Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

I got up and started for the baseball field, I wasn???t thinking anymore. I was imagining. Wondering what it would be like the next time I saw Jared. How would he act? Would he be mad? Would he be sad? I did not know this for sure but I would have to wait until him and I am alone again. I reached the baseball field and seated myself in the same spot as last night. Jared was still pitching? How weird. Is Damon alright? Was he going to recover? Not that Jared wasn???t a good pitcher I mean he was awesome at any position; I was still worried for Damon though, he is such a nice kid. Well, I am sure he will be back soon. I will watch as Jared pitches in Damon???s place. The game started and Jared was pitching to Michael Josah. The first pitch was a strike. The crowd was filled with woohoos and yeahs. Jared pitched the second ball, another strike. The third ball was also a strike. Jared pitched a close out inning. He was also first to bat, Michael was pitching. The first pitch was a ball; the second pitch was right down the middle. Jared swung his bat and the ball went flying through the air. It dropped in center field. Jared rounded first and was off to second. He was safe. Jared had just hit a double. Jake Oscar the center fielder was up to bat, he hit a homerun and both Jake and Jared scored.
The game went on, Jared pitched a no hitter and he also scored five of the seven runs. It was the bottom of the sixth inning when I decided to leave. I got out of my seat and trudged toward my house. It was a three mile walk. I got to the place were Jared had first talked to me and stopped. Did I really want to leave without seeing him? No I did not. But I had to go didn???t I? It was for a good reason of course. I wanted to see him but he needed some space and time to calm down. I too needed time to calm down: I needed some space to get my priorities straight. From experience I know that Jared has some temper issues. He just needs to be told slowly, you need to give him time to relax. It is almost like pausing extra long when at the end of a paragraph. Everyone, I suppose, needs time to take things in; some people need more time than others. Jared was one of those people. Even though Jared was a little temperamental, he was still a great, gorgeous guy who I happened to like. Even though I wanted to see him I kept walking, I walked past the Vincent???s house on my way home, their two twin boys were playing tag outside.
???Hey Trevor; hey Jeremy, how are you guys???? I asked them.
???Hey Nikki, we are great thanks for asking.??? They said hi and I started walking again. I walked past the old bridge which could fall any day. The boards squeaked as you stepped on them. Bellow the bridge was a river that flows through town. The water from the river goes into the creek; all I have to do is follow the river home. To the right of the river was farmer Allen???s ranch. Farmer Allen was very old fashioned; he doesn???t even have a car. He rides his bike to the farmers??? market and to the library. To the left of the river was grazing fields were you could often see the deer eat. I continued walking; my house was just down the path. Often when I would walk home I ran into Randy Brayan and his dog Max. But Randy broke his leg during the summer, no more walking for him. I reached my house then, my house was small and homey. The history behind it was amazing. It has been owned by my family for 350yrs. My great, great, great, great, Aunt Cecilia bought it after her house burnt down. I entered my house and greeted my mother and Jacson.
???Hello mother, hello Jacson how are you???? I asked.
???Great! I am great!??? Jacson replied.
???I am okay why do you ask???? my mother said curiously.
???Just asking mom,??? I said then headed to my room. My room was the biggest room in the house; it had three windows and a sky roof. I had my own bathroom and I had a door-unlike Jacson who got his confiscated. I have a double bed with checkered sheets and a black comforter. I have a laptop and a computer each has a desk. I have red carpeting and black wall trimmers.
I sat on my bed and relaxed. I have been so stressed lately. I need a spa day, a day in the city. I used to go out and sit on the roof until my mom caught me. Now I can???t even step foot on the roof or any other high part of the house. My mom is a little overprotective. I know she tries so that???s all that matters; she is the best mom in the world. My brother Jacson on the other hand is a brat, but aren???t most brothers? He is taller than me even though I am older. He has blond hair and is tall, like five eleven. He has hazel eyes, my mom said he takes after dad but nobody knows were dad is. Dad left when we were little. We haven???t seen him since. My brother and I know him as Don; we don???t even bother calling him dad. But he has been gone a long time and I don???t really care. Although, it would be nice to have a man in the house mom won???t date. We have learned to adapt and we get along just fine.
I was staring at the roof when my mom yelled, ???Nikki, it is time for dinner!???
???I am coming,??? I yelled back. I jumped from my bed and opened the door. Jacson and his friend Cameron Luther were laying belly flat on the ground with squirt guns pointed directly at me.
???Fire!??? Jacson yelled and the next thing I knew I was drenched with water. I ran after my brother and he went down the stairs.
???Enough! Cameron, are you staying for dinner???? my mom asked.
???No Miss Taylor my mom wanted me home,??? Cameron left with a quick goodbye.
Jacson and I sat at the table waiting for dinner-I was freezing cold. I glared at Jacson and he laughed out loud. I reached across the table and smacked him on the head. I smiled and he was glaring. Mom set the plates of food in front of us. Tonight we were having lasagna, my favorite.

???Thanks mom!??? I said happily. I then dug into my food. The marinara sauce was very good, mixed with peppers and unions. It was an old family recipe of course. Nobody made lasagna better than mom. I ate fast even though it was hot. I finished and went back to my room. I needed to check my E-mail. I had one new message, and it was from-Oh my gawd it was from Jared! I opened it up and it read:

Nikki,
Meet me at the park bench at 2pm Saturday evening. I need to
Apologize and to explain. Please be there. I will be waiting for you.

J.

Wow! Jared just mailed me. He wants me to meet him! Do I go? Of course I do. Oh my gawd tomorrow is Saturday! I need to get clothes ready and everything. His mood sure changes fast, he went from sad to mad then to happy. What else is there is he going to be depressed? I sure hope not. I wonder what he wants to talk about. Gosh this is exciting! I am going for sure, I need to go. I also need to get some sleep I want to be wide awake. So I went over to my bed, pulled the covers down and hopped inside them. I fell asleep quickly after that.


I knew it was a dream, it had to be. I was dressed in all black and I was running. Jared was running with me, what we were running from I had no clue. I kept running and I ran into a tree.
???Nikki, are you alright???? Jared asked.
???I am fine,??? I said but it sounded like gibberish. I tried to right myself but couldn???t. Jared rapped his long, muscular arms around me and picked me up from the ground. He started running again. He was fast. We were at my house within fifteen minutes. He continued to cradle me; he brought me up the stairs and to my bed. He gently set me on the bed and he sat down on a small stool. He stayed with me until I assured him of my safety. I stayed there lying on my bed when I heard a big crash.
I flew upright and looked toward my door. Jacson was playing with his soccer ball; he often used my door as the goal. I was sweating and panting as I shut my door again. I went into my bathroom and looked in the mirror. Wow! I look like crud! My hair was a haystack and my eyes had purple rings around them. It must have been that dream. What did that dream mean anyway? I was just running with Jared. Oh! Jared! I glanced at my clock it was noon and I needed to get ready fast. I hopped in the shower, shampooing my hair hastily. When that was done I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it back into a pony tail. I brushed my teeth two times to take precaution. I grabbed my red blouse and denim pants. I put them on and headed down the stairs.
???I???m going out mom! I???ll be back later!??? I closed the door before she could stop me. I grabbed my bike from the shed and I peddled down the narrow path. I went so fast it seemed like no time at all. I was at the park sitting on the bench. I glanced at my watch; it was still one-thirty. I relaxed there for a couple of minutes. I was completely oblivious to what was around me. Until he spoke for the first time I didn???t notice his presence.
???Hello Nikki, how have you been???? he asked politely.
???Fine, I have been just fine.??? I said back.
???Oh! So you are going to talk today huh???? he asked being smart.
???Only if you want me to,??? I replied.
???I will talk you listen,??? he ordered and I nodded.
???I am sorry about the other day. I was rude and I know it but still, I was just a little jumpy. I didn???t know you lived there. What was I suppose to think? All of those crazed baseball fans that bombard the dugout, you could have been one. I just didn???t know. You could have told me though; I would???ve let you go without hurting you. You don???t know how bad I felt when I heard your torso hit the ground. I though I would puke in disgust. I didn???t want to hurt you. I would never want to hurt a girl like you. I felt so guilty at what I had done I didn???t think about the other things I did. Like me covering your mouth when you tried to scream. I shouldn???t have done any of those things and for that I am truly sorry. All I want is for you to forgive me. I won???t touch you again. I promise not to against your will. I need the burden of hurting you off my shoulders and the only way that will happen is if you say you forgive me.??? He said finishing his lecture a little breathless. He sat and stared at me for a while and then I spoke.
???I forgive you Jared,??? I said softly.
He sighed out of happiness and went to give me a hug. Then remembering his promise he lowered his hands before he touched me. I sighed and shook my head. I stretched my arms out and he gave me a very strong hug. He held onto me for a minute or to then he let me go.
???Would you like to come to my ballgame???? he asked.
???I would be delighted to go,??? I told him with great enthusiasm in my voice.
He offered me his hand and I took it. Jared led the way to the ball field; we took our time going at our own pace. We finally came off of the path and onto a sidewalk, straight ahead were the ball field was. Still holding hands, we walked over toward his team. He escorted me to me seat and jogged onto the field. He kept glancing over to me; his eyes were filled with passion, a look that suited him very well. When Jared took the field at his third base position, I watched as he stared at me. I gave him a good luck smile and I could have sworn that he blushed. He winked in return. I chuckled softly. He looked so cute in his uniform. His hat made his blue eyes more noticeable and his brown, silky hair sparkled when it was exposed to the light. David Brady was up first, he hit a pop up to third and Jared caught it. The crowd yelled in excitement. Jared made almost all three outs of the first inning. Then he hit a homerun when he was up to bat. I watched as he rounded all four bases. His whole team met him after he hit home plate. The crowd cheered again. Jared???s team won by twelve, Jared scored five of those twelve runs. When the game was over, all the girls rushed once again over to the dugout. I waited patiently for Jared. He came out the back of the ball field were nobody would notice him.
???Congratulations on the win Jared,??? I said.
???Thank you Nikki it means a lot to me,??? he said back.
???So when is your next game???? I asked.
???Tomorrow is our next game.???
???Do you mind if I come and watch????
???Of course not why would I????
???Just checking to make sure that???.???
???Checking to make sure of what exactly????
???I wanted to make sure you wanted me there.???
???I will never turn you down Nikki.???
???Don???t say that Jared. You could find a wonderful girl someday and then completely ignore me.???
???I would never do that to you Nikki. Don???t you trust me????
???Yes I trust you. How could I not????
He offered me his hand and I took it without thinking. Well I was already getting used to this. Isn???t that just great? I like him yet, I have no idea what his feelings for me are. It is so confusing to like someone for the first time to experience somebody wanting you back. It changes everything, who you hang out with, who you talk to, and who you become later in your life. It is a little scary, everything goes by so fast. It feels like yesterday I was sitting in the living room eating cheeses while watching Barnie the Dinosaur. Now I am walking with a boy I really like. It is a big difference and a lot to take in. It is almost breathtaking, you feel so nervous about what to do next. You try to freeze time but instead of slowing, things speeds up. I need a big remote so I could control the outcome of my life but I can???t and stuff happens that you can???t change. Once something is done it can not be replaced or redone. Life is not something you can run away from its like an river and a raft you just flow and keeping going, you may hit obstacles but those can be conquered it is how you deal with them that tends to mess things up. I couldn???t mess this up. This task was difficult and there are many wrong and many right ways to deal with it, I have to find a right one. It was a big decision to give to such a young person but everyone would eventually have to go through it.