The Meeting (On Hold)

Chapter 3

The next day and a half flies by quickly, a lot faster than I had hoped it would. Lydia and I take the chance and go to the mall like we were planning to, that way she wouldn't miss her chance on meeting her soulmate. We both look at her clock, she being way more eager about this than I. 0000 D : 00 H : 03 M : 58 S.

"Less than four minutes," Lydia gasps quietly, her voice quivering with excitement and nervousness. She looks around the store, the dress she holds in her hands being crumpled in a fist. "I can't believe my Meeting is going to be happening so soon."

I look at her, my eyebrows scrunching together as my stomach turns. "At least you get to have a Meeting," I mumble, carefully pulling the dress from her hands and smoothing out the wrinkles she caused.

I glance at my wrist, the piece of fabric that usually covers my clock no longer there. After I had revealed to Lydia my secret, I don't feel the need to hide it when I'm around her. Though, the scrap of fabric is always in my pocket, that way I can hide it when I start to get uneasy. Lydia tries to keep me from covering it, that way, in case my hopeful feeling is right and someone else's clock is like this, they can see mine and talk to me about it. Or maybe it'd lure in someone that I could potentially be with.

"Sorry, Mads," Lydia apologizes, covering her clock with the palm of her hand. 0000 D : 00 H : 02 M : 18 S. I shake my head, placing the dress on the rack. "I'll stay here and keep looking for a Homecoming dress. You go to the food court and drown your sorrows in soft pretzel bites and blue raspberry lemonade, okay?" A spark of anger flies through me. What a loving friend.

I shake it off, acting like it's nothing. "Okay. I'll see you in a few." I look at her as she glances between her watch and the door. "Come find me when you meet them."

"Will do, sweet cheeks."

I turn and walk away from her towards the front of the store, waving her goodbye before pulling out the scrap of fabric and tying it around my wrist. Deciding I didn't want to head straight to the food court, I wander around, popping into a clothing store or two and the book store. Eventually, though, I decide it's time for me to meet Lydia and her soulmate at the food court, so I make my way there.

Once I enter, my eyes are immediately drawn to Lydia's auburn hair. Beside her is a man who looks a couple years older than us. Upon seeing him, my steps falter. I know that man; I know him well.

As I grow closer, I call Lydia's name and smile when she turns around. "Mads!" She squeals, grabbing the hand of the man next to her and tugging him along behind her. The look on his face is pure shock at the fact that such a small girl could pull a guy as big as him. "This is my soulmate-"

"Brennan," I cut her off, studying the face of the man now standing in front of me. "Yes, I know him." Twenty-year-old Brennan Sharp. My one and only cousin. Last I knew, he was living up in Akron, New York with my Aunt Lynn and her husband, George. Lucky for him, he is one of my best friends, too. "When did you move down here? I never thought that Virginia was your kind of state."

Brennan rolls his eyes, a smile stretching across his face. "Well, Mom was getting too pushy with how close my clock was getting to zero, so I decided to come down here to get away from her. And, maybe because I was missing my favorite cousin."

I laugh, the first genuine laugh I've let out the last couple of days. "Yeah, that does sound like Aunt Lynn." We both glance at Lydia, who has the biggest look of confusion on her face. "Oh, right. Sorry, Lyd. Brennan is my cousin from New York. His mom and my mom are sisters."

Her gaze switches between Brennan and I, her eyes giving away that she is trying to process what just happened and what I just told her. "How...what..." She takes a deep breath and exhales quickly. "You just...whatever. Okay. Cousins. Got it."

Brennan and I share a look, both of us knowing that she most definitely wouldn't get it for another couple of minutes. While she tries to figure that out, we agree to get in line at Auntie Anne's for soft pretzels and blue raspberry lemonade- something for us to nibble on while we catch up.

"So, my favorite cousin and my number one best friend are soulmates," I say, taking a sip of my lemonade once we're settled at the table. "I never thought I'd see the day." They both gave me a small glare, earning them both a wink and a smile.

"Well, I'd say the same thing for you, little cousin, but you don't seem to have found yours yet," Brennan comments, tilting his cup to me. The smile instantly disappears from my face and Lydia's small chatter falls silent. We share a look, her seeming uneasy, and me wondering whether I should tell him or not. "What?"

I take a breath and hold it, calming my nerves. "No, Brennan. I haven't," I say, my voice sounding strained. "And there's a very good reason for it, but I do not want to say it in a crowded mall. It's something better left said in private." He opens his mouth to speak, and I know he isn't going to let it go so easily. "Not now, Brennan." The silent plead in my eyes makes him close his mouth. "Please."

He nods, leaning back in his chair. "Okay, Mads. We can wait until you're ready to tell me."

Relief spreads through me. "Thank you."

After those two words left my mouth, I know that I wouldn't be ready to tell him. Telling Lydia was understandable, seeing as she's my best friend. Brennan may be my favorite cousin, but he isn't someone that I tell everything to, and he might react to the information of my clock having always been at zero in a way that I don't want him to. Telling him might be a bad decision, and I just can't risk it.