*nmf
That Summer
chapter
7.
Author's
Note:
Sorry I haven't
written in so long. I've been really busy with school, but I promise I'll
write more this weekend!
That Summer:
Chapter Six
Two years ago
"Shelby,
did you hear what I just said," Nate asks me. I nod. We
sit on the warm sand in silence. "How do you feel about
me," he asks. "Um, I'm not sure," I say.
"Well, why not," Nate inquires. "You kissed
that girl right in front of me. You said she
was your first kiss.You told that girl she was
the most beautiful girl you've ever met. You said that to
me. You told that girl you thought
you were falling for her," I say in a small voice. He
doesn't say anything for a while. "I did all of that
because I like you. A lot. I know I shouldn't have done it.
I wish I hadn't because I feel terrible. I used Skylar and
I hurt you," he says. So my mom was right, he was using
Skylar to make me jealous. I don't know how to feel at this
point. Maybe I'm taking this all way too seriously.
He's just a boy. You'll meet others. Don't get so
hung up over one boy. "Okay," I respond at
last,"I forgive you." Nate smiles. His teeth are
perfect. And those lips of his. I want to kiss them.
"Nate, I really like you," I add shyly. Nate
kisses me. It's like he read my mind. "I really like
you too, Shelby." He walked me home that evening.
We're on my porch and I'm waiting for that fairytale
good-night kiss. Instead, I get a high five. "This is when
you high five me back," Nate insists. I giggle and high
five him. He pulls me in for a kiss then says,"You
didn't actually think I would give you a good-night high
five, did you?" "I hoped not," I say giggling.
Nate kisses me good-night once again. "See you tomorrow,
Shelby Elizabeth Walker," Nate says, smiling. "See
you tomorrow, Nathanial Andrew Bass," I reply, smiling as
well. I haven't stopped smiling after he told me he felt
the same way about me. "Someone looks happy," Josh,
my older brother says, smirking. "Were you spying on me?
God, you're so annoying," I say, shoving him. He makes
a face at me and I shove him again. I go up to my room, still
smiling. I change into a pair of black baggy sweatpants and a
lime green oversized t-shirt. I go to sleep thinking:
Maybe one day I'll be Mrs. Nathanial Andrew Bass. Mrs.
Bass. Shelby Elizabeth Bass.
That Summer:
Chapter Five
Two years ago
What have I done? Why did I run away? I don't even know where I am. I'm so lost right now. I'm in the middle of nowhere. Well, while I'm here, I might as well think. Yeah that's what I'll do. I'll try to make my way back and think. As I'm making my way back, or at least attempting to, I see Nate and that girl. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Why did you run off like that," he asks angrily. Even though I'd only known him for two days, he didn't seem to be the type to be angry. My eyes well up with tears. My voice quivers as I say,"I just want to go home." "Okay, we'll take you. Calm down. Everything's going to be okay," he says calmly,"By the way, Skylar meet Shelby. Shelby meet Skylar." I give her the evil eye and follow Nate on our journey back to my beach house. No one says a word. We walk in silence. I hope Nate didn't tell my family I took off. My parents would freak out. I decided not to ask him. I mean, why bother? He's so bipolar at this point, it's better to just leave him alone. We arrive at my house about an hour later. "Thanks," I say to Nate. He pulls me in for a hug and I stick my tongue out at Skylar. "Your welcome," he replies. To Skylar he says,"Come on let's go to the boardwalk. I'll win you a huge stuffed animal or something." I walk into my house. I see my mothers standing in the kitchen on the phone, preparing lunch. I run over and give her a hug. "I love you," I whisper to her. "I love you too, honey," she says. I finally let go and go to my room. I need a nap. Now. But before I can take my nap, my mother's at my door. "Shelbs, is there something you want to talk about?" "Yeah, there's a lot I want to talk about." I explained everything that's happened in the last 24 hours and then I ask,"How do I fix it, mommy?" "Honey, you can't fix this. This is just something everyone goes through in their life. You both need time to think. He obviously is using Skylar to make you jealous. And if he is, he's not worth it. I don't want my daughter to think she has to put up with a boy treating her like trash. You deserve better. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your mother, but because, before I married your father I was in an abusive relationship. I let that man hit me. I let him make me feel worthless. Until one day I decided enough was enough. I called the cops. He went to jail and I met your father. The love of my life. Now I'm not saying that Nate is abusive or will become abusive. But what he did to you today is not right. I need you to realize that. You know I'm always here for you, Shelbs. I love you." I hugged my mom for a long time. A moment like this doesn't need words. In that very moment I realized that my mom truly does love me and that I don't need a boy to tell me things to make me happy. The next morning I slept in. I finally dragged myself out of bed at 1 PM. I showered, shaved, brushed my teeth, put lotion on, blow dried my hair, and put on a fresh pair of denim shorts and a pale blue tank top. My mom was waiting for me on my bed. "Nate's downstairs. Waiting for you. Remember what we talked about last night." She got up and kissed my forehead and walked out of my room. I was flabberghasted. What was he here for? I didn't want to waste anymore of my precious summer. In the end, I decided to talk to him. I walked downstairs. He looked better than ever. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach was instantly filled with a million butterflies. "Hey, let's take a walk," Nate said. "Okay," I replied. We were walking on the beach for about ten minutes and he said,"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way. Skylar's just a longtime friend of mine and I asked her to help me out. I didn't know it would make you so upset." When I didn't say anything he said,"I really like you, Shelby Elizabeth Walker."
That Summer:
Chapter Four
Two years ago
As I make my way home it starts to drizzle. Great, just what I need. Rain. I start to cry even harder. Why do I mess everything up? This could have been my first real relationship. My first real summer love. Something. But now that's not going to happen. I could see the hurt in Nate's eyes. How will I ever explain to my mother that I broke her best friend's son's heart? Maybe she'll disown me. Shelby, stop being so irrational. Mom will understand. Or at least I hope. By the time I make it home, it's thundering and lightening and I'm soaking wet. I open the door and I see Nate sitting on the couch playing video games with my brothers. My dad's making dinner. My sisters are writing in their diaries. My mother and Nate's mother are chatting and reading magazines. No one is even the least bit concerned that I could have been struck by lightening. Or kidnapped. Or killed. Or something. They all seem as if they don't have a care in the world. This is the kind of picture that would be in a family magazine or something. I stomp up the stairs and stomp all the way to my room. I slam my door as hard as I can, but a clap of thunder drowned it out. I throw myself onto my bed and scream into my pillow. I hear a knock at the door. "WHO IS IT," I yell grouchily. "It's me," a voice replies. "WHO," I ask. The door opens. It's Nate. "Hi," he says awkwardly. "Get out," I snarl. He slowly backs away. "Chill out, kid," he says calmly. "Get out," I yell at him. "Fine," he yells back. He stomps out of my room and slams the door on his way out. I'm so frustrated all I can do is cry. I cried myself to sleep that night. You know how in all the movies the girl's mother always comes into the girl's room and comforts her daughter, well where was my mom when I needed her most? The next morning I'm as grouchy as ever. "Morning, Shelby," my mom says cheerily. "Leave me alone," I say in a cold voice. My mother's smile fades. "Don't you ever use that tone with me ever again, young lady," my mother says to me, matching my cold voice. She turns back to the stove and continues making pancakes as if nothing just happened. "I'm going for a walk," I said in a fake-sweet voice. "Breakfast is almost ready. Your walk can wait," my mom says. "I'm not hungry," I protest. "Then don't eat. We eat meals as a family," she says calmly,"Now go wake your brothers and sisters up and let your father know breakfast is almost ready, he's outside." I shoot her a doubtful look and walk out the door, ignoring her orders. I can't believe I just did that. I have never in my life acted that way toward my mom. I mean, come on, she's my mom. I feel horrible. I instantly want to apologize, but something deep inside of me tells me not to. To just leave it alone. She'll get over it. As I walk on the beach I spot Nate with a girl. They're splashing each other and laughing. The girl has blonde hair and a fit body. She throws her head back and laughs every time Nate says something. I guess Nate caught me staring at them, because he chose that moment to kiss the girl. He said very loudly,"You're my first kiss and you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." My eyes start to water and Nate looks like he feels bad, but quickly says even louder,"I think I'm falling for you." And that's when I lost it. I ran. I didn't know where I was going. I just ran. I kept running until I got tired. I had no idea where I was.
'
That Summer:
Chapter Two
I looked
deep into the eyes of Nate; my crush of two years exactly. Why
couldn't he admit he felt it too? This thing
between us. When we met two years ago, I instantly felt sparks.
I knew this guy would be hard to forget.. I just hoped he felt
the same about me. We met through our mothers, who are
childhood best friends. Why they didn't introduce us sooner
is beyond me.
Two years
ago
"Shelby, there's someone I'd
love for you to meet," my mother said
excitedly. I expected it to be some boring girl who my mom
expected me to become insta-BFF's with. I calmly walked down the
stairs. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw
him. I felt my knees weaken and my heart skipped a
couple of beats. "Hi, I'm Nate," said the boy. In
a tiny voice I said,"Nice to meet you," then, as an
afterthought, I added,"I'm Shelby." I flashed a
weak smile in his mother's direction. "So, Nate,
I'll be borrowing your mother for the day. Have fun you
two," my mother said to Nate. Then it occurred to me she
wanted me to hang out with this boy. How can I? I could barely
tell him my name and I'm supposed to spend an entire day
with him? Maybe he'll end up ditching me for my older
brothers.."Wanna go for a walk on the
beach," he asked shyly. I quickly nodded and
said,"I'd love to! How about a picnic? I'll pack
some food, drinks, and a blanket. We can watch the
sunset.!" When he didn't answer immediately I thought
he would say no, but instead he said,"Sounds like fun.
I'll help you." "No, it's fine, really,"
I responded quickly,"Take a seat on the couch. The remote
is on the coffee table. You can watch whatever you want while I
pack." I passed my younger sister Jenna on the way to the
kitchen,"Wow! Your cheeks are so red! Have you been
outside all day? I bet you got a sunburn. I can't believe
mom still has to remind you to put on sunblock." She rolled her eyes and went
upstairs. I speed-walked to the bathroom. "One. Two.
Three. Look. In. The. Mirror," I said to myself. I laid my
eyes on my reflection in the pristine mirror. "OH MY
GOD!," I screamed. "Is everything okay," I head
Nate yell from the couch. "YEAH, FINE. PERFECTLY
FINE," I yelled back. I washed my face with some water and
walked back to the kitchen. I packed two turkey sandwiches,
strawberries, chips, cookies, and two canned Cokes. "Okay,
all set. Let's go," I exclaimed enthusiastically. He
turned off the 80 inch plasma television and walked to the
door. "Here, let me hold the basket," Nate offered. I
handed Nate the basket and off we went. We found the best spot
to watch the sunset and ate. Once we finished our early dinner
we just laid on the blanket and talked about life. Then he said
it. Those three words I will never forget. "You are
beautiful," Nate said to me
quietly.