The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(68)

“What if he doesn’t…?” Rachel began, but Jennifer shook her head.

“There’s no way. He’ll show up, I know he will.”

The bell rang, dismissing us for the day. My stomach twisted with nerves. I needed to act before I got cold feet.

“I have to run and get this in his locker, before he leaves!” I grabbed my backpack in a rush. Rachel and Jennifer grinned at me as I darted to leave.

“TEXT US!” Jennifer’s demand echoed after me as I bolted through the doorway.

“I WILL!”

I flew down the hallway. I knew Micah usually stopped at his locker before getting on the bus. I had already planned on not getting on. I wanted him to have the chance to read the letter and figure out what he wanted to do, without me sitting beside him.

I came up to his locker and slipped the CD with the note inside into the top portion that was left unlocked. My heart was thudding in my ears. Just as I saw Micah heading in my direction, I raced the other way, slipping inside an empty classroom. I peeked out of the doorway and watched as he opened his locker and saw my gift waiting for him. He looked over the CD sleeve and then all around, as though waiting for me to pop out of nowhere.

“Micah! Come on, man!”

Micah closed his locker, CD in hand, and walked in the voice’s direction. Once he was out of sight, I exited the school through the side doors. I crossed the street and turned the corner as two school buses drove by, and then our bus went past. I wondered if Micah was sitting in our normal seat. Was he reading my letter? I was pretty sure I was going to get sick, right there, all over the sidewalk.

Despite it being too late, I was having second thoughts. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I pulled it out, hoping it wasn’t Micah—at least, not yet.


JENNIFER: You doing all right?
CHARLIE: I’m trying to breathe!
JENNIFER: That’s important to do, Charlie.
JENNIFER: Keep breathing!
JENNIFER: Just get to the library and we’ll go from there.


Mrs. Greenwich smiled at me when I arrived.

“Oh, what a nice surprise, Caroline!” She hugged me.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” I managed, “I’m just here to study.”

“Well, you know where the tables are!” Mrs. Greenwich gestured up the staircase, to where Micah and I had gone the last time.

“Thanks,” I replied, and made my way up to the second level. I walked to the back of the library, where a table was situated by itself. I opened my backpack and started to spread out a few homework assignments, trying to decide which one to focus on first. I just needed to distract myself.

“He will come,” I whispered to myself. “He’s going to come. He’s not going to leave me hanging. He feels something for me, too. Just believe in that.”


RACHEL: Anything yet?
CHARLIE: No…
RACHEL: Don’t stress. He’s going to show.


After a few attempts at solving math problems, I put my school work away and decided to explore the back stacks of the Grand Lake historical records. There were a few old logs filled with drawings showing the layout of the first establishment. There were pictures of a huge field where the high school was built. There were even photos of the Ritz under construction.

What time is it?

I pulled my phone from my side pocket to check the time, only to see that an hour had gone by.

An hour.

One stinkin’ hour. Time seemed to move so slowly, and I did everything I could not to feel disappointed. I glanced at the historical selection of books I had pulled from the shelves and wondered how many more I’d have time to pore over until he showed up. If he showed.

“He will,” I murmured under my breath, tucking a book back onto the shelf.

I was startled by the sound of commotion from the entrance of the library. I heard Mrs. Greenwich call out, “Young man, this isn’t a gym! No running!”

“Charlie!” Micah’s voice echoed throughout the building. “Charlie! I’m here!”

I knelt, frozen, with the piles of old, musty-smelling books around me.

“Charlie!”

“Please keep your voice down! This is a library!” Mrs. Greenwich hissed after him.

I heard his shoes on the stairs as he climbed up to where I was. I quickly stood.

“Charlie, answer me!” His voice was insistent as he came up to the last step.

Through the shelves, I watched him as he looked around, noticed my things on the table, and headed deeper into the library stacks to find me.

I inched out from hiding, into his range of sight. Micah paused and stared at me from his side of the room. He appeared sweaty and out-of-breath as he lifted the crinkled note in his hand.

“I came as soon as I finished reading,” he said.

I stared at the paper and then back to him.

“Speechless again, I see.” A smile grew on Micah’s face. “I guess it’s my turn to tell you how I feel.” He stopped in front of me. There was tenderness in his eyes, just like the night he had kissed me.

“I do like you, Charlie. I have liked you since the first time I talked to you on the bus. You intrigued me. And then...something changed. We changed. We connected in a way I never expected. I knew after the night of the dance, that there was something more to us. And that kiss, I was never really sorry for it. It meant something to me, too, Charlie.