FLY BOY - Completed

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“The girl I have chosen to be my mate is…” Again Dayden’s voice dropped off as he battled silently with his decision. River watched as his eyes closed and noticed both his hands clenched into fists. The entire audience quieted right along with him, finally picking up on the fact that Dayden was truly struggling. For the first time people were beginning to realize that Dayden was no longer joking around. Sensing that something big was about to happen, the audience remained silent. Dayden cleared his throat again and then took a second to wipe the sweat from his brow. He performed a nervous dance as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, almost as if he was preparing himself to flee. 

River felt a horrible, nauseating feeling start up in the pit of her stomach and it kept building right along with Dayden's growing discomfort. He was clearly agitated and for someone who was known to always be so confident and calm, it was rather shocking to watch. In a panic River stood up and started to make her way down the stairs heading towards the gym floor. All she knew was she had to get out of there. She could not sit a second longer or she was going to be sick. Luckily everyone was so focused on what was happening with Dayden that no one seemed to notice her.

Just as she made it to the bottom step, Dayden slowly lifted his head and spoke softly, yet clearly into the microphone. “The girl that I choose to be my mate is Hailey McTague.”

BOOM - the bombshell was dropped. Most of the audience didn't get what the big deal was. Dayden had delivered the choice they had all expected. River however, was shocked. She felt instant relief, but at the same time she felt kind of like she had just been sucker punched. She realized that deep down she hadn’t really expected Dayden to choose Hailey. She knew she should be happy, after all she had gotten exactly what she had wanted. The only problem was that somehow over the past week, she must have unconsciously changed her mind.

River watched as Hailey slowly made her way towards the stage. River was thankful that at least no one had noticed her standing on the bleacher stairs. She blended in with all the other students who were now standing and cheering for Hailey. River could not take her eyes off Hailey as she accepted her roses from Dayden. She expected Hailey to be extremely happy, but instead when she studied Hailey’s face, she saw an overwhelming sense of sadness and maybe even a bit of panic. She kind of looked like a deer caught in the high beams of a transport truck. Dayden must have picked up on her reaction as well, because he leaned down and whispered something in her ear, which resulted in a little half smile from Hailey. It also reignited the sick nauseous feeling in River. 

River could only imagine how awful that long wait for Dayden to make his choice must have felt to Hailey, because for River it had been pure hell. River watched Dayden lean down again and whisper something to Hailey, this time evoking an even bigger smile. Seeing her smile, Dayden wrapped his arms around Hailey and then leaned down and kissed her. The crowd went wild as Dayden kissed Hailey like no other Fly Boy had kissed their chosen mate. The louder the crowd cheered, the longer and more intensley Dayden kissed her.

River had seen more than enough. She ran out of the gym and ran straight to the girl’s washroom.  She made it there just in time to dry heave into the first of the washroom sinks. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, so she wasn’t surprised that nothing was coming up.

She had to regain control of herself. How could she be so disappointed, when this was exactly what she told Dayden to do? It was those two late night kisses that had changed everything – at least for River.  Obviously Dayden felt differently. He probably thought she was a horrible kisser. He didn't know it had been her first time kissing a boy. She must have truly sucked at it.

River felt totally embarrassed. All she wanted to do was run back to her room, rip off the ridiculous clothes she was wearing, wipe off all the silly makeup she had put on and then crawl into her bed and pull the cover up over her head. The wave of sadness that hit her as she wished for the comfort of her mother's arms or the wise words of her father was overwhelming. River had to force herself to take some calming breaths.