Eternity (Circle of Light) (7 page)

“Just whatever you kids want will be fine with me.” she said. 

“Does a
cheeseburger sound good to you?”  I asked Eric.

“Sure does.  A Whopper meal from Burger King would be great.”   

Actually, I had been thinking the same thing. What a coincidence, I thought to myself.  I told Mom what we wanted and she said she would be home shortly. 

Eric thanked me for inviting him to stay and eat. 

“Well, I could hardly eat in front of you knowing you were just as hungry as I am.”  

“Was my stomach really growling that loud?” He laughed as his face turned bright red. 

“Yep, sure was.” I laughed uncontrollably.  

The movie was over so Eric got up and took it out to put back in the case.  Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.  And I was having fun.  I enjoyed Eric’s company.  He gave me a sense of comfort like coming home when you had been away for a week.  He seemed to be just as comfortable with me. 

I saw Mom's car pulling up the driveway. 

“Mom’s here.  I’m
going to go out and help her carry her things in.” 

“Oh, I'll help too.” He replied as he opened the front door for me.  “Ladies first.”

My heart melted. 

“Thank you.” 

Mom had just got out of the car when we reached the driveway.  

“Hi sweetie
.” she said as she hugged me.  

“Hello Mrs. Sims
.” Eric said politely. 

“Oh. Hello. You must be Eric.” Mom replied giving me a wink. 

As we got the food out of the car, I noticed Mom hadn't brought her briefcase home with her.  She was smiling when I looked up at her.  I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

“I have absolutely, no intentions of working tonight
.” she said.  Her face was set with a determined look.  I bet she has no intentions of working, but I don’t think I would mind if she did.  At least for tonight.  That was awful of me, I know, but I wanted to spend my time with Eric.

We carried everything into the house.  I was so hungry that I could hardly wait to eat.  Eric took the burgers and fries out of the bag and placed them on the table in order.  I thought that was strange. I guess he likes to be organized, but I’m thinking it looked more like obsessive compulsive disorder.

I got three plates out of the cabinet and put them on the island.  Eric, surprisingly, took two of them and put them on the counter in front of him.  I watched him as he unwrapped two of the burgers.  Putting them on each of the plates he asked me for a knife.  I shot him a confused look. 

“I’m going to cut your burger for you
.” he said as if he’d done it forever. 

“Ok
.” I said as I handed him the knife. I stood there watching him and for once in my life I was completely speechless.  He poured my fries out onto the plate and stabbed my straw into my drink. He was smiling like he had won the lottery.  The fact that he had fixed my plate for me was unbelievably attractive.  If he keeps on with all this sweet stuff I will for sure end up head over hills for him in no time at all.  He already gives me the nervous jitters, but in a good way, of course.

We all sat down at the table to eat.  We joked and laughed as the other would make silly faces.  Eric was seemingly comfortable around Mom.  That would turn out to be a good thing I’m sure.  It gave me a true sense of happiness.  A feeling of peace and from that moment on, I knew that this was where Eric belonged with me.

I was getting extremely sleepy as Eric announced that it was time for him to head home.  Nothing could prepare me for these moments of separation.  It hurt me physically as well as emotionally and the pain of not being near him was excruciating, to say the least.  

It was getting late.  Mom had already gone upstairs, but I knew that she would more than likely come back downstairs to make sure that Eric had made his way home.  He lingered at the front door, holding my hand, and I could tell that he did not want to leave.   After he cleared his throat, he thanked me for the meal and for my company. 

“Call me when you wake up.  Goodnight Princess.” he said as he bent over and kissed me on the cheek. 

“I will.  Goodnight.”

I locked the door behind him and turned off all of the downstairs lights.  As I walked by my parent’s room, I could hear Mom snoring lightly.  When I got to my room, I immediately turned off the light. 

Eric’s bedroom light came on and I watched him as he moved around his room.  He had a stack of laundry lying on his bed.  I wanted to talk to him so bad, even though he had just left. 

I opened my phone and sent him a text.  
I see you.
  

I watched as he picked up his phone and read the message.  
Spying on me again, are you?  

NO!  I’m just observing.
I sent a reply as my heart pounded almost out of my chest. I watched him as he faced the window and slowly pulled his shirt over his head.  My phone buzzed again. 

Do you like what you see?  

I thought of a million different ways to answer his text, but all of which sounded ill-mannered.  The only thing I could politely say was
ABSOLUTELY!

What I really wanted to say was can I come over.  My hormones were obviously running wild.  I took a cleansing breath to erase the tension in my body that he was causing.  All I could think of was putting my hands on his bare chest.  To touch him, exploring every inch of his body.

As soon as I realized what I was thinking, I hurried to clear my thoughts.  All I needed was to mysteriously show up in his bedroom.  That would really freak him out.  He would never be able to look at me ever again. 

Calm down Princess
,
was the last message I remember getting before I fell asleep.

The sound of a plate shattering woke me from my wonderful dream of Eric and his shirtless chest.  I could smell bacon and eggs and it instantly sent a pain through my stomach.  I was starving.

Mom hadn't been home enough to cook breakfast in so long that I had almost forgot what it was like. Most of the time I would go down to the diner and get scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.  It was good, but not as good as hers. Nothing ever seemed as good as when she does it.

I jumped out of bed and hurried to brush my teeth.  I made it to the kitchen in record time.  At the doorway it was like I had ran into a brick wall.  Eric was sitting on the stool by the bar sipping a glass of orange juice.  His plate was already empty.  Obviously, Mom had fed him before I had made it downstairs and I was not very sure as to how I felt about that.  I wasn’t sure about how I felt about anything for that matter.  It is just way too early to be giving too much thought to anything. 

“Good morning sweetheart.” my mother said in a very teasing tone. 

“Hmmm
…” is all I could make myself say. 

It was strange to see Eric sitting in my kitchen
without me inviting him over. “Your mom asked me to come over for breakfast.  I thought you were already up, but I guess I was wrong.” he said smiling at me.  His smile could melt away the ice on a frozen lake in January, but I knew that it could not break through my morning pessimistic ways.

Mom sat my plate down in front of me.  Eric had already poured me a glass of orange juice, and at that moment I felt incredibly loved.  My morning was off to a wonderful start, and if I could ever break free of my usual grumpiness it would be so much better.

It was great to have mom home.  She looked like she had slept well.  We talked some, but it was about nothing of any great importance.  Mostly it was just casual things like the weather and how Mom was excited for Eric to be starting school.  She knew that I wasn’t up for much conversation when I was in my mood.

I became a bit annoyed when I noticed Eric was watching me eat.  That is just so rude.  I turned my head in his direction and glared at him. 

“Sorry.  I just can’t help myself.”  

“Well you better try and figure out how to help yourself before I poke your eyes out. I hate
it when people watch me eat.” I grumbled as I stared at my plate.

“Since I like my eyes, I don’
t think I'll bother you while you eat.” he smirked. 

I’ll admit I was being a little uncivil this morning.  It wasn’t any different than any other morning.  I’m just not little miss sunshine when I wake up.  He was just going to have to get used to that fact if he was going to be brave enough to be around me before I had taken my morning shower. 

Until I get fully awake, I have a habit of biting people’s heads off.  The most important thing that Eric could learn was to give me some time to wake up before talking to me.  Intelligent conversations with me before I ate and took a shower were almost impossible.  It was like talking to my mother before she had her first cup of coffee.  Some things a person should just not do.

I got up and put my plate in the sink and staggered to the stairs.  I heard Mom telling Eric that I wasn’t a morning person so don’t take my savageness personal.

“Has she always been like this?” Eric asked her.

I heard her laughing as I climbed the stairs to my room. “Yes. And I don’t think she will ever change.”

I guess it was a good thing that Mom liked him.  Hell hath no fury like my mother if she didn’t like you.  

I, finally, made it to my room
.  It felt like it took an hour to get there.  I jumped in the shower.  Trying to wake up was the hardest thing in the world for me to do.  I had slept so good last night.  Maybe a little bit too good, it seemed like.  All I wanted to do was get back in bed and go back to sleep.  I forced myself to end the hot shower and to get dressed. 

Eric was waiting for me downstairs.  He was obviously nervous about starting school.  I mean, what was the use?  This week is the final week of high school for both of us. We were seniors and about to graduate on Friday. 
He held the door for me as we left. I could get used to this.

CHAPTER 4

“I’m going to be so bored this week
.” he cackled.  I pushed him in a playful way and we left for school.

Walking up to the school entrance, I told Eric that I would show him the way to the main office.  I felt bad for him in a way because he wouldn’t have much time to get to know people and make friends.  It all felt useless to me in a way.  What's the point in trying to make friends here this late in the year?

Students stared as we walked down the hallway to the office.  I noticed that most of them were girls.  They looked at him like he was a glass of iced-tea on a ninety degree day.  I became slightly annoyed by them, but I understood the way they felt. Eric was sure something to look at.  

The school secretary gave Eric his class schedule. I looked over it and every one of his classes are the same as mine.  He seemed relieved that it turned out that way.

“Now I won’t have to worry about getting lost.”  I smiled at him and a tiny whisper of a laugh escaped from my lips. 

We walked to our first period class.  Eric reluctantly walked in and sat down in the empty desk in the back row.  Everyone was glancing back at him trying not to make him feel uncomfortable, but I don’t really think it did any good.  He looked as comfortable as a cat on a hot tin roof.  At least he didn’t squirm. 

Several people went back and introduced themselves to him.  I could tell he was beginning to relax a little, but the edgy look returned to his face every time a girl would come up to him.

Finally, Damien and Jared walked over to greet him.  After a while I noticed that the three of them were deep in conversation about something.  I couldn’t tell exactly what, but it seemed they were very interested in the topic. 

Damien has very boy-like qualities.  He still has the round face and dimples he had in the sixth grade.  He was very striking in the looks department, nonetheless.  He had managed to keep a 4.0 grade average the entire way through high school.  I don’t think he ever studied. The job he has seems to take up the majority of his time.  He works down at the grocery store in town.  He works extra shifts in order to save enough money to buy a car.  I remembered seeing him last week at a car lot outside town.  He was looking at a pickup truck.  Maybe, he had finally found the one he was looking for.

Jared was the exact opposite of Damien. 
A blonde hair and blue eyed devil. He wasn’t such a good student, but he kept his grades up to a low B level.  He spends most of his time either with Damien or with his girlfriend and sometimes no one knew where he was.  I guess that was just his thing.

His girlfriend had moved here from somewhere in the city.  She was a quiet person.  She didn’t socialize all that much.  I took her for being a snobby drama queen.  Damien was always trying to live his life around hers and what she wanted him to do.  If you ask me, I wouldn’t be able to be with someone that was like that.  But, of course, it wasn’t any of my business.
The four of us had first period together. I followed the three of them into the classroom. They had been so involved in their conversation that Eric must have forgotten that I was still there. I took my seat not giving it another thought.

Through the entire class all I heard was bits and pieces of what the teacher had to say. Eric was all that was on my mind. Concentrating on anything else was a waste of time.

The dismissal bell for first period rang loudly.  I gathered my things and met Eric at the door.  He walked with me to my locker.  He was happy that he had made a couple friends and I was relieved that he wasn’t looking so stressed anymore. We quickly made our way to the row of lockers that lined the hallway. Since Eric was only going to be here a week until he graduates I suggested that he and I share a locker.

“That sounds good to me.” he said. “Are you sure you will have enough room?”

“All the teachers are taking our textbooks up already. It shouldn’t be a problem.” I tossed my backpack in the locker and closed the door.  The guidance counselor walked up to Eric and asked him to follow her to her office.  She explained to him that there were some discrepancies in the transcripts from his other high school that they needed to get worked out.  She had gone on ahead of him.

“Will you save me a seat?” he asked as he was walking away.

“Sure.” I called to him. He had made it halfway down the hallway and I wasn’t sure he had heard me. I knew it would make him feel better if he thought that I was waiting on him and I would.  How could I not?

I walked quickly to my second period class.  If I was late one more time I was sure to get detention.  That wasn’t something I was looking forward to doing during the final week of school.  I was sure that there were going to be several seniors there, but I was not going to be one of them if I could help it.  I could think of a million better things to be doing after school.  One of them was being with Eric.

I reached my seat just as the final bell rang.  I smiled as the substitute teacher glared at me.  Katrina wasn’t so lucky.  The teacher immediately handed her a detention slip.  Katrina just smiled at her and said thank you.  Her response caught me off guard.  It was nasty toned and very unlike the girl.

Katrina had become very distant and withdrawn lately.  We had been fairly close most of high school, but whatever was bothering her made us more detached.  She didn’t make any effort to talk to me, or anyone else for that matter, and I knew that whatever was going on in her life had to be something that she wasn’t prepared to talk to anyone about.  That made me not want to know, really.

Katrina had always been a very fun-loving, sociable person.  I don’t think that I could name one single person that didn’t like her.  She was hard not to like.  Every action that she made was purely for the benefit of the people around her and some people had tried to take advantage of that in the past. None of that mattered to her. She continued to be nice and help them if they asked her.

About thirty minutes into class Eric came back.  He handed the teacher a note.  I’m assuming it was from the guidance counselor.  He walked back to his desk hastily.  I could tell that whatever had gone on in the meeting had made him angry. 

“What’s wrong?’ I asked him as he took a seat in the desk directly to my left.

“
My old school failed to grade my final exams so I have to take them again here.” he whispered to me angrily.

“That just gives you
a chance to make a higher grade.”

He laughed at me and said, “Only you Bailey.” 

I giggled back at him as he slumped back in his desk with a disgusted look on his face.  I felt sorry for him and I knew I would have been just as mad about it if it were me having to retake those dreadful exams.

“Will you help me study?” he asked slyly.

“Really?” I became a beaming mess of excitement.

“It isn't like I really need to study for them anyway.” he boasted. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you.”   

“I’m just using it as an excuse to spend the entire afternoon with you.”

“I’m glad to know I’m so loved.” I rolled my eyes. 

“That, you are
.” he replied.

Eric had said I was loved.  Did that mean that he loved me?  Probably not.  It was more than likely an observation on his part.  Nothing to get all worked up over, I told myself.

Class was over sooner than I realized.  The day was going by so fast.  It was time for lunch.  The lunchroom was jam packed as usual.  I went through the line and got a slice of pizza and an apple. I hardly ever got the full lunch tray.  Most of the food was disgusting anyway.  I’m not sure how they get away with feeding us this way and if you asked me it should be a crime.

Eric got two slices of pizza, an apple, and a carton of chocolate milk.  I thought the whole milk thing was kind o
f cute.  I don’t know why.  It just was.

Eric and I sat at the table with Jared and Damien.  A few girls were staring at Eric and I tried not to let them know that I noticed.  They giggled and grinned like they had never seen a good looking guy before in their life.
I understood it in a way.  I mean, Eric is beyond the description of good-looking.  He is heavenly, with just a hint of danger to him.  The perfect balance of the good guy type and the bad boy.             

After a while one of the girls got up from the table and came over to introduce herself to Eric.  He was polite to her.  She invited him to a party Saturday night.  I’m not sure what I w
ill be doing then.  “I'll let you know.” he told her, still staring at his tray.

That was all it took.  A simple invitation from that girl had made
me so furious that I couldn’t stand myself.  I was sure that I was glowing bright green from jealousy and I was afraid to open my mouth because I knew that something ugly would come out. 

Eric had not even refused her request, and I think that was the part that hurt my feelings the most of all.

Damien questioned Eric about whether or not he was going to go.  Eric never gave him an answer either way.  They went on and on about how pretty she was and how her body was the definition of perfection.  I had heard all I could stand to hear, so I picked up my tray and took it to be cleaned off and stacked.

I looked back at Eric as I sat my tray in the stack for the lunch ladies.  He had a hurt look on his face.  He turned his head and stared down at his tray.  I felt like a big idiot and I wasn’t about to go back to the table with him, so I left the cafeteria.  I think it was mostly out of total embarrassment or shame.  I couldn’t tell which.

The school day came to an end.  I was still feeling the sting of jealousy and I felt ashamed of myself over it, but the anger I felt was the worst part.  I was angry at myself because I felt like he was mine and that girl was going to take him away from me.

In reality, Eric is not mine.  We are friends, but I wanted us to be so much more than that.  I had laid claim on a guy that I wasn’t sure even liked me back and that was foolish of me.

I didn’t wait on him to walk home with me.  I went ahead and left.  I wanted some alone time to think about how I felt and how stupid I was acting.  I had almost reached the park when my phone rang.  Eric was calling.  I hastily pushed the ignore button.  Not even a minute passes before my phone beeped alerting me that I had a text message.

I opened the phone expecting one of those weird chain messages, but it was Eric. 

Where are you?
I considered not even texting back, but I did. 

You seemed to have enough company so I figured I wouldn’t bother you,
I replied so quickly that I probably misspelled some of the words. 

Is this about that girl at lunch?

I didn’t reply. 

Don’t be like that Princess,
his message said. 

I still didn’t answer him back. I was so upset and without a good reason.  My temper can sure get the best of me sometimes.

I sat saw the park benches and decided I would sit and try to collect myself before trying to talk to him.  I sat there trying to figure out what I would say to him.  Several minutes passed and I couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse for why I wasn’t talking to him.  My phone beeps again. 

Bailey, talk to me.  Please. 

What?

Why didn’t you wait for me like you promised?
He asked. 

I was intending to sound as hateful as I could went I typed
, I’m waiting on you right here on this park bench and I’m not going to be here in three minutes. 

I knew it would take him longer than that to get here from the school and when that time was up I wouldn’t feel so bad about going on home.

I watched the time on my phone.  Your three minutes are up big boy, I said aloud to myself.  I got up off the bench, but before I could take a step I heard him call my name. 

“Dammit!”   I said probably a lot louder than I should have. 

“Wait Bailey!” He pleaded. 

I stopped and waited for him.  When he finally reached me he was completely out of breath and had sweat pouring off his forehead.  I couldn’t help but to laugh at him.  He had actually run the whole way.  From the look of him he had been determined to make it here in two minutes instead of three.  The fact that he had actually ran all this way just to talk to me made me feel even worse than I had in the beginning.

“Bailey I’m sorry for not just telling her I wasn’t interested.  I wasn’t aware that it would bother you so much.  I didn’t even think she was even pretty.” He said as he gasped to catch his breath.

I stood there looking at him wanting to throw my arms around him and hug him. 

“And I’m sorry for being such a jerk about it.  I wasn’t thinking and I guess I overstepped my boundaries a bit.”  I said truly feeling sorry about how I had acted. “It’s not like I’m your girlfriend or anything and I’m definitely not your mother so you're free to do as you please.” I said.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” He asked
still breathless. 

“That's beside the point Eric.”

“Ok.  Let me rephrase that question.  Will you be my girlfriend?” 

I felt like I was back in grade school.  I certainly did, but I didn’t want to say yes quite yet.  So, with a smile, I told him I would let him know later.