Country in the City; Book One

Chapter 1 ~ Meeting a Man

Although I've been in class with Michael just about every day for the past two and a half years, we've just started hanging out and talking. Sure we'd seen each other at friends dorms or at parties or study groups, we just never really clicked. Until now...

Okay, I'll admit, I did think he was sort of cute when I first walked in, but I have my children to think about. What do I know about relationships anyways?

The more I learned about him the more I liked about him. He's good with children, has younger and older siblings, is a Christian, likes to support others, has a good caring personality, and is a gentleman. Now days, it's so hard to find a man like that.

We're now half way into our third year and we've been friends since the beginning, but Michael has been acting strange around me lately. He's acting as if something is bothering him. So after three weeks and he's still acting strange, but getting worse, I went to ask Rileigh what is happening.

"If you want to know, go ask him yourself!" She says sort of taunting me.

I couldn't believe it. We tell each other everything. "What's the big deal we tell each other everything and now you won't tell me this? That doesn't make sense."

"I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"What do you mean?" I asked. She wouldn't say anything? About what!?

"I have already said too much."

Too much! She only confused me more. "Fine. I'm going to go find him and ask him myself!" I say giving her this look that says, now your in deep trouble. So that's what I do, I go to find Michael.

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I find Michael sitting by himself under a shaded tree writing something in his notebook. So I went to sit next to him. As soon as he saw me coming he instantly closed his notebook. That just made me even more curious of what was going on.

"Hey Abigail, what's up?" He greets me.

"Well I was just coming to ask you that."

"Hmm... the sky is up." Michael says with a cheesy smile on his face.

I roll my eyes and then try again.

"I meant, uh, well-"

"We've been friends for how long and you can't even speak around me?" He says, cutting me off and chuckling.

"No, just trying to figure out how to say this."

"Try just blurting it out."

"Well here goes nothing." I start. "The last three weeks you've been acting really odd and just now, I went to ask Rileigh what's up, see if she knew anything, and she told me that she'd promised not to say anything, and so now I'm really confused, and then I just found you sitting by yourself, and that's just not like you, so now I'm thinking that something bad happened to your family back home or something, and I want you to know that I'm always here to talk if you need it." I blurt all in one breath. Once I finish I take a deep breath in.

Michael turns and looks at me confused. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, but never says anything.

After about three minutes of silence I ask him "Is there anything I should know about...?" Silence. "Did I just overstep my boundaries? Because if I did, I'm sorry." I get up to go.

After a few steps I feel a hand in mine. "Abigail, wait! I'm sorry that I didn't respond, you just shocked me, that's all. No you didn't over step your boundaries, and no, nothing's happened to my family. They're safe."