Chapter 3

The next morning, I dragged myself to her door with my hair sticking up in every direction.

I knocked. "Nat."

I knocked harder. "Nat?"

I pounded on it. "Natalie, get up. You're going to be late!"

I turned the knob, and it wasn't locked, so I pushed the door open, and she wasn't there.

I stood there staring at an empty room.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Natalie!" I called out.

I rushed into her room. The bed was perfectly made, but she was nowhere to be seen.

I checked the closet, and nothing.

I checked the living room, and nothing.

I checked the bathroom, and nothing.

I checked the kitchen, and nothing.

The kitchen cabinets? I would have to be out of my mind to think she had folded herself in there.

I searched every place in that apartment where a person could fit, and there wasn't a trace of her.

Where the heck had she gone?

I quickly pulled out my phone and called her.

"The person you are trying to reach is not available. Please try your call again later."

She had sent me to voicemail.

Then a text came in.

Natalie: [Went on ahead to school.]

That was the whole message.

All right, so that was how she wanted to play it.

Normally Natalie would not get out of bed until the sun was halfway across the sky, and it took me three tries to move her.

That day she was up before I was.

And she took off and left me behind.

I would like to see how she liked going without my cooking at lunch.

I got ready in record time with my temper simmering, grabbed my backpack, and slammed the door on my way out.

When I got to Brightwater High School, I went straight to my senior homeroom.

I spotted Natalie right away.

She was sitting with her bestie, Sophie Linton, chatting about something.

I walked right over.

"Natalie," I called out.

She froze, ducked her head lower, and pretended to sort her books so she wouldn't have to look at me.

Sophie looked at her, then at me, like she was starving for gossip.

"Ryan, what's up with you two? Did you guys fight or something?" she asked.

I pulled out the chair next to Natalie and sat down. "I'd love to know myself. Maybe ask her whether she lost her mind yesterday."

Natalie was practically folding herself in half beside me.

I leaned toward Sophie and dropped my voice. "Did she say anything to you?"

Sophie shook her head. "Not a word. She came in this morning with her face bright red. I asked if she was getting sick, and she said I was imagining it."

Fine.

All day, Natalie was avoiding me like I was the plague.

Every time I tried to talk to her after class, she'd make a beeline for the bathroom.

Natalie had never spent that much time in a bathroom in her life.

I tried waiting for her outside the door, and she kept her head down and went straight back to class.

She even had lunch with Sophie in the cafeteria and never looked my way.

What the hell?

I just sucked it up.

The second the bell rang, before I could pack up, she was already out the door.

But somebody blocked her on the way.

It was Henry Brown from the class next door.

He was one of those kids who threw his family's money around the whole school, and he had been chasing Natalie for close to half a year.

Natalie was absolutely sick of him.

Right then, Henry was standing in her way with that dramatic, lovesick look he liked to wear.

"Nattie, why are you avoiding me? Did Ryan give you a hard time today? Say the word and I'll handle him," he said, playing hero.

Natalie frowned, and she looked completely fed up.

Natalie looked at him like he had spoken to her in a language she didn't know.

"Get lost," she said.

It was short and to the point.

That was the Natalie I knew.

She still had her wits about her.

Henry's face cycled through a few colors, and he still wouldn't quit. He reached out to grab her arm.

"Nattie, don't be like this. I really do like you. Give me a chance," he said.

"Alright, that's enough," I said, stepping in.

I stepped right in front of Natalie, blocking Henry with a cold stare.

"She is done with you. Are your ears broken, or do you just not care? Either way, move," I said.

Henry blew up as soon as he saw me.

"Ryan! Who the hell do you think you are? I'm talking to Natalie, so who asked you to jump in?" he snapped.

When Natalie saw me, her cheeks turned red, and she tried to pull the same move as yesterday and make a run for it.

Not so fast!

I moved fast and caught her wrist before she could escape.

Her hand was soft and cool, and I could feel it tremble slightly in my palm.

I ignored Henry's shouting and turned to Sophie, who was watching the whole thing like a show.

"Sophie, I'm taking her home. See you tomorrow," I said.

"Oh, okay. Bye," Sophie replied, still a bit out of it.

Sophie nodded, her eyes flicking to our joined hands, and she gave us a matchmaking grin.

I took Natalie's hand, walked right past Henry, and didn't even glance back as we left the school.

"Ryan, stop. Lay a finger on Natalie and see what happens," Henry shouted after us, totally losing his mind.

He was ranting and raving behind us with nothing behind any of it.

I couldn't care less.

He was a sideshow act and nothing more.

I kept holding Natalie's hand, and we walked the whole way in silence.

Her palm got all sweaty, but she never once pulled her hand back.