Norah
It’s Friday afternoon, after what has been the worst week of my life. Okay, that’s a little on the dramatic side. I had cancer, for crying out loud. I doubt anything will ever be worse than the day my doctor told me that news. It was a really bad week, though.
Every time I saw Colby around the school, I wanted to throw myself into his arms and tell him I was wrong and grovel at his feet. But he has done his best to stay away from me, so maybe he has realized that I was right. I was right, wasn’t I? He has looked just as miserable as I’ve felt, so I’m not so sure anymore. I wasn’t expecting this type of reaction from him.
I’m standing outside the bookshop, debating if I should go in. All I want is a stack of books to keep me company this weekend so I can hide from all my problems. Hannah’s in there, though. Of course she is. It’s her store. I don’t know if I can handle talking to her right now. Her face reminds me so much of Colby. They’re almost identical if you ignore Colby’s beard and those lines beside his eyes that let you know he does, in fact, smile once in a while. Or maybe they’re from squinting in the sun.
Hannah probably hates me now for breaking up with her brother. I’ve ruined things with my only friend here. And only in a matter of three months. It’s impressive, really. She probably won’t give me my teacher’s discount anymore, and I’ll have to start going to the library and reading the books that people have touched after picking their boogers and who knows what else. Libraries are great. I’m an English teacher, so of course I love them. But I can’t get past the booger hands.
There’s nothing to be done about it. I have to go in there, or else I’ll be staring at the walls this weekend, contemplating my horrible life decisions, and I’m not ready to face those demons yet.
You can do this, Norah. You’re a big, tough girl.
I walk through the front door and make a mad dash to the back of the store where the romance section is located. I peek around the bookshelves and see that Hannah’s still at the counter, talking with a customer. She has a huge smile on her face like she always does, so I doubt she saw me run through the store. Surely she’d be glaring at me or escorting me out of the store if she had. I tuck back around the corner, hoping I can remain unseen.
I’m perusing the shelves, looking for a book that calls to me, and I hear the bell over the door chime again. At first, I think nothing of it. It’s just another customer coming to shop. But then I hear a deep voice. His voice. The voice I’ve been desperate to avoid. I simultaneously want to run for my life and follow him around like a lost puppy for the rest of my life, because I’ve missed his voice more than I care to admit. I’ve missed his smart-alec smirk. I’ve missed his scent when he hugs me close to his chest. Would it be weird to sneak up behind him and just sniff him real quick? Yeah. It would. And then he’d see me, and that would open up a whole can of worms I’d rather not deal with today.
I’m so busy staring at him that I don’t even notice the overpowering perfume scent that has snuck up beside me until it’s too late. I jump back a foot when I notice Shandi standing next to me, observing me like a nature documentary on Animal Planet. She just needs some popcorn. “So, I heard you two broke up already,” she says as a greeting. Straight to the point. She doesn’t mince her words. At least she’s not trying to hide who she is. You gotta give her that.
“Uh, yeah. We did,” I say, trying to back away from her so I can take a breath without inhaling all of the toxic fumes from her perfume and her personality. I turn back to the bookshelf and pull off a random book. I feign interest in it, but really, I have no idea what it is because I’m too busy straining my ears to hear Colby’s voice at the front of the store. I can’t make out anything he’s saying, which is driving me crazy.
Shandi’s head pops up next to mine, making me jump again. I clutch my hand to my chest and take a few deep breaths to keep myself from saying something unkind to the woman. She cannot take a hint. “Ohhh, look at that,” she says in a mock sultry voice. “I guess now that the real-life man has kicked you to the curb, you’ll have to be content to read about fictional men, huh?”
I look at the book in my hand, and all I see are a man’s ridiculously defined pectorals and abs. No man looks like that in real life…at least none I’ve seen in person. Maybe a professional bodybuilder with lots of oil and photoshop touch-ups.
I look off to the side to try to hide my embarrassment from her words, and there’s Colby, standing at the end of the aisle with a stony face. He’s grinding his jaw, and his eyes are narrowed to slits. Is that face because of me? Does he hate me now? Did he hear what Shandi said about the book?
He storms forward, but not toward me…toward Shandi. I feel relieved, but only for a moment. He gets right in her face, and Shandi backs away from him, bumping into the bookshelf. I instinctually back away also. I don’t know what’s about to go down, but if this turns into a crime scene, I want everyone to know I am merely a spectator. I want no part in this.
Shandi looks terrified, as she should. She has done nothing but terrorize the people of this town with her gossip and slander for years, and it would appear Colby has had enough. It’s about time someone put her in her place.
“What did you just say about Norah?” he asks in a gravelly voice. Is he trying to defend my honor? After what I’ve done to him? I don’t deserve for him to stand up for me. He doesn’t owe me anything. He should let me wallow in my despair, take all the cruel words aimed at me no matter how wrong and stupid they are.
“Colby, it’s okay. You don’t have to,” I say, grabbing his arm to pull him away from her. He shakes me off, and I look around the aisle. We’re starting to draw a small crowd back here, and the last thing I want is to cause a scene and be the subject of more talk around town.
“No, I want to hear her defend herself,” he says. Shandi opens her mouth and closes it. For once, she has no idea what to say for herself.
“Oh, come on, Colby,” she finally says. “We all knew you wouldn’t stay with her.” The way she says ‘her’ guts me. Like I’m so far beneath him I might as well be buried under the ground he walks on. I know it’s true, or I thought it was… But the look he gives me when he turns around and looks at me tells me it’s not true. I was already starting to second-guess myself after watching him mope around all week.
“I would have stayed with her, if she hadn’t kicked me to the curb. I love her, and I… I would've stayed with her forever.”
He continues talking, but I don’t hear anything anymore. My ears are ringing, and people are gaping at me. Colby loves me? Like, loves me loves me? That can’t be true. No one besides my family has ever told me they loved me, not even my college boyfriend I dated for over a year. I told him a handful of times, but it always seemed to make him uncomfortable. I stopped saying it altogether, and he didn’t care.
But Colby just admitted he loves me in front of a whole crowd of people, and he doesn’t seem embarrassed or ashamed or regretful. He said those words with so much confidence that there’s no doubt in my mind that he meant them with his whole heart.
I turn and rush out of the bookshop, listening as the crowd collectively gasps behind me. Colby must think that I’ve just rejected him for a second time, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I just need to get away from all the prying eyes and listening ears. I just need a moment to think without the crowd of busybodies watching on so I can figure out a course of action.
The two of us need to have a conversation, but it needs to be private. I’m sure to turn into a sobbing mess, and I don’t need witnesses for that. And I want to be able to kiss him with reckless abandon when I tell him that I love him, too.
Colby
Yesterday, I laid my heart on the line when I stood up for Norah—in front of an audience, I might add. I basically shouted from the rooftops that I love her. It wasn’t enough for her, though. She ran out of that store so fast I thought maybe she was a figment of my imagination all along. But no, she was there. I know so, because all I can see behind my eyelids is her look of shock after hearing my confession.
Jameson and Seth came to my house way too early for a Saturday morning and dragged me to the gym. At first, I adamantly refused to get out of bed to go with them, but they were relentless. I put up a good fight, though. It took them twenty minutes of harassment to get me out the door. In the end, it was a good decision. Working out helped me clear my head. Now, I’m heading home feeling much better about everything than I did yesterday.
I pull my truck into my driveway, surprised to see Hannah’s car parked on the street. I hop out, and as I walk to my door, I hear feminine laughter from inside my house. What is she doing now?
I step up to the door, and right at my eye level is a bright-green sticky note. I pull it off and read: I would stay with you forever, too. My breathing turns uneven as I fumble to punch in the code to unlock the door.