No warning

Chapter 5

I woke up the next morning to the ringing of my phone. I was afraid to look at the screen, in fear of who was calling, but it turned out to be Gregory. With the swipe of my finger, I swiftly answered the call.

Clearing my throat, I made sure not to sound too groggy. "Good morning, handsome."

"Happy Birthday, beautiful." His voice sounded so warm. "I wanted to be the first to wish you a wonderful day."

"You're so sweet. I love you," I responded with an extraordinary feeling in my body.

"And I love you."

I reached to turn my alarm off before sitting at the edge of my bed. "Gregory, I wish you were here. I miss you so much."

"Well that's a tough birthday wish to deliver, but I will try my best."

"I'm serious, Gregory. Maybe we could talk our parents in making an arrangement. I have, like, two more empty rooms in this old house that we don't even use. I don't think my mom would mind. If she did, maybe my aunt and uncle could have you stay with them. Did you know they moved back-"

"Brittany, slow down." He interrupted, chuckling lightly.

"Sorry, I just need to get everything off of my chest," I sighed. "And I'm just lost knowing that you could be here with me."

"Everything will work out. Just give it time. You must go and get ready for school now. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too."

I brought the phone from my ear and looked at it as the call ended. As much as it made me happy, it hurt to talk to Gregory sometimes. I got up and lazily picked out a pair of navy blue pants and a red polo shirt from my dresser. I took my hair out of its messy bun and watched as the blonde curls sprung out past my chest. I hurried down the kitchen to find my mother setting down a cupcake with a candle in it.

"Happy Birthday sweetheart," she said, trying to hold back her tears.

My mom was always over emotional and extremely sentimental. In her eyes, I wasn't eighteen, I was eight. Sometimes she made me tear up too because it feels like yesterday that I was a little girl still in elementary school playing with dolls. I thanked her with a hug and kiss before I sat down to eat a bowl of cereal and the birthday cupcake.

I blew out the candle and hugged my mom again. "Thank you."

"Oh you're welcome."

I got up and pecked her on the cheek when it was time to leave. "I gotta run. Love you."

"Love you too." She handed me my bag before I was out the door and to my car.

The same truck was again parked suspiciously across the street. Mom walked to her usual spot behind the door and waved goodbye. I turned back and walked toward her as she opened the door.

"Did you forget something?"

"No," I said, moving my position. "Whose truck is that?"

Her eyes shifted and squinted. "I don't know. Probably the neighbor's. Why?"

"It was there yesterday with the same guy sitting in it. Just make sure the doors and windows are locked."

"I will," she reassured, still staring at the vehicle.

In school, I took a seat in homeroom and watched as the rest of my friends entered the room. I laid my head in my bag on the desk to shade my eyes from the lights. I needed more sleep, but that wasn't going to happen since I had someone talking into my ear. I finally had to get up and ask for permission to go down to Guidance, not just because I wanted to get away from people, but also because I had to ask my counselor to send out my transcripts to college. I sat in the office which was much quieter and more tranquil. The councelor's room was occupied for quite a while and I could kind of overhear the conversation.

"This is your class schedule. It is set up into periods that are forty three minutes long and your homeroom number, 145, is at the top. I'm going to call for a senior to show you around."

Senior… he must be one too. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but they were already there. It had to of been Gregory. He had the same homeroom and Thompson and Sackville-Bagg would definitely be placed together. If I could only see into the room. A shadow formed at the door. How would I greet him? Give him a hug? A kiss? Or a simple "Hi, how are you, I don't know you" type of greeting? My uncontrollable thoughts came to a halt when the shadow belonged to my guidance counselor.

"Oh, Brittany, good, I don't have to call for someone! We have a new student and he needs the full tour. Would you mind?" She stood in the room, fixing her pencil skirt.

"No, I'll definitely do it. Here's a list of my schools that need transcripts. That's why I came by," I explained, handing the paper to her.

"Okay." She turned for her room and motioned her arms for the mystery student to show his face.

My stomach stopped its butterflies as the boy came from around the corner. It definitely wasn't Gregory, but he was sort of cute. He stood tall in tight gray jeans and a thick horizontal striped sweater. He wore black rimmed glasses before his hazel eyes and a pale blue beany on his chestnut brown, side swept hair. Wooden gauges stretched his ears to a quarter inch and a stud poked from his lower lip.

"You have a week to wear whatever you want as long as it's nothing vulgar. After next Wednesday, you should have the appropriate uniform and you have to cover up your piercings at all times," she reminded before I led the good looking male from her office.

"I guess you don't follow that rule?" He said, pointing to his upper lip.

"Oh God no." I laughed. "I look more stupid with a little Band-Aid on it, and I obviously don't wear a clear retainer for my tongue."

"You have your tongue pierced?" He questioned as we walked down the hallway.

"I got it done a few weeks ago."

"Nice. That takes some balls. Did it hurt? I was thinking of getting one."

"Not really. Do it, you'd look good."

His face turned pink and he looked to the floor as he smiled. I didn't mean for it to be one of those flirtatious comments, but it slipped, I guess. He turned back to me and held out his hand. "I'm Jonah."

Ah, the cute guy has a cute name. I took his hand and shook it. He had a warm, firm grip.

"My name is Brittany. It's nice to meet you. Where are you from?"

"I moved here from Maine."

"That's a long way from here. Out of all the places, why did you pick this dump?" I giggled.

He repositioned his backpack and pushed his glasses off of the brim of his nose. "My dad lives here and I recently moved in with him."

"Oh, that's interesting." Was it obvious that I couldn't think of a reply? By now, we were halfway down the hall and met at the stairs that led up to more classrooms. "Could I get a look at your schedule?"

"Yeah, sure." He handed it to me and I unfolded it to look at its contents.

"Okay, well you have homeroom with me, Jonah Silverman." I looked up and met his grin. "First period, math. Oh, good luck with that one. Second is studyhall in the Caf. Third is Gym or Health. Fourth is History with me. Then Lunch. After that is Digital Art Design, then Chem, and English with me again. Okay, this will be sort of easy. This first level we're on has, I'm sure you already know, the principal's, Guidance Counselor's, and nurse's office. The Cafeteria is through those doors and on the other side, is the gymnasium. Boy's and girl's locker rooms are located near the entrance." We started climbing the first flight of stairs. We curved the landing and walked down another long hallway aligned with classrooms. "All rooms have their own numbers and on the tops of intersections are the numbers of rooms that are in that corridor. This part is the math section. Second corridor is History, then English, the Science labs, and finally, the library. You could go there either during lunch or in studyhall." I showed him to the third floor. "This is the Arts and Technology section. It has your digital design, computer and art classes, woodworking, Home Ec., chorus, band, and Health. Don't ask me why that's on the third floor because I have no idea. I'd get more in depth, but we don't want to miss homeroom."

He nodded and followed me down to the second floor as he eyed the high architectural ceilings and the old rail work.

"Are you into architecture?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what I want to go to school for."

We walked into homeroom and took a seat once I introduced Jonah to the teacher, who didn't seem like he was interested in what I had to say at all. The old grump peered over his glasses as he slumped his head. He gave a nod and wrote something, probably Jonah's name, down in a book.

Jonah stuck to my hip like glue for the day, until it was time for our separate classes. He eventually agreed to sit at our table for lunch since he seemed most comfortable having a conversation with me. I also wanted him to sit with us for another, more important reason. After standing in what seemed like the longest line to grab a school lunch, we both made it back to the table which was already packed with people. I pulled a chair nearby and set the tray down before I introduced him to one last special person.

"Jonah, I want you to meet Savannah."

She turned away from talking and stopped mid-sentence, gazing at her type of "man." I knew what was happening and it gave a great feeling inside of me.

He, too, gazed for more than a minute, speechless. "Uh, hi." He extended his slim arm and offered a handshake that was probably just as strong as before.

Savannah's eyes lit up as her petite hand enveloped into his masculine grip. "H-hi. It's nice to meet you, Jonah."

"Nice to meet you too," he mechanically responded as he clutched a chair and sat on the opposite side of her.

I felt pretty virtuous after playing matchmaker because Savannah and Jonah hit it off instantly, but when I got home, that righteousness soon faded into a bitter mood. I wouldn't say I was jealous; I just needed my boyfriend here with me, and it was torture to see anyone together. The car came to a stop in the driveway and I headed toward the large vine-covered veranda of my old timeworn house. Placed before the oak door, was a large vase packed abundantly with crimson roses.

Hidden in the bundle, was a card that read, "If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be blessed with a never ending garden. Your love is what marks the life I live and I cherish every moment of it, but what is love when it is expressed millions of miles away? Before, I would say that it was near impossible. We have shed light on a dark time and now, it will shine its brightest. Distance cannot overcome the power of love, even when it's so close, you can feel it."

A smile rapidly grew on my face as I thumbed the letters on the card. It was the first time anyone has ever sent me flowers like this with an attached love note. It was extremely thoughtful and romantic which brought me to take the vase in my hands and pull the flowers closer for me to take in their fresh scent. Roses were my favorite. Their ruby color was deep and just so captivating.

Breaking my love-struck moment, a familiar voice pardoned, "Excuse me Miss, but I understand that you made a wish this morning and I am here to fulfill it."

Caught off guard, I whipped around, almost throwing the vase and my bag to the wooden floor when my mind registered who it was, standing in front of the wroth iron gate.