Heartbeats

Chapter Three

I stayed home from school on Tuesday by pretending to throw up, and when my mom took my temperature I had hot water under my tongue (it takes forever to figure out just how long it has to sit to be a believable temperature).

Staring at the television, I was bored out of my mind, but I didn’t want to face school. I didn’t want to dress in jeans and a tee shirt and prance around like I belonged there. I didn’t. Not today. I'm a horrible actress anyway.

So instead I was lying around in flannel shorts and an old camisole while watching bad daytime television. My mind wasn't quite on the static of the television; I was deep in thought, unconsciously rubbing the soft fur behind Tesla’s ears.

I was thinking about what had happened yesterday, not quite able to handle what I had said. I couldn’t have meant it. Could I? It was just a reflex, like when I’d fight with my mom and say ‘sorry’ or ‘I love you’ just to get her to shut up and let me be. But if that was true, what was I responding to? I didn't plan to fall in with Mason, so maybe that was a reflex to him caring for me.

But it didn’t feel like a reflex when I said it to Mason. It felt like I had finally realized something, something great and undeniable and totally and utterly natural.

Oh come on! We barely knew each other.

Lies! The voice in my head had once again escaped the dark corner of my mind. But the voice was right. I was lying to myself. I, in fact, knew Mason more than I liked to acknowledge.

When I said he had been the new boy it’s just how I have always pictured him. He moved here in the ninth grade at the beginning of the year. So we’ve practically known each other since he moved here. Well, he knew me while I ignored him.

I couldn’t start reciprocating emotion now.

Could I?

“Argh!” Tesla scampered off as I launched a throw pillow at the wall. It hit its target, an empty heart frame, and the frame slid to the ground. The glass fractured but didn’t break, and I fell back down onto the comforter.

Although I had covered my ears with a pillow I still heard Tesla whimper. He jumped onto the bed and started licking my left arm. It felt weird because my arm was bruised form slamming into the door yesterday. I flipped the pillow off my head. “Wazzup Tezzi?” He decided to lie down, his front half plopping onto my stomach. “Oof! Heavy doggy. That’s it Tesla.” I shoved him off and he looked at me with a hurt expression. Instantly I felt bad and hugged him. His butt started shaking, and he licked my cheek. “Yuck Tezzi!” I said with mock surprise. Unlike most, I don’t mind. “But still dog, we are talking to the vet about your obesity.”

I stopped playing around with him when the door opened. The clock on my iHome only read half past noon. It couldn’t be my mom or Tess. I grabbed the closest object that could induce a coma if it came into contact with a skull. My knuckles grew white as they gripped the handle of the straightener. I wrapped the cord around my forearm before creeping out the door into the hall.

The carpet was soft and helped my footfalls stay silent as I slid along the wall. I heard someone set down a bag on the entrance table. I stopped at the corner of the hall. As the person came nearer my breathing became faster. I tried to hide it, and I attacked as soon as I saw skin.

“Get out of my house!" I screamed as I hit the person with all my force between each word. I swung again, this time for their head, but the person grabbed the straightener. I finally saw their face. “Mason?” My grip on the straightener relaxed.

“Hi." His breath came out a bit ragged, like his lungs were wincing. "I brought you soup.” He loosened his grip and started to rub his upper arm. “Ouch. Do you play softball of hockey or something? That really hurts. And I have a football game tomorrow.” He rubbed his arm a little more. “Oh, are you coming to the game?”