INSOMNIA was a word that Calla had become quite familiar with.
When Calla's 'night owl' tendencies had left her running on about an hour to three hours of sleep a night, her parents had taken it upon themselves to 'fix' what they had believed was a problem.
So after being diagnosed with a mild case of insomnia about six months ago, it came as a surprise to Calla's parents and Nate when Calla started developing somewhat normal sleeping habits.
Nathan was-in his opinion- lucky to live on the same street as Calla; two houses down on the opposite side to be exact.
Nate himself had pretty abnormal sleeping habits but he figured it just came with being a teenager.
He would often be awake into the early hours of the morning and wasn't really surprised to see that when he looked across the street, Calla's lights were still on too.
Which is why it came across as odd that about two weeks ago, Calla's lights had been off hours before they usually were.
Nate thought that it might have just been the stress of school catching up to her, but Calla had never been the type to buckle under pressure.
So he wondered why she was now.
Calla wasn't one to get sick either- maybe the occasional flu at the change of seasons- but currently, Calla looked ill, and Nate was worried.
He planned on checking if she was okay but Calla obviously did not want a confrontation, as she avoided him as if her life depended on it, which although ridiculous, is how Nate felt.
Nathan just wanted to show that he cared, (sometimes he believed he cared a lot more than he should) but Calla was making it difficult to give his support.
The final push was when Calla stopped coming to Track practices, something that Nate knew she adored. Nate realized that he cared to much to let Calla-his beautiful flower- whither away like she was.
It was mid Autumn and Calla seemed sad. Nate thought it might of had something to do with the season.
Calla was a summer girl and she seemed to be wilting, shriveling up into something that wasn't the Flower Girl she was at heart.
With his mind made up he decided that he would step up and be the Prince he believed his queen needed.
Making his way back home after Track practice, detoured towards Calla's house and as Nate got closer to the house, he could see that something was off.
The McQueens were quite a conservative family, so it was completely out of the ordinary that Nate could hear their argument before he had even reached the front steps,
"Calla, You have to be careful!"
"Be careful of what? I'm completely fine!" Calla screamed back.
Which shocked Nate, since Calla was generally a soft spoken person and on the odd occasion when she was yelling, it was over something like a new book release.
"You're not well Calla! We just want to help you," what sounded like Calla's mother-Louise- answered.
Nate wasn't sure if he should knock on the door or turn around and leave while he still could.
But the next sentence stopped him from doing either, "You've already stopped me from doing something that I love, you've got me on medication for something that wasn't a problem, but now is and you call that help? Our views on the word must be very different."
Not listening to her parents calling out behind her; Calla opened the door, intending to storm out, but was stopped surprised when she came face to face with an equally surprised Nate,
"I uh, was just going to knock and-"
Calla rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, dragging him with her wherever she was going, "It's okay Nate, I know you heard, although there was nothing to hear, " she paused before asking , "Why were you outside my house anyway?"
Nate scratched his head as Calla pulled him onto a bench of a nearby park, "I was worried and you were avoiding me at school and your lights were off all the time," he blushed, "Not that I check your lights all the time,"
Calla laughed, "It's okay, I've seen your lights on too," she frowned, "But there's nothing wrong, my sleeping habits are just messed up and I'm pretty much sleeping all the time,"
Nate turned towards her and asked, genuinely concerned "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Calla was silent for a moment, before leaning forward so that their lips were almost touching, "As a matter of fact there is," she whispered, leaning in even closer.
And then she pressed her lips to his, but not before whispering,
"Wake me up,"
****
Hey guys,
Hope you like the chapter
-Austen xx
YOU ARE READING
Flower Girl
ChickLit"Why are we always too late? Cinderella couldn't get home on time. Ariel couldn't get her kiss before sunset. Snow White had taken a bite of the apple before her Prince could save her. They were all just a little too late, just like I was to get...
