Chapter 6

                                                           Chapter Six 

                                    ~~~~~ Alex – Too much to handle ~~~~~

     The day progressed slowly. Once again I found myself looking into her beautiful deep blue eyes just moments ago. I sit here, trying to focus on what the teacher is saying, but it’s impossible. She won’t let me. Her eyes won’t let me free. They have me under a spell that I cannot break.

Creative writing sounded like fun when I first saw it on the schedule, but now I can’t even focus. And then, I see her kissing someone else again in my mind. I ball my hands into fists with so much force that they instantly turn white. Anger flows through my veins as I replay the scene once again.

‘Why are so mad and why do you care if she has a boyfriend?’ I don’t. ‘Then I ask again, why are you so mad?’ I’m not mad!

“Lying to yourself never works. You can say, and do as you want, but the feelings are there. You like her more than you admit to yourself. You are falling for her and there is nothing you can do about it now. She has you hooked.” says the teacher grabbing my attention as she reads from a book. I stop thinking about the girl and listen to the teacher. She puts the book down and looks at the class.

“How many people have tried to suppress what they feel for each other for fear of falling in love? More importantly, how many have succeeded and have completely forgotten about that person?” she pauses for answers as she sits on the edge of her desk.

“I don’t think that’s possible.” says a girl beside me. She sits lazily in her desk looking interested in the topic. The teacher tells her to proceed so she does.

“Well if you are trying to suppress a feeling that means that you have them in the first place. You can say you don’t, but you do. You can try to run away from them, but they are still there, they will always be there whether you like it not. That person that you have feelings for will always be there in the back of your every thought.” her names Layla. She looks straight ahead as if she were remembering something.  

She looks and sounds Middle Eastern. She did not have a heavy accent but an accent was definitely there. Her eyes were light brown and her face was almost childish. She spoke like she knew what she was talking about, like she herself has went through what she just said.

After creative writing came gym. The last class of the day. After I put on basketball shorts and a white shirt that I thankfully remembered to pack, I went to join the class.

“Miss Santiago, you are just in time for my special semester competition.” the teacher had a clipboard and was assigning patterns. I had no partner since the class was uneven, but I didn’t mind. I like working alone.

The first thing on Mr. De la Rasa’s competition list was who could do the most laps around the gym. He had us stretch and then blew his whistle signaling for us to start. I started out with a slow jog, pacing myself while the others immediately starting running or sprinting. 

After a while people were dropping out. In the end there were just 3 people running. No one wanted to give up. The two guys were tired and sweating like crazy while I just focused on running. Minutes later the teacher blew his whistle. I was the only one running.

Next on his list were jumping jacks. The test was going on smoothly until I saw her. She walked in late and as soon as she walked in, our eyes met. We stood there just staring at each other for what felt like hours.

“Miss Balthazar you are partnered up with Miss Santiago.” Mr. De la Rosa told her. As soon as he said my name her eyes once again found mine. Mr. D pointed in my direction and she walked forward.

“H-Hi.” She stuttered. She held up her hand for me to shake. I kept looking at those incredible eyes. I mentally slapped myself and smiled while shaking her hand.

“hey I’m Alexandria Santiago.” I say never leaving her eyes. She lifted her eyebrow and gave me a look that took my breath away.

‘what the hell?’

“So you’re the infamous Alexandria Santiago.” A chuckle escapes her lips. I have to remind myself to breath. She then smiled an incredible smile and that did it, I blacked out.

~~~~~ 

Waking up I saw her pacing the room frantically. I tried to sit up but my head hurt way too much to even try. She saw me and ran to straight to me. She helped me sit up from the uncomfortable bed.

“What happened?” I ask her rubbing my head. She was quiet for a few seconds but then lowered her head. “You fainted.” She says with a laugh. The sound is amazing, musical even. I shook my head and stood up only to fall right back down.

“Whoa there.” she says grabbing me by the waist before my body could hit the floor. Once again I couldn’t look away from her eyes. Her eyes never left mine as she leaned closer and closer…

~~~~~

I opened my eyes and shot up out of the bed, but soon regretted it as my body began to fall.

‘It was just another dream.’ sure didn’t fell like it.

I was caught by my waist just seconds before hitting the floor. “Whoa there.” the person says. The voice is faint and out of breath. The person helps me up.

‘Maybe dreams do come true.’ I really hope so.

“You okay?” I turn to the see the persons face. She was standing there still holding my waist as we stared at each other. Everything was forgotten as I stared into her now familiar eyes.

“Yeah,” I say still looking in her eyes. After a while she lets go of me. We stand there looking at each other until the nurse comes in.

“Hey Alexandria, how are you felling?” she asks me. I look away from the girl to look at the nurse. “Um.. What happened?” I ask. 

The nurse explains that I fainted in the gym.

‘No shit!’ hey watch your mouth. ‘You watch your mouth.’  

“Is there anyone home we can call to pick you up?” asks the nurse. I shake my head. “No, Mr. And Mrs. Smith are both working.” I tell her.

“I can take her home.” the girl says suddenly. After many words the nurse and the office people, finally agreed to let the girl take me. She talked with authority and they had no problem with her taking me home.

‘Damn she’s good.’

She put my arm around her shoulder and grabbed my stuff. “My name is Kylie by the way.” she says walking me to her car. She opens the passenger door and helps me in. She buckles my seat belt and was so close I could almost kiss her if I would just lean in.

‘dude what the fu-‘ seriously, just shut up.

We drive in silence. I steal glances at her from the corner of my eyes from time to time. She looks so cute when she’s nervous.

‘Oh come on! You’re kidding me right?’

I tell her where the house is and how to get there. She has no problem getting to the house.

‘Don’t you ignore me when I’m talking to you!’

Her eyes get wide and her mouth slightly opens when she sees the house. “Hey Patrick,” I say to the gatekeeper. He smiles and lets us in.

“You live here?” she asks looking outside her window. I answer her with a faint yes. “Well for now at least. Rachel and Mike-“

“You call your parents by their first names?” she asks looking at me.

“No Rachel and mike own this house; they’re my temporary foster parents. My real parents died when I was little.” Her face falls as I explain. After a while she turns off the engine and goes around to open my door. I get out and she closes the door behind me.

“What did you do to Anthony?” she asks turning around looking very curious. She sees the question mark on my face and says, “The football captain.” oh that guy.

“Oh umm, he touched me.” I say stupidly. ‘She has touched you numerous times and I don’t see you beating the crap out of her.’ she’s different.

‘So now you acknowledge me?’

“He knocked down a kid named Parker. I helped him but the guy, Anthony got mad at me. As I was walking away he grabbed my shoulder so I umm, you can say that he won’t be touching me anytime soon.” I say with a smile.

‘Amen!’ God you are so… ‘Awesome, I know!’

“Well um you have to have some serious strength to make him as mad as he was the whole day. He wouldn’t speak to me about it no matter how hard I tried.” she says seriously. I frown at her.

“Oh, is he your boyfriend?” please say no. Please say no. Please say no. Please, PLEASE say no.

“Yeah he is.”

I swear I felt my heart break. ‘Stop this right now!’ I can’t help it. She does wired things to me.

We walk towards the house in silence. I get the spare key Rachel gave me last week and open the door. Kylie just stands there awkwardly. “Come in.” I tell her.

“It’s ok, I just came to bring you home.” she says stepping back. I stop her by grabbing her arm before she takes another step and leaves.

“Please, please stay.” I beg her letting go of her arm.

‘Let her go.’ you know I can’t. ‘Yes. You. Can.’ no, I cant. 

“Ok. So what do you do for fun around here?” she says walking inside. She looks around in total awe. She spins a couple times getting herself dizzy. I laugh when she stumbles over her own feet.

“To be honest, I have no idea. I barely know where the room I’m staying in is at.” she raises her eyebrow at be again. My knees instantly get week and a cold sweat runs down my spine. God that is sexy.

“So you’re telling me that you don’t know the place you currently live at.” she says totally amused.

“Yeah pretty much.” I put the keys inside my backpack and head upstairs. When I look down she’s still standing there where I left her. “You coming?” I say looking down at her. 

She quickly runs up the stairs after nodding a yes with her head. We make it to our destination in seconds. I open the door and breathe in the fresh air.

“This is too cool.” she says looking around. She walks around occasionally picking something up and putting it back down.

“You must really like orange.” she says sitting in the bed. I sit beside her and look at the room with her.

“It’s my favorite color in the world.” I tell her smiling letting her know that i usually don’t talk that way. “I love the feel of it. I love the beauty that comes with it. The warmth it provides. The whole essence of security and freedom to express yourself that it can give to those who take the time to actually appreciate it.” I play with my hands as she just stares at me. 

“You can say all of that just over one color?” she looks around more while I look at her. 

“Orange is often misjudged by society. It’s not just a color. Orange is what you wake up to every morning of you existence. Orange is what you see in a beautiful sunset. Without orange you wouldn’t get to see the beginning of a brand new day or see it end before your eyes. Without orange life would be dull and gray.” she smiles at me.

“You will certainly get along with my mother. She’s an orange freak just like you.” she smiles one of her dazzling smiles and I can’t help but think about touching her cheek.

‘Please for your own good stop, before it’s too late.’ It’s maybe already too late. ‘Don’t say that!’

“Well, I’m not good with grownups.” I admit to her. “I’ve had many unpleasant encounters with them in the past. I’ve had too many experiences with them to know to stay away from them.”

“My mother is one of the kindest and sweetest persons I know. She takes care of me and my little brother and still manages to be the director of nursing at the hospital.” she speaks with respect and admiration towards her mother. A tear escapes my eyes as I remember my own mother.

Kylie wipes the tear away and looks concerned. Before she can say anything I stop her.

“My mother was young when she had me. She came to the US to give me a better life. She left my dad and her family. She came with 5 dollars and one pair of clothing. She was an immigrant and suffered its consequences. My dad then decided to do the same and follow her. I was left with the only family I had left in Honduras, my grandmother.

“They would send boxes filled with toys and clothes. Every time I opened a box I would expect them to jump out and say “surprise!” but, they never did. Years later my grandmother died. My parents brought me to the US so I would be with them.” I look at her face but then look down and continue.

“We had so much fun together. We were never rich. We never had an easy life, yet we were happy. My dad taught me things no teacher could have taught me in school, while my mom taught me how to cook among other womanly things.

“One day when we were opening my presents celebrating my birthday, a guy came into the house. He had a gun and pointed it at me. He shot my dad first when he stood in front of my mom and me. He fell to the floor as soon as the bullet hit his head. My mother ran to his side and cried and cried while I just stood there, doing absolutely nothing. The guy got tired of hearing my mother cry so he killed her too.” the memory became real. The room transformed into our little living room back in Texas. My parent’s bodies lay lifeless on the floor. The guy had that same smile and devilish look on his face.

“When he pointed the gun at me all I thought was ‘Please let me die fast so I can be with my parents again.’ but just as he was about to pull the trigger, the police sirens were heard. He ran away leaving me and the bodies of my dead parents in front of me.”

Kylie had tears rolling down her eyes. When I wiped them away she hugged me. She held me tight for a long time. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I cried.

Her shirt was now wet with my tears but she just held me tighter not caring about it one bit. I cried like a baby for the first time in years. Everything I had stored inside just exploded.

                             ~~~~~ Kylie – The Mysterious Girl ~~~~  

Kylie left the school as soon as she broke the kiss with Anthony. He was infuriated but couldn’t stop her when she ran out of the cafeteria. She drove around for a whole hour through the almost deserted streets. She had thought that it was over, that the girl was an impossible. But seeing her again made all the confusing feelings and memories come back. 

When she arrived to her last class of the day, she saw the girl again. Their eyes met and Kylie could not look away. “Miss Balthazar you are partnered up with Miss Santiago.” Mr. De la Rosa said grabbing her attention and pointing to the girl. 

“H-hi.” She stuttered as she approached the girl. Kylie cursed at herself for stuttering but Alexandria didn’t seem to mind. She extended her hand but Alexandria did not take it. Just as she was about to take it back, Alexandria gave Kylie a firm handshake.  

“Hey I’m Alexandria Santiago.” She says. Kylie raises her eyebrow at her now not so mysterious unnamed girl. So this is the chick that has the whole school talking. She thought. “So you’re the infamous Alexandria Santiago.” she chuckled at the girl for her actions. She looked so innocent standing there that one would think she was capable of doing the things she’s done. Kylie smiled at her.  

Alexandria suddenly began to fall to the ground right before Kylie’s eyes. Kylie caught the girls head before it hit the ground. She quickly picked her up and went straight to the nurse’s office with the beautiful girl in her arms.  

Once again she saw the girls face. She was now real, not just inside Kylie’s head. Her name was not unknown. She was no longer a mysterious girl. She was named Alexandria Santiago and she was indeed very beautiful.  

Kylie abruptly stopped and looked at the girl once again. What am I thinking? She’s a girl. I can’t have these thoughts about a girl. She thought. She continued to walk trying to clear her head.  

Finally she made it to the nurse’s office and laid the unconscious Alex on the bed.  

The nurse saw them enter and immediately went to check on the girl. “What happened?” she asks Kylie. Kylie backs away to give the nurse some room.  

“She fainted during gym.” Kylie responds never leaving the girls face.  

It seemed like hours had passed since the girl had fainted. Kylie stood there looking at the unconscious girl before her. She thought back to the first time they met under almost the same circumstances. A wide smile came upon her face as she remembered the girls laugh and dimples.  

Suddenly she heard the bed creek. Alex stood up but quickly began to fall again. Without thinking Kylie ran and caught the girl by the waist. She was dangerously close to touching an inappropriate place in a human body but found that she could not move her hands away.  

She kept staring into her eyes. They were a dark brown, yet if she were not in the light, they would seem black. Her eyes were mysterious to Kylie. She had never been attracted to eyes before, but the girl’s eyes were different. They drew her in and no matter how much she fought against it, Kylie found herself falling for those eyes big brown eyes, falling for that smile of hers and her breath taking dimples. 

Kylie once again brought herself together and with much difficulty, let the girl go. The pain was surreal. How can she already miss the warmth of Alexandria when she hasn’t even figured out what was going on? Questions like these came crashing down on her until she heard a voice. 

The nurse was asking her questions but Kylie could not, and would not take her eyes of the girl before her. 

Something that was said between the nurse and Alex made her speak up. “I can take her home.” she saw the moment of shock registered on the girls face, but soon it was gone.  

“I will take her home safety.” Kylie assured the nurse. After minutes a few minutes, Kylie was finally allowed to take the girl home. 

Alex stood there looking very fragile. Kylie grabbed the girls arm and put it over her shoulder. Once she was secured Kylie grabbed the girl’s bag that a student has brought a moments ago, and left the school. 

When they were finally at her car, Kylie came to the conclusion that she knew the girls name, yet the girl did not know her name. “My name is Kylie by the way.” something came over her as she reached for the seatbelt to buckle Alex. They were so close, yet so far away. When the girl is safety buckled Kylie shuts the passenger door, goes to her side and drives away. Alex gives her the directions witch and Kylie follows word for word. 

Kylie had never been in this part of town before. This part was only for the rich. These people bathed in money. Kylie wished the directions the girl gave her were wrong. That was tossed out the window when Alex greeted the men on the gate. His name was Patrick and after a few greetings he let the girls pass. 

Kylie felt her eyes get wide and her jaw fall to the floors as she sees the house. Beautiful is not even close to describing what stood in front of her. Kylie could tell the girl was looking at her, but she continued to admire the amazing house.  

~~~~~ 

Kylie kept replying everything in her head. The way Alex spoke mesmerized her. Kylie held on to every word spoken by the girl.  

Their conversation was intense. Kylie knew the girl has sufferer her whole life, but she admired Alex. Kylie admired the girl’s strength. Her sense of humor, her… everything. She liked everything about the girl. 

Kylie hugged her for about half an hour. She did not mind that Alex had been crying on her shoulder. After a while Alex was softly snoring on her arms. When Kylie tried to lay on the bed, the girl brought her down with her. Kylie thought Alex was awake but she heard the soft snores.  

Alex had laid a hand across Kylie’s stomach and rest her head on kylie’s shoulder. Alex’s skin felt so good. Kylie began to play with the girl’s hair.  

Not realizing what she was doing, Kylie began to lean closer to the girl. After a few seconds Kylie closed the space between them. She closed her eyes and softly kissed the soft lips belonging to the beautiful girl who has been torturing her for the past weeks. 

When Kylie pulled back, Alex stirred. Kylie started to panic but it was unnecessary, Alex was deeply asleep.  

Kylie brought her hands to her lips. They felt tingly. What that kiss did to her was unexplainable. Anthony didn’t stand a chance compare to this girl. When she finally realized that she had just kissed the girl, Kylie unwrapped the girl’s body from her own and headed out the door. 

What have I done? She thought as she drove away. Once again she touched her lips and remembered the best kiss she has ever had.

~~~~~

Should I continue?

-Alba Luz :^)