If You Had Stayed (published)

Chapter 3

Josh nods, and begins strumming the chords. Soft music plays and I sit there watching Josh play. He doesn't sing, just silently runs his fingers along the guitar strings as he concentrates. For a moment, I forget about where we are, as it's just the two of us in this room.

I think back to what Hailey told me earlier. It still makes me wonder what Josh will say if I confessed how I felt. I felt lost in his music, and all I wanted was to put my hand over his and turn his face towards me so I could feel his lips on mine. But it didn't feel like it was the right time to do so.

Not here where anyone could walk in and see us.

Tonight, I say silently to myself. I will tell him tonight.

* * *

I agreed to go to the Gabby's party with Hailey, even when I really didn't want to. But I promised her I would be there if she needed me in hope the guy she liked will take notice of her. Hailey said we will just stay there for an hour, neither of us really wanting to be at the party. Although I don't think we will be there for an hour, not when Haylie is shy when it comes to Jensen. The party was starting at five, and since it was a school night, it will be ending around eight. But if we do stick to our plan with staying for an hour, it was probably all the best as neither of us had gotten Gabby a birthday present, and there's no doubt she will be expecting something from us even if we aren't her friends.

Before I leave to meet Haylie out front, I carefully climbed onto the tree, swinging to the other side to see Josh. We had asked Josh to come with us, despite what Gabby had said earlier. But he declined our offer, wanting to stay in and work on the song he was playing at school earlier.

Josh is sitting on his bed when I came to the window, working on his homework as he listened to music. I tap on the window gently, careful not to startle him from the knocking. He glances up from his book and smiles at me, getting off the bed to let me in.

"Hi, Emily," he says, grabbing my hand and helping me into his room.

"Hey, Josh. What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. Just homework. I'm thinking of finishing up soon to work on the song I played earlier. I want to play it for you when you get back from the party."

I smile. "Well, I can't wait to hear it. Haylie and I shouldn't be at the party for too long. We are staying for an hour. Are you sure you don't want to come along?"

Josh shakes his head. "I'm sure. You have a good time, Emily."

He gives me a hug. With our arms wrapped around and our bodies pressed up against each other, I swear at that moment I wanted to ditch the whole party with Hailey. I wanted to stay here with Josh, and be wrapped up in his arms for the entire night. I wanted it to be just us tonight.

Josh rests his chin on top of my head, his fingers running through my hair. "Your hair is so soft and smells like coconut. Did you get a new shampoo?"

I pull away from him and nod. "I did."

"It smells nice. I like it."

"Thanks."

"So, you promise you will be back in an hour?"

I nod. "I will try to. Honestly, I feel this party is a waste of time and it's going to be a drag. But Hailey wants me to come in hope that Jensen Peters will be there."

"Is she planning to ask him out?"

"I hope so. She has been crushing on him for months, so hopefully tonight she will finally talk to him."

And you need to do the exact same thing, Emily, I tell myself. Don't feel afraid to confess your feelings to him.

"Emily?" I hear my mother's voice from my room.

I turn to see her walking in, searching for me. I wave at her through the window. "Over here, Mum."

She looks over at me and Josh, smiling. She walks over to my window so she doesn't have to shout from the doorway. "Haylie is here."

"Okay. Tell her I will be right down."

Mum says hi to Josh before leaving my room to pass my message onto Hailey.

I turn back to Josh. "I will see you later."

I give him another hug, as well as a kiss on the cheek and told him I will text him to when I was heading home. I climb back over to my house to head out to a party I was still dreading to go to.

A/N: Thank you for reading the first 3 chapters of this story. Would you like to read more? If You Had Stayed is being published on July 6th, 2022. You can preorder your copy now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, and other online book retailers.