You Have My Heart

Twenty Three

The next few days were horrible. Everywhere I turned it seemed like there was someone talking about me. I couldn't really blame them; I was a mess. But when Saturday came I was grateful to be able to sleep in. At least until Dani came barging into my room at eight a.m.

"Get up," she told me, tossing some clothes on top of my blankets. She came over and shook my awake and I grumbled something about five more minutes. Then Dani jumped on top of me and started tickling me.

"Alright, alright. I'm up," I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "What are you doing?" I asked, watching her rummaging in my closet.

"Do you know what tonight is?" She asked, staring at me excitedly.

"The weekend?" I guessed.

"No silly. It's the town's tree lighting ceremony." She told me. I groaned and rolled back over in my bed. She had woken me up for this? "It's also the solution to your problem." She added. That's what finally got me out of bed.

"I don't understand how lighting a big tree is going to solve everything," I said as Dani led the way through the crowds. Our entire town showed up in the park for the tree lighting. Everyone had a candle in their hand and the church choir was singing Christmas carols. I was bundled up in my boots and a winter jacket with a beanie over my ears.

"Just trust me." Dani said again. I didn't know what she was planning but nothing prepared me to see Zach standing by the swings, a cup of steaming hot cocoa in his hands. He had a scarf around his neck and suddenly I was wondering when it had gotten so cold.

"What is he doing here?" I asked, trying to grab Dani's arm. She just shot me a look and forced me to keep walking.

Seeing Zach was like getting my heart broken all over again. It hurt to see his bright green eyes as they watched me get closer. I told myself that my face was only red because of the cold.

"Okay. Now that I've finally got you two in the same spot, no one is moving." Dani said, glaring at me pointedly. She must have known my first thought was to run. "You two have obviously got some figuring out to do."

Dani backed off just far enough so she couldn't hear what we were saying while still making sure I didn't escape. Zach took a step toward me and I had to fight the urge to step back. I didn't want him to get close to me in fear of me caving.

"Alright. I don't really know how to start so I'm just going to say it. I didn't go out with you because I felt bad for you or for charity or for any of those crazy reasons. I've liked you for a long time Brody and I know you've felt the same way. You're different from any other girl I've ever met. You're easy to talk to and you're funny and you aren't fazed that I play football and I'm popular. You're also insanely beautiful and smart and talented so any guy would be crazy not to fall for you. The only reason I was afraid to date you was because I didn't want to hurt my sister." Zach said it all fast but clear, like he had been waiting days to get it off his chest. I realized with a pang of guilt that he probably had been.

"Then why do you still talk to Chloe?" I asked, shoving my cold hands into my pockets.

"She's the one talking to me. I've told her repeatedly to just leave me alone because I'm not interested in her anymore." He said, shaking his head.

"But she kissed you the other day. I saw it in the park." I told him, hating the way my voice cracked.

"Yeah. She kissed me. I didn't kiss her. And I would've told you about it too if you hadn't jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst." The words were harsh, they were meant to be. I realized I didn't know how to respond to this so I just stayed silent. Zach took another step closer and reached inside my pockets. I felt my cold fingers melt in his as he looked straight into my eyes.

"Brody Parker, you have my heart." Then he was leaning down, kissing my cold lips. Instantly I felt my entire body start to melt, starting from my lips. When he pulled away I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed tightly.

"I'm sorry," my words were muffled by his coat but I knew he heard them. He didn't respond, just hugged me tighter. Maybe this Christmas wasn't going to be bad.