Chapter 7: Rachel
It had been an hour. John still wasn't there. Rachel sighed and started to gather her stuff to leave. She should have known John didn't want to be around her. He was so much older than her after all. He was 16 and she was only 12.
She swallowed back childish tears as she started to walk away from the tree she'd met John at just a few weeks before. She didn't make it very far before she collapsed and started sobbing.
First she had to marry a boy who didn't want anything to do with her and now she's lost the only thing she had close to a friend. She wiped her face stubbornly and swiped her hair away from her wet cheeks. She hated crying.
She sat in that spot under the tree for a while, just crying until she felt two strong arms around her. She let who ever it was pulled her in and comfort her.
Stupid John, playing with her heart the he did.
"Shh," the someone whispered to her, "It's alright." she recognized the voice, but it only made her cry more. She looked up at him and sighed. He wiped her face gently and gave her a smile.
"Why're you crying?" he asked with a smirk. She tried not to smile at him, but he had that affect on her. He grinned at her and she pulled back from him.
"I was crying because I thought you weren't coming." she said shyly. He giggled and shook his head.
"You are probably the only person I would keep my word with." he said, keeping his arms around her, even though she'd sat up.
"Really?" she asked with a sigh. She put her head back against his arm as he nodded.
"I have to keep my word." she said quietly, "Especially when they're to a boy."
John frowned at her and she smirked.
"C'mon, Johnny," she said rolling her eyes, "The boy's not you if that's what you think. I have to marry a boy called George Harrison."
"I've heard of him." John muttered, too suddenly heart broken to say much more. George was the 12 year old boy who's mum had died when he was a baby. His father took in a young girl who'd also lost her parents and was around George's age. Everyone thought he'd have the two get married to each other, but now John knew that wasn't happening.
"Well he's more than shy and I can't seem to get him to like me one bit." she went on, "He seems more interested in that girl his father found."
"So he likes her?" John asked more to himself as he leaned back against the tree. She shrugged and put her arm over John.
"I dunno, but he seems to get flustered when I talk about her." Rachel said. John nodded and they just sat there without saying anything. John shut his eyes and sighed, perfectly content to have Rachel there with him.
He'd made a deal with Haylie and he was planning on keeping that deal. Everything was going fine until Rachel was ripped away from him.
"Rachel?" he asked frowning.
"No, dad, I didn't-" Rachel was cut off as John stood up. She watched him walk over, confused. Rachel's father walked up to him angrily.
"You stay away from her." he said, "Stay off my property and don't let me catch you with my daughter again!"
"Dad I wasn't doing anything with him!" Rachel said pleading with her father. He just shook his head at her.
"It looked like it to me!" Mr. Love said. He told John to leave and John looked at Rachel sadly before she watched him turn and walk away.
Rachel walked back to the house with her father sobbing. He ignored it and told her to go up to her room. She did as she was told before collapsing on her bed, devastated. John had managed to get to her heart in the few weeks they'd known each other and she couldn't bare the thought of being without him.
A few hours of crying in her room, her mother seemed to have enough of the her daughter's tears.
"Rachel, please stop crying." she said holding her daughter.
"But mum, I'll never see him again!" she sobbed, not caring if her mother reminded her that she was promised to George. All she wanted was John.
"Oh you'll be alright." she said, "It wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway."
"Why not?" she asked sniffling.
"He's promised to another girl too." she said simply. Rachel's heart broke even more than it already was.
She refused to cry anymore. Not for him. He didn't tell her he was in the same position she was. HE didn't warn her and he let her fall for him, knowing she'd get hurt in the end.
"There, see?" her mum said stroking her hair, "You're alright. You'll marry George when you're old enough and then you'll have a family of your own to take care of."
This didn't help how Rachel was feeling. All she wanted to do was crawl in a whole and stay there.
The next day she was to go on an outing with George, just the two of them. She didn't mind being with George, he was really nice to her. He seemed to know she was hurting, and he tried to make her happy again, which she found sweet.
"Is there something the matter, Rachel?" he finally asked as they walked hand in hand through town. She wasn't the one to take his hand.
"Oh, yeah I'm fine George, just um," Rachel trailed. She didn't know why she couldn't get a full sentence out. She looked away from George and across the road when she heard a familiar laugh.
It was John's and he was with a girl. She looked to be Rachel's age, maybe a bit younger and they were laughing and having fun as they went through town together.
Rachel thought she must be the girl he's promised to. She was pretty, but she looked familiar to Rachel. Then it accured to Rachel that she was the girl that played int he fields behind her house with that boy.
George noticed her gaze and walked them over to the two. John looked surprised to see her and she dreaded what he'd say.
"Hello Rachel," John said politely. She nodded.
"John," she responded. The girl next to her smiled.
"Is she that girl you told me about Johnny?" she asked. John nodded a looked a bit sad, "Are you alright John? I thought you liked her?" This was news to Rachel and George was a bit taken aback by the news.
"I did," John said keeping his gaze on the ground, "But her father band me from ever seeing her again. Can we please go now Haylie?"
"Well you've barely introduced me to her, John." she said. John sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Haylie this is Rachel and who I assume is her boyfriend George." he said gesturing to the two of us. George nodded to them with a confused smile.
"Rachel this is-"
"I'm Haylie," she said before he could say fiance, or something of that nature. I nodded and then was suddenly pulled away by George. I waved to John, but he didn't wave back.
"What was that about?" George asked, sounding a bit angry.
"I didn't ask you to go over tot hem!" I retorted quickly.
"Well you were looking at them like you knew them." George shrugged.
"I only know John," I muttered as we started to walk back to my house, "My father caught me with him in the garden yesterday and he over reacted."
"What do you mean by 'with'?" George asked watched the ground.
"I mean John was my friend and we were sitting under a tree together." She said with a sigh, "He climbed trees with me, and we had races and things. It wasn't anything romantic."
"But you wish it was?" George asked me seriously. I gritted my teeth.
"Oh like you can talk!?" I blurted, "Your the one with the crush on your sister!" George let out a sharp breath.
"She's not my sister, and so what if I do!?" He said loudly, "I didn't choose you, my father did!" That hurt more than anything. I knew George didn't want to be with me, but he didn't have to say that.
I swallowed hard and walked a head of him. He gasped at what he'd said and tried to keep up with me.
"Rachel I didn't mean it!" He said grabbing my arm, "I just- I don't-"
"You don't love me?" She asked, her lip quivering a bit, "I already knew that George, and now I know neither does John."
George sighed and they walked the rest of the way back in silence. Rachel didn't cry, but it wasn't because George was comforting here.
When they got back to her house George walked her to her door.
"I'm really sorry for making you feel bad." he said, becoming shy and closed up. Rachel nodded.
"I'm sorry for over reacting. You just asked a simply question and you have the right to know." she said, "I do love John, but he obviously doesn't feel the same way."
"That's not what I saw," George muttered. I laughed lightly. He really was sweet when the topic of conversation as on him, "Look, Rach, I don't want you to be unhappy, and I just want you to know that if you like John then you should try and..you know...get him to like you back."
Rachel smiled at him and nodded, "Thanks George," she said softly. He stepped closer and kissed her cheek sweetly before walking off.
After that Rachel went up to her room and thought about how to see John again.