CHAPTER 2 MARTIN
"I was talking to Ruthie yesterday, she likes someone. But she won't tell me who it is, and it's driving me nuts. I don't know why it's making me so crazy." Mac just looks at me. "What?"
"You like her. I can't believe you were telling me not to get involved with her, and you like her. Of course you don't want her to go out with anyone; you want to go out with her."
"I do not like her. I can't. She thinks of me like a brother. I think of her like a sister. I don't like her that way." I don't do I? I can't like her that way. But the more I think about it the more nuts it's making me.
"You so do not. If you think of her like a sister you're living in the wrong state, you should move to Arkansas. There is no way that you can deny this. I can tell that you like her." I love Mac, he's my best friend, but why is he so pushy? I'm not admitting anything yet.
"Fine, I like her! There, are you happy now?" Why did I tell him that? He's going to bug me about it, he might even tell her. "Don't say anything to her though, I'll tell her…eventually."
"I knew it, I am good. I am so good. I didn't think you'd admit it this quickly though, you're cracking man." Right then Ruthie comes into the kitchen and Mac and I look at each other. I give him a look that is supposed to be saying 'Say anything and I'll kill you.' Thankfully he took the hint and turns toward Ruthie, "Hi Ruthie, how are you today?"
"I'm fine…" She looks a little confused. "How are you Mac?"
"I'm fine too. I think I'm going to get going though. I'll talk to you later Martin."
"Okay, bye." I have to act more normal than this or she'll know something is up. "I'll see you tomorrow Mac." There, that was better. Mac lets himself out and there is an uncomfortable silence between Ruthie and me.
"I'm going to make a PB&J, do you want one?" Whew, the awkwardness is over, now I can say something.
"Yes, I'd love one. I'll get the milk." She makes the sandwiches and cuts them both diagonally, just like me. All of a sudden I have a vision of us making dinner together, only we're older. We're married and we have kids. Wow, I like her a lot more than I thought I did. I shouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff, it's a little obsessive. But when I look at her I just can't help it.
"So what were you and Mac talking about? It seemed important." Uhh… what should I say?
"It wasn't. It was just… nothing." I sigh and I can tell she notices.
"Come on, I know you better than that. That didn't sound like a nothing sigh, that sounded like a something sigh. You can tell me you know; I'm here for you. Is it about a girl?" I choke on my milk, with the circumstances I'm lucky that it didn't come out of my nose. "I'll take that as a yes. Who is she?"
"I don't think I want to answer that. Plus, if you aren't going to tell me who you like, I'm not telling you anything. I'll let you know eventually. But first, I have to think about some things."
"Can't you just give me hint? I gave you a hint." Dang! She did give me a hint. Now I have to give her a hint, but not too big of one.
"I'll tell you one thing about her, and that's it. Is it deal?" What to tell her, what to tell her.
"It's a deal."
"She is a bit younger than me." That could be a lot of girls; she'll never know that I'm talking about her.
"I guess that will have to do for now. But I want you to know, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone. You're one of my best friends Martin; I'd never do anything to hurt you." She manages to take my breath away.
I clear my throat, "Thanks Ruthie. That really means a lot to me. The same goes for you too, you can tell me anything. I'm always here for you." She gets up and walks over to me she puts her arms around me and we stand there hugging for a moment. As we're letting go she stands on her toes and kisses me on the cheek. My stomach is doing flip flops, and I can't help but hold my breath.
She then retreats back to her room, where I imagine she is either doing homework or thinking. I might have a chance after all, that hug seemed like more than a sibling thing. I sit in the kitchen for a couple of minutes just thinking. Finally I realize I'm still in the kitchen and I go up stairs to my room.
I'm doing my homework when I hear a knock at my door. It's Eric. "Hello Martin. Dinner's almost ready."
"Actually I'm not feeling so well, I think I'm going to pass. My stomach is really bothering me. I think I might throw up."
"I'll tell Annie and she'll come check on you in a little while. The flu is going around; I sure hope that's not what you have."
"You and me both, I don't want to miss baseball tomorrow. But if I continue to fell the way I do right now, I think I'm going to have to."
"Well I hope you feel better, I'll see you later." With that he leaves my room and heads down the stairs to the kitchen. I do feel bad, that was not a lie. But my stomach may be bothering me partly because Mac knows that I like Ruthie, and the fact that I even like Ruthie. She's two years younger than me, I live in her house, and I'm supposed to be like her brother.
Around 9:30 pm Annie comes into my room to check on me. She feels my forehead, tells me I have a fever, and asks me how I feel. "Not good." She says that I'll probably be staying home tomorrow. Then she leaves my room. I drift off to sleep, but only for a short while. I wake up with a start around 12:00 am and run to the bathroom, I lean over the toilet and start puking. I hate throwing up.
I guess I woke up Annie and Eric because they both knock on the door and ask if I'm alright. The sound of me heaving must have answered their question because they stopped knocking. Finally, after throwing up most of what I've eaten in the last day and a half, I stand up and open the bathroom door. "Oh, honey, you go lay down. I'll clean this up and get you some crackers."
I sleep terribly all night long. I throw up several times during the night. I didn't know you could throw up when there's nothing in your stomach, but believe me I now know that you can. Around 6:30 am I finally get a couple of consecutive hours of sleep.
To be continued…
Author's Notes:
Chapter 3 should be up in a couple of days
