cared less about who Oliver was
taking with him. He was busy working.
Oliver opened the car for Randi, and she smiled. She wondered if
he was being a gentleman for the date, or if it was simply his
personality. She was thinking the latter – how could she
think anything less?
She slid into the front seat of the recently cleaned car and
Oliver closed the door behind her.
The drive took about fifteen minutes across town, to the nicest
restaurant Oliver had been able to find. They talked comfortably
during the drive, and Oliver took her hand as they walked
inside.
The lighting was low, but not too low. The decorations were
simple but elegant, and the food was delicious.
Randi had to force herself to ignore the prices when she ordered,
and she had to work so she didn’t feel guilty when Oliver
paid the bill. She had to remind herself that Oliver’s
family, as well as her own, was rich. It was a strange concept to
her.
After they ate, Oliver took her back to the lake the day they
first met. They went back to the exact same picnic table, and
they sat and talked, hand in hand.
After a lull in the conversation, Randi asked, “Do you
believe in love at first sight?” before she could lose her
nerve. There was a brief pause, and Randi bit her lip, wishing
she knew what was going through Oliver’s mind. She wondered
if she should’ve kept her mouth shut. Probably. You
always say the wrong things, Randi accused herself. But
then, Oliver took in a breath to
answer.
Author's Note: Thanks
for the get well wishes everyone! I did finally. (:
Sorry I took so long again. I'll try not to do that so much
anymore. ):
*Don't forget to
comment if you'd like to be notified for chapter
9*
Forget Me Not
7
The next few days passed
painfully slow for both Oliver and Randi. Between school and
Oliver’s busy schedule (on the other hand, Randi had
nothing to do, being grounded), they barely got to talk. They
didn’t see each other at all either.
On Randi’s birthday,
Suzanne agreed to let her go out with Katie and a couple other
friends only after talking to Katie’s mom and lecturing
Randi about lying and sneaking off. Randi tried not to roll her
eyes. Suzanne was trying to protect Randi from making the same
mistakes as she did and from losing her childhood, but Randi felt
more like she was being smothered than
protected.
As much as she wanted to,
Randi didn’t go to see Oliver. She followed Suzanne’s
rules and was even back early. She decided to get on her
mom’s good side so when she wasn’t grounded anymore,
she could go out with Oliver, who already had some big surprise
planned for her.
It was a Saturday the day
that Randi’s house arrest before. The night before, she
went to talk to Suzanne who was in her office, grading
essays.
“Can I go out
tomorrow night?” Randi asked, apprehensively. She knew she
was pushing it asking to go out so soon after she got out of
trouble. She just hoped her good attitude recently was enough to
give Suzanne reason to agree.
“Tomorrow?”
Suzanne looked at Randi over her reading glasses and the wooden
desk, red pen poised in the air over her stack of papers.
“You’re barely ungrounded.”
Randi bit her lip. “I
know,” she said softly, staring at the ground. Suzanne
sighed and sat back, dropping the pen on the desk and setting the
glasses next to it.
“With
who?”
“Oliver,” Randi
said, looking straight in Suzanne’s brown eyes – it
was one of the few things the two actually had in common. As much
as Suzanne scared Randi, she refused to be ashamed of Oliver, or
even to appear ashamed of him.
Suzanne raised her
perfectly-waxed eyebrows in surprise.
“Elliot?”
“He’s planning
on picking me up at seven,” Randi said, pluckily. Either
Suzanne would admire her courage or be annoyed they’d made
plans without asking permission first. Randi was hoping –
praying, even – that it would be the
former.
Whatever Suzanne was, Randi
could see on her face surprise. Randi had always been submissive,
trying to be the best daughter she could be, the perfect
daughter. Although Suzanne had always appreciated it, she admired
this new attitude that she saw in her daughter. It reminded
Suzanne a little bit of herself when she was that
age.
After studying Randi for a
moment, Suzanne sighed and sat forward, picking up the pen once
again, playing with it.
“Is that who you were
with at the mall?” Suzanne asked, looking up at the end of
the question.
“Yeah,” Randi
said, not bothering to lie. She’d already paid the penalty
for that deception, so now there was only something to be gained
from her honesty.
“He’s a nice
boy,” Suzanne said, thoughtfully. She liked him enough and
knew him to be respectable. She sighed. “Alright. You can
go.”
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
The next day as she was
getting ready, Randi took a leap of faith and asked for
Suzanne’s opinion on an outfit. She put her foot down,
however, and refused to wear a dress, a skirt, or any type of
heel.
Then Suzanne did
Randi’s hair so it fell in long waves down her back. By the
time Oliver rang the doorbell, Randi felt closer to her mother
than she had in years.
Author's
Note: Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I've had a
fever since Sunday.
I wrote this while I was sick, so if it's not the best
I've written, I'm sorry. ):
*Don't forget to comment if you'd like to be notified for
chapter 8*
Forget Me Not
6
“I can’t
believe I just met you yesterday,” he said, staring into
her beautiful brown eyes.
“I know,” Randi
whispered. She bit her lip when she saw Oliver look down at her
mouth and wondered if he was going to kiss her again. She leaned
towards him inadvertently in anticipation.
Downstairs, the sound of
the front door opening and
then
slamming
closed again made them both
jump.
“Crap,” Oliver
jumped up and went to the door leading to the balcony and looked
out at the driveway.
“My dad’s
back,” he told Randi. She frowned, scared they were going
to get caught.
“Don’t
worry,” Oliver took her face in his hands and kissed her
forehead. “He’ll go in his office soon, and
we’ll be able to leave without him even knowing we were
ever here,” he assured her.
“Okay,” Randi
smiled unsurely, hoping that Oliver knew what he was talking
about.
Fortunately, he did. Within
ten minutes, they heard Mr. Elliot close the door to his office.
They went downstairs together, and Oliver sent her to go get in
his car while he made an excuse to his father about why he was
leaving.
Within a few minutes of
getting in the car, Oliver came back out, looking completely at
ease, with his keys in his hands. They pulled out, and Oliver
dropped her off at her house; Mr. Elliot never had a
clue.
However, Suzanne was much
more suspicious. Randi realized that she was supposed to be home
a couple hours ago when she walked inside and saw the clock on
the stove.
When she went into the
living room to go to her room, Suzanne was sitting on the couch,
legs crossed and hands folded in her lap, waiting for her. Randi
could tell from the way her mom held herself that she was angry.
She stopped and waited for her to say
something.
“Who were you
with?” Suzanne asked, suspiciously.
“Some friends,”
Randi lied, clumsily.
“What
friends?”
“Katie and
–“
“Really? Because I
ran into Katie at the store today. She was grabbing some things
for a family dinner they had tonight,” Suzanne said,
knowing she had caught Randi.
“Well, yeah, Katie
had to leave early,” Randi fumbled with her
words.
“Who were you
with?” Suzanne said, enunciating her words carefully and
slowly. “It was a boy, wasn’t
it?”
“Mom
–“
“You know
you’re not allowed to date until you’re
sixteen,” Suzanne interrupted, unwilling to listen to
Randi’s excuses.
“I’ll be
sixteen in a week and a half!” Randi protested, knowing
that there was no way her mom would believe any excuse she came
up with now.
“A rule is a rule.
You’re grounded. Two weeks. You’re not going anywhere
except to school, and you will not be seeing
anyone.”
“But
–“
“And if you complain,
I’m taking your phone, too. You should be happy you got off
so easy,” Suzanne stood from the couch and walked from the
room, her heels clicking against the tile when she reached the
kitchen.
Randi angrily stomped to
her room and slammed the door. She texted Oliver immediately and
told him what had happened..
Author's Note: So
question: How did all of you start reading my story?(:
*Don't forget to comment if you'd like to be notified for
chapter 7*
Forget Me Not
5
After throwing away the
empty ice cream container at the park, Oliver said,
“I’ll race you to the swings,” with a
mischievous glint in his eyes.
“It’s
on,” Randi said, and broke into a run, faster than Oliver
expected. He caught up with her easily however, but he
didn’t pass her, letting her win.
She laughed as she sat on a
swing in victory, although she was almost positive that Oliver
could have beaten her with barely any effort. Oliver smiled and
pushed her on the swing. After a little bit, he sat on the swing
next to her, and they raced to see who could go the highest.
Having already let her win once, Oliver decided it would be okay
to be the victor this time.
“Not fair!”
Randi laughed when he surpassed her. “Your legs are
longer!”
“So?” he
laughed, and jumped off the swing, landing perfectly on both feet
without an effort.
Randi smiled and tried not
to stare at him.
“Jump!” Oliver
encouraged her. Randi shook her head.
“It’s scary,” she protested.
“I’m right here,” Oliver moved in front of her
swing. “I won’t let you fall,” he promised.
It took a little more persuasion from Oliver that she would be
fine, but she finally agreed to jump.
“One,” Oliver began. Randi let go of the swing.
“Two,” he continued. She prepared herself to jump.
“Three!”
Randi jumped, and stumbled straight into Oliver’s arms,
just like he’d promised. Oliver hadn’t expected the
force that she fell into him with, though, and he lost his
balance. He took a few short steps backwards in an attempt to
regain his footing, but it didn’t help. He fell straight on
his butt, with Randi on top of him. He put out one hand out on
the ground to stead himself and kept the other around Randi to
make sure she didn’t fall any farther.
“I’m sorry!” Randi exclaimed, attempting to
scramble up, but Oliver’s laugh made her hesitate. It only
took him a moment to reclaim his balance, and when he did, he put
his other arm around Randi’s waist as well, not wanting her
to move away.
“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled. Randi looked
down at him shyly and smiled back.
Oliver put his hand on her cheek and Randi thought her heart
would slam out of her chest. He leaned forward and then paused.
Randi felt more nervous than she knew was possible. The
butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. Her eyes slid to
Oliver’s lips unintentionally, giving Oliver courage.
He leaned forward, closing the gap between them, and kissed her,
a gentle brush of the lips.
Oliver heard Randi’s
sharp intake of breath when he pulled back. He took it as a good
sign and kissed her again, this time for
longer.
Her lips were soft and
smooth against his own, and Oliver wanted to know what they
tasted like. His arms tightened around her, almost
naturally.
“Oliver,” Randi
laughed nervously when they pulled apart. “We’re in
the park!” she said in a hushed voice.
Oliver laughed.
“Sorry,” he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Do you want to leave?”
Randi shrugged.
“Where would we go?”
“There’s no one
at my house,” Oliver suggested, and then swore inwardly.
Why would he say that? It sounded like he only wanted to get in
her pants – which wasn’t even close to the
truth.
That thought never crossed
Randi’s mind when she agreed, hesitating only for a brief
moment before answering. They linked hands and headed to
Oliver’s car.
When they got back to his
house, they went upstairs to the only room Oliver hadn’t
shown her the night before – his own. He put on a movie,
and they laid in bed as they watched it.
Oliver had already seen the
movie, and he found that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of
Randi. Curled up next to him, focused on the TV, Oliver
didn’t think he’d ever find someone who made him feel
this way, especially since he’d barely even known her for
one full day.
Randi tried to pay
attention to the movie, but she couldn’t. Oliver was laying
on his back with his arm draped around her shoulders, and she was
half on her side and half on her back, laying as close to him as
she dared. He kept running his hand up and down her arm, making
her glance at him out of the corner of her eyes every
time.
Finally, she turned
completely onto her side towards him, giving up on the
movie.
Author's Note: So what
do you think of their first kiss? (: It was fun to write. Hope
you liked it.
*Don't forget to comment if you'd like to be notified for
chapter 6*
Forget Me Not
4
Oliver came
back promptly with Suzanne’s and Randi’s coats draped
elegantly over his arm. Randi smiled as he handed her the coat,
and Oliver smiled back.
“Have a
safe drive home,” he said courteously to Suzanne and John.
“It was nice meeting you, Randi,” he turned to her,
and he shook her hand. Not only would his politeness impress Mr.
Elliot, but it gave Oliver a good excuse to touch Randi again.
None of the adults noticed that their hands lingered a little
longer than necessary.
Randi slid her
coat on, and followed John and Suzanne out, fighting the urge to
look back at Oliver one last time. She walked out the door,
feeling blissfully happy.
It was even
cooler outside now than it had been before. Randi slid her hands
into her coat pockets, and her fingers brushed a piece of paper.
She frowned. She knew there hadn’t been anything in her
pocket when they had left. She pulled it out and glanced back at
the house.
Randi glanced
at the paper. It was folded perfectly in half, and was unmarked
on the outside. She got in the car and unfolded it, reading it
with the dim light that her phone gave off.
You never answered my
question. – Oliver
Underneath
that, a phone number was scrawled. Randi smiled and quickly
pulled out her phone and sent the number one simple text that
changed her life forever:
Yes. –
Randi
The next
morning, Randi woke up to a text from Oliver.
Hey beautiful. :)
She smiled and
texted him back. Just moments later, Oliver called
her.
“Hello?” Randi
answered.
“Hey. You
didn’t get in trouble last night, did you?” he asked,
apprehensively.
“Not
really,” Randi smiled at the concern in his voice, and got
out of bed. “Just a lecture,” she added to give a
better explanation as she walked out onto the patio that was
right off of her bedroom.
She sat at one
of the patio chairs while Oliver answered, “Good. So you
can meet me at the mall at noon?”
“Sure,” Randi
smiled, excited to see him again. “I’ll text you
after I talk to my mom about it.”
Although Randi
had to lie about who she was going with and sit through another
lecture, Suzanne finally agreed to let her go. By the time
Suzanne was finished, Randi had less than an hour to get
ready.
After showering
quickly, Randi pulled on a pair of jeans and a brown baby-doll
top.
Once she was
ready, Suzanne drove her to the mall and dropped her off. Randi
entered through the food court, and searched through the throng
of people for Oliver.
When she
didn’t find him right away, Randi feared that he’d
ditched her, but then she saw him standing by a vending machine
against the far wall. Their eyes met at the exact same time, and
a huge grin stretched across his face. He waved, and Randi
started towards him while he waited where he was.
“Hey,” he
smiled, and stepped forward to hug her. He hesitated for a
millisecond when he realized he didn’t know how she would
react, but Randi stepped forward, completing the hug for him. He
smiled and squeezed her tight. Even over the aromas of all the
different types of food, from hamburgers and pizza to Chinese, he
could still smell the sweet scent of Randi’s
shampoo.
They walked
around the mall for awhile and stopped at a few stores here and
there just to look, but neither of them bought
anything.
“Do you
want to go somewhere else?” Oliver asked. “I’m
getting kind of bored.”
“Sounds
good,” Randi smiled, who had just been thinking the same
thing.
On their way
out, they passed the food court, and Oliver bought Randi an ice
cream. Insisting that it was the most amazing ice cream
she’d ever had, she made Oliver try it. She shared the
remainder of it with him on their way to the park, feeding him
bites in between laughing and eating some herself while he
drove.
Author's Note: I was
going to put this up last night, but I couldn't find the
notebook I had it written in. Sorry. ):
Thanks for all the support. It means a lot. You're all
amazing. ♥