style="font-size:15px;"> Her text wasn’t perfect. She already thought of how she could have re-written it in a million ways. And a part of her already regretted sending it. Maybe it sounded too desperate. Maybe it was too cryptic.
Whatever. It was off. At least now he knew that she still liked him, and that she wanted to see him again.
She knew that Blake had his cell on him every second of the day. She knew he’d get it right away. And that he always answered his texts within seconds.
Scarlet trembled as she waited to hear.
She placed her cell on her lap and closed her eyes, breathing slowly, waiting for a vibration. Willing it to vibrate.
Come on, she thought. Text me back.
She sat there, waiting, for what felt like forever. She kept refreshing her phone. After a few minutes, she even powered it off then back on, in case somehow it was jammed. She then watched the clock tick. Two minutes passed.
Then five.
Then ten.
She slammed her phone down on the table, and could feel tears welling up inside again. He clearly wasn’t texting her back. How could she blame him? She probably wouldn’t text herself back either.
So that was it. It was over.
Then, suddenly, her phone vibrated.
She reached over and snatched it off the table.
But her heart fell to see that it wasn’t Blake. It was Maria.
I can’t believe u cut class like that. So… how was ur date with Blake?
Scarlet sighed. She had no idea how to respond.
Don’t worry. I’m not cutting again. It’s over between us.
Really? OMG. Why? Vivian?
No. Not her. It just…
Scarlet stopped, wondering what to say.
… didn’t work out.
Tell me.
Scarlet sighed. She really wanted to change the subject.
Nothing to tell. What’s up with u?
OMG, I can’t stop obsessing about new boy. Sage. Heard fresh details today.
Scarlet was exhausted and really didn’t want to continue this texting conversation. She didn’t want to hear more gossip and innuendo about the new kid – or about anyone. She just wanted to disappear from the world.
But Maria was her best friend, so she had to humor her:
Like what?
He has a sister, and a cousin. They don’t go to our school though. He’s a senior. He transferred from a private school. I hear he’s rich. Like super-rich.
Scarlet didn’t care. She just wanted to end this.
Luckily, before she could type, she got another text – this one from Jasmin.
OMG, what’s happening to your Facebook wall?
Scarlet read it in surprise.
What do u mean?
Before she could respond, she grabbed her laptop, opened it, and pulled up her wall.
Her heart plummeted. Vivian had posted on it:
Nice try stealing Blake. It didn’t work. After he dumped you, he came back to us. I knew he’d dump you. Just surprised it happened so soon.
Scarlet breathed sharply, completely taken aback. She saw various friends of hers comment on the post, and saw that it had spread to many people’s walls. She also saw that Vivian had posted it to Twitter, and that it had been re-tweeted by all of Vivian’s friends.
Scarlet was aghast. She had never felt more embarrassed. She deleted the comment from her wall, blocked Vivian, then went to her settings and changed them so that only her friends could post. But it was barely a drop in the bucket – clearly, the damage had already been done. Now the whole school thought that she was stealing other people’s boyfriends. And that she was dumped.
Her face turned red. She was so mad, she wanted to reach out and strangle Vivian. She didn’t know what to do.
She slammed down her laptop, and burst out of her room. She tore down the steps, not knowing where to go or what to do. All she knew was that she needed air.
“Come on Ruth,” she said.
She grabbed her leash and Ruth jumped excitedly, following her out the door and down the porch steps.
Scarlet ran down the steps, looking at her feet, and it wasn’t until she was out on the sidewalk that she looked up, and saw him, standing there.
She stopped cold.
He stood there, staring back at her, as if he was waiting.
It was the new boy.
Sage.
Chapter Three
Scarlet stood there, at the end of her walkway, staring. She could hardly believe it. There, standing on the sidewalk, just a few feet away, staring back with his intense grey eyes, was the new boy. Sage.
What was he doing here, in front of her house? How long had he been standing here? Had he been watching her house? Had he been about to head up her walkway? Or had he just been passing by?
But passing by where? She lived on a quiet suburban street, and hardly anyone ever walked around here. Then again, she was only two blocks to town, and conceivably, he could be heading somewhere. But that was unlikely.
The thought of him standing there, watching her house, or about to walk up, freaked her out. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she was excited to see him. Excited wasn’t the right word. It was more like… transfixed. She could not take her eyes off of him. His smooth skin, his strong jaw, his proud cheekbones and nose, his gray eyes, long eyelashes – she had never met anyone remotely like him. So noble, so proud. He seemed so out of place here, like he’d dropped down out of a sixteenth-century palace.
She also couldn’t help noticing that she felt butterflies in her stomach when she looked at him. And it was a feeling she did not want to have. After all, Maria, her best friend, had made it clear that she was obsessed with him. How wrong would it be for Scarlet to take him away? Maria would never forgive her. And she would never forgive herself. Besides, she had Blake. Or did she?
She thought again of Vivian’s post, about Blake dumping her. Had Blake really told her that? Or had Vivian made it up? Either way, she felt pretty sure that Blake was gone from her life for good.
“Um… hi,” she said, not knowing what else to say. After all, they had never even been introduced.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said back.
She
