Like Treasure
"Alright, I think this blouse will look good on you. And maybe this skirt, too. And . . . Reed, are you even listening to me?"
I snapped out of my daze and glanced up at Constance. She was holding the two items she was mentioning for me to wear this weekend, but I obviously wasn't paying any attention. Not knowing what to say, I just shrugged. I couldn't stand this. The constant talking, the constant drama . . . The last thing I needed to worry about was clothes.
"Goodness gracious, you just shrugged. Reed, what's going on?" Constance asked. She dropped the clothes on my bed and sat down next to me. Her voluminous red curls touched my face, making me all jittery. Being the comforting friend she was, she wrapped one thin arm around my shoulders. "Reed, are you OK?"
Her words went straight through one ear and out the other. I shook my head, not wanting to disappoint Constance some more. "Yeah," I said. My voice sounded feeble and weak. Suddenly feeling too tired to have the emotional talk, I got up from my bed and retrieved my purse.
"Reed, where are you going? We – you need to talk. Something's way off," she said. I ignored her, fighting back tears. Why was I producing tear ducts?
"I'll talk to you later, Constance," I said on my way out. I heard her give a protested sound, but by the time I heard it, I was deep into the hallway.
I knew I was being rude to her. I knew I was being rude to everyone. But I couldn't help it. My nightmares were getting worse and worse by the second, and my talk with Josh did not help at all. I felt like shit overall.
My feet dragged me outside where cold air welcomed me. I had no idea where to go. The library was a good place to start, but I had already been there today. Coffee Carma was another place, but it was the new hotspot for students. I wouldn't have any peace there.
"Hey, Reed." I turned my head to the side and saw Marc, holding hands with none other than Diana. Seeing my confused expression, Marc said, "Yeah, about a couple weeks now."
"How . . . what? Oh God, I'm horrible. I haven't been hanging out with you guys, and you were all really nice to me, and-"
"Reed! It's no big deal; we get it – you're busy," Diana cut through. She smiled at me. "We were going to go to Coffee Carma. You want to come with us?" she asked sweetly.
"Yeah, we can catch up. Oh – I wanted to write an article about the Billings fundraiser you guys are doing. You game?" Marc asked. He seemed really excited to do so.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sawyer walking towards Ketlar. He was holding several books, despite the fact he had a backpack on. I had a sudden urge to talk to Sawyer, despite our recent awkward encounter.
"Sorry Marc, maybe next time. How about tomorrow?" I said. Marc's face somewhat fell. Now I felt really bad.
He shrugged. "Sure, that's fine. I'll text you later?" I nodded in response.
"Well, I guess we'll see you later, Reed," Diana said. She wrapped her fingers tight around Marc's, and a pang of sorrow filled me. When would I get another chance like that?
"Yeah."
The happy couple turned around and left. Remembering that I wanted to speak with Sawyer, I ran off to Ketlar. His shoulders were hunched over, trying to block out the cold. He was already by the door when I called him.
"Sawyer!"
He stopped walking and turned to face me. Sawyer smiled, and I couldn't help but return the favor. His blonde hair moved with the wind, making him look impossibly cute.
"What's up, Reed?" Sawyer shifted the books on his right arm to his left.
It took me a minute to formulate my thoughts. "I – kind of wanted to talk? I mean, I hope I'm not bothering you." Seeing Sawyer's confused face, I instantly reddened. "I'll – just go," I said, feeling rejected.
Sawyer let out a soft chuckle. "Nonsense; come inside. I got an electric kettle and some chocolate powder, so we can make some hot chocolate!" I looked at him a little peculiar. He genuinely seemed excited to make one; it was hard for me not to laugh at him. "Never mind. Come on, it's cold." He held the door open for me, and I walked inside. It still looked the same, with boys all huddled over the TV, and some studious workers on the sofas. Nobody noticed that I was here.
"I have to get something, so I guess you can go upstairs. It's on the fourth floor; room 408. It's unlocked also," he explained. Sawyer gave me another sweet smile, and went off to meet with a group of boys. Feeling somewhat calmer and excited to get the hot chocolate started, I headed towards the elevators, making sure my footsteps weren't loud. I rounded the corner, a stupid smile still stuck on my face, only to find Josh Hollis just stepped out of the elevator.
"Hey."
"Hey." My heart started to beat faster, and my palms got all sweaty. Just the sight of him made me want to faint. I couldn't bear to see him right now. Not right now when I was going to make hot chocolate with Sawyer. Not right now when I had such a big burden to carry. Anything but this.
"Can I ask what you're doing here?"
Boy did that sound rude. Instead of responding back in the same exact manner, I said, "Visiting a friend. We're going to make hot chocolate." I paused, meeting Josh in the eye. "I need to go upstairs." My voice barely wavered. Go me.
Keeping a fixed eye on me, Josh moved to the side, allowing me space to go through. I kept my eyes trained ahead, and I managed to keep my head held high. As I stepped into the elevator and turned to face the door that was closing, I caught a glimpse of Josh broken and forlorn.
As the numbers increased floor by floor, I tried very hard to forget that look. It did help, to an extent. The elevator dinged open, and I stepped into a very short corridor. It was half the size of the other three levels, and there were only four doors. Confused, I began to walk – 402, 404, 408. I stopped at the door, not sure if I should walk in there by myself. Finally getting the courage to do so, I gingerly opened the door. It was huge; it wasn't the average Ketlar dorm.
There was only one bed, which made me think that this was a single. All around me were book, books, and more books. On the walls were posters of bands I had never heard of, some of them signed. There was a large stereo system, stuck in the corner of the room. Sawyer's bed was right next to the window, and a desk was underneath it. Aside from the cluster of books, the room was fairly clean.
Leisurely, I kept looking around. Finally, my eyes stopped at his drawer. There were pictures of his family there. My heart beat paced up. I knew I was invading personal territory, but I couldn't help and walk over there.
The first frame had a picture of the whole gang together. Sawyer was there, looking carefree and absolutely wonderful. There was Upton, Noelle, Dash, Gage, Daniel and Paige. Graham was there, along with Kiran. Arianna wasn't there, to my relief. This seemed to be taken a couple of year ago. There was one person right behind Paige. She was wispy blonde hair; so blonde, in fact, I thought her hair was part of the clouds.
It was Jen Hathaway.
She was beautiful. She was breathtaking. Her hair was long and ethereal. She had a long, lean body, but it wasn't bulky. It didn't even seem like she worked out. She was just naturally very pretty and very put together. Her eyes were the deepest set of green I had ever seen. Even standing behind Paige could not hide the depth of her pools.
I don't know how long I stood there, looking at her. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She looked some calm and peaceful; now, it made me really wonder why she decided to kill herself.
Feeling somewhat melancholy, I moved down the dresser to look at more pictures. There were pictures of Christmas and the Grand Canyon. Sawyer wasn't in any of them; it seemed like he was the one who took all of the pictures. There was a certain quality about them. As much as it looked like an amateur family picture, the angle and the way the light hit it made the photos look beautiful. Now suddenly thirsty, I turned around to get the kettle started when I saw a photograph of . . . me.
It was a three-fourths view of me. Most of my hair was obscuring my face, but my lips, my lashes, and my nose were shown. My eyes were shown also; the light made the blue look like the sky, light and soft. The auburn hair that surrounded me didn't look like it was done at a salon. A white, silky curtain hung beside the right side of my face. The lighting was perfect. But I looked so sad, so wistful. I looked tortured. And despite all of this, it was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen.
"Reed?"
I jumped at the sudden sound. Sawyer was standing by the door, looking slightly baffled. I suddenly realized I wasn't standing next to the dresser. Thank God. At least he wouldn't have a single clue as to what I was doing.
"Sorry, I spaced out." Timidly, I went over to the stereo, and started toying with the CD's.
"Is it cold? You still have your coat on," he said. I laughed, and shrugged it off my shoulders.
I went over to the bed and laid it there. "No, I just forgot." I looked up at Sawyer who was smiling at me. He turned around to get the kettle started, and I got a delicious view of his backside. Since when did his ass start looking so tight and round?
I glanced back up at the drawer. Ever since seeing those pictures (mostly mine), it made me feel . . . different. I had just seen a different side of Sawyer. It was his ability to make something so sad, so broken into something gorgeous. The picture of me didn't make me feel weird, like he was a stalker, but loved. I was glad Sawyer was the one who took it. I don't think I would like it if someone else had.
There was a small silence; it wasn't uncomfortable, despite our almost-kiss-awkwardness. Needing something to do, I went back over to the stereo. His iPod was on, and it was paused on a song. Pressing the play button, I turned on the volume to hear it better.
It started off with slow, soft piano notes. An acoustic guitar was heard in the background, melting in with the piano. But as the person started to sing, I instantly melted. The way he sang the notes, and the way the music floated in my ears made me want to cry. It hit home.
"It's beautiful," I whispered.
You are the loneliest girl in the world.
And tonight you'd fall for anyone.
"Just like you," Sawyer whispered back.
thanks for reviewing everyone!
so, what's my big excuse for not updating for a month and a half? papers - three of them. and i'm still working on two. so how do i greet you guys? with a crappy filler. i'm nowhere being done, so please don't give up on me. my weekdays were put aside to do regular school work, and my past five weekends were set to do my papers. i apologize for not updating in forever. believe me, i haven't forgotten, nor have i given up. again, sorry.
i know scandal is coming out next week, so i was wondering if you guys still wanted me to continue? like i said, i have a crap load of drama ready, but it's going to take a while. so tell me what you think!
on a side note, the song that is mentioned here is called "loneliest girl in the world" by cary brothers. wonderful song.
review :)
