Should've kissed you there, I should've held your face
I should've watched those eyes, Instead of run in place
I should've called you out, I should've called your name
I should've turned around, I should've looked again
I looked around and saw Sarah looking back at me. For a few seconds she held my gaze and went back to chatting with Matt as soon as she’d realized I wasn’t the first one who’d look away. I’d no idea what they were talking about, but Sarah seemed to be enjoying it. Or so it seemed.
Heavily, I stepped to them, stopping a few feet away. Their conversation went on like I wasn’t there. Maybe I was being selfish for wanting her all to myself when she wasn’t feeling the same. It wasn’t her fault that I was hurting like this. I did this to myself. I should’ve accepted from the very beginning that it won’t work.
“You know when the World War ended,” Sarah said to Matt, her voice lively and soft. “When the Soviet Union broke up, there’s this refugee who got separated from her family. And she ended up as a servant in a noble’s mansion but what they don’t know is that she’s really a countess.”
Back then, she used to tell me stories from every book she’d read before. And every time, she’d get really excited and her eyes would light up like a little child’s. Whether it was Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or The Da Vinci Code, listening to Sarah’s stories was one of my favorite memories and I’d only realized how much I missed it now. I secretly thought she’d be a great pre-school teacher but I never really got to tell her that.
“And then…” she paused, reluctant with deep sadness as her eyes looked far away to the sea. “And then, she fell in love with the aristocrat who took her in. But… he’s out of her league.”
Matt’s eyes never left Sarah’s face. One look and I knew he cared for her. Maybe as much as I did but in a different way. “I thought she was Countess? Won’t that make her like eligible to marry the rich guy?”
Gently, Sarah shook her head, smiling sadly. She hugged her knees, her toes digging into the sand. “No. There isn’t any monarchy to return to for her. Technically, she had no land to rule over. So, she’s like any other commoner now. She has lost all right to…” she stopped in midsentence, her mouth gaping slightly as she saw me standing behind her.
Before I could stop myself, my hand closed tightly around her wrist. I pulled her up and dragged her with me. She looked like she wanted to squirm but didn’t. Her eyes were wide with confusion as she followed me reluctantly.
“What the hell?!” Matt shouted at me, catching up to us. “Let her go, Walden!”
“Stay out of this,” I growled without looking at him.
I felt Sarah cringe beside me. “P-please,” she murmured as we stopped near the fire, just in front of my smirking brother.
That was when I sobered from my temporary lapse. I realized I might be hurting her. I couldn’t even look at her when my fingers slowly slipped from her wrist. My temper got the best of me. And so did my pride.
It made me so damn angry to see her with Matt. If I was this unstable I won’t be able to stay by her side as her friend after all.
A tense silence filled several seconds it took me to clear my head. I looked at Sarah and searched her eyes for any sign that I should still hope. There was so much I wanted to tell her but my tongue seemed to be frozen.
YOU ARE READING
How to Date a Nerd
Romance(A Leon Walden Story--Sequel to Life as Told by Nerdy) One word. One broken promise. One fateful night. That was all it took to lose her. And I knew we'd never be the same. I wanted to touch her face, hold her hand, to see her smiles again-even if I...
