Soothing! The only word that could define this feeling.
Fresh air penetrated through the jersey and as it made contact with the tiny sweat droplets, a minty cool sensation surged through my body. The smell of freshly mowed grass, where I was laying on my back, filled my nostrils and gave rise to the feeling that there's nothing more satisfactory than this.
"MORGAN."
As the words fell in my ears I removed my arm from my face and the shining sun prickled in my eyes, instinctively squinting them I set straight. On the other side of the ground, Amelia was standing surrounded by the other members of our Sequim high school volleyball team. "We'll resume in ten minutes." She yelled.
Bringing up my thumb to respond to my captain I picked up the water bottle kept beside me. I shoved back the strands of my curly raven hair- which loosened out of the bun during the practice- behind my ear after unscrewing the cap.
"This is too much. It looks like Amelia is taking out some personal grudges on the pretext of practice. It's just the start of the year."
Violet- one of the members of our six-player team- grunted while squatting beside me on the grass. I gulped down half of the bottle in one go and wiped my mouth from the back of my hand before speaking.
"Then go and tell her to stop venting out her grudges like this."
I smirked cause I knew she didn't have the guts to say it. Violet punched me on the arm playfully in return. "Very funny, Miss. Nova Morgan."
"Hey, girls! What's the plan after the practice?" Krissy our fellow teammate called out from a distance. While both the girls started suggesting I pushed my hand inside my backpack and took my phone out.
"Let's go to the Paradise ice cream parlor I'm dying to taste the heavenly strawberry choco chip," Violet suggested licking her lower lip.
After the long hours of practice, I too felt the need to have my favorite butterscotch ice cream but before I could agree with their idea the notification of several calls and texts from Adam took my attention off the discussion.
It wasn't usual for Adam to interrupt me during practice if it was not very urgent. Certainly, it aroused all my senses in high alert and I hastily tap on the blue envelope icon.
3:45 pm
Pick up the call!
It was the first text, and when I read the next my heart stopped beating for a fraction.
4:10 pm
He is coming back, Nova! Finally!
That was another time in my seventeen years short period of life when my whole world rolled upside down, I couldn't believe my eyes and my mind, it just got unfit to process those unexpected words that I was dying to hear for the last seven years but the thing that amazed me the most was my heart which was still helping, by which impact it banged in my chest felt like it can't hold to rejoice. It can make me feel excited, anxious, and scared, so many emotions at once that my limbs got numb.
"Nova?" Krissy shook my shoulder and I finally tore my eyes away from the words which caused havoc inside me in a split second.
"Come on." She pointed towards the field where Amelia was waiting for us with a whistle between her lips. After sucking in a sour breath I managed to nod.
-
Bronzo welcomed me with a booming bark into my empty house. I rushed in his direction with my arms wide open. "He is coming, Bronzo. Finally."
He responded with another excited bark. No, he wasn't excited to hear the piece of news I shared with him, he must be thinking, who the hell is coming? I chuckled at this thought.
In reality, Bronzo was excited to see me after spending half of his day alone inside the house. How boring! Bronzo is a medium-sized Samoyed breed dog with thick, white fur and he is probably the most gorgeous and attractive dog in the world. We both spend most of our days in each other's company cause the only dwellers in our house are me, my dad, and Bronzo. Dad generally stays busy with his work.
After feeding Bronzo with some dog treats I climbed the small flight of wooden stairs which lead to the only room on the upper floor of our small house that belongs to me. Tossing my backpack onto the bed and getting off my white muddy sneaker near the door I walked straight to the balcony. After pulling the sky blue curtains aside I slide the glass door open.
Stepping out the warm summer air stroked my face, dusk was approaching deliberately, and prepared to drape the firmly stood trees in front of my eyes into its gorgeous black cloak. I sat on my small wooden balcony, staring at the orchard where we used to play. We mean me and Reeve. The only person I have known as a friend since my birth till we got separated.
I sighed looking at the silhouette of the huge manor across the trees which belongs to the Hearsts, the orchard that separates the manor and my house belongs to them, even the house where I live belongs to them.
My grandma was a single mother and pregnant when she first came to live here. Mr. Sebastian Hearst helped her by providing work in his house and a place to live. He also took care of my dad's education afterward. So according to Dad, we owed Hearst a lot that is the reason we still live here, to show our respect towards them, as a gesture of gratitude.
Mr. Sebastian Hearst was Reeve's grandfather, who left this world before Reeve's and my birth. Dad works for Reeve's father, Mr. Damian Hearst, the owner of the Hearst Real Estate Firms.
Despite being the owner of such a huge business, Uncle Damian is a very humble and down-to-earth person but on the other hand, he is also a very strict father when it comes to the upbringing of his children.
That's why he pushed Reeve away from all of us for the misstep he took in his innocence. He was just a ten-year-old child, he could have forgiven him. But no, according to Uncle Damian, perhaps even seven years is not enough to serve the punishment for that mistake.
I still remember the day very vividly when his father sent him to London, to stay and study at the boardinghouse. I don't have any idea what kind of boarding school it was. After that, he never called him back home. During the holidays, he used to stay at his aunt's house in London. This was his father's way to punish him by tearing away a kid from his mother, a brother from his siblings, and my best friend from me.
Whenever I think about this my soul fills with guilt because I am the reason for his punishment. After all, he took that step for me.
Thump!!
I looked behind and peeked through the doors. Bronzo hopped to take his favorite ball from the top of the bookcase and a few books fell on the floor. Standing up I ambled inside and ruffled Bronzo's hair who was now sitting near the bed and nibbling the ball. "Naughty boy."
Bending down I held the three books which were lying on the floor. The first one was my biology book, the other was a novel I recently finished reading and the last one was a black leather cover book. It had a slim spine cause it wasn't heavy.
Even though the book was quite ordinary and unattractive, what it contained is precious to me. I flipped its cover and the first thing that captured my attention was Reeve's innocent smile.
It was a photo album with several pictures of Reeve and me. In a photograph, both of us were trying to climb a tree in the orchard. On the other, he was pulling my long hair and I was crying. The next one was from the fancy dress in our kindergarten where I was dressed as queen and he was as a King. I chuckled as my eyes caught his askew crown.
Suddenly I heard the sound of tires crunching onto the gravel of the driveway, the car door slamming shut, and the click of the main door being opened and then closed.
"NOVA!"
Dad is home.
I took one last glimpse at the photograph before shutting the album and shoving it back in between the other books. We have missed you, idiot!
"NOVA!"
"COMING DAD!"
YOU ARE READING
Wait
Teen Fiction" The only thing that kept me sane all those years was your precious smile that was etched on my mind. " The whisper of these words echoed through the dingy corridor along with a soft chuckle. " Although your face became just a blurry memory with...
