And some hearts aren’t meant to find their way home.
And some hearts are…because here she was.
I shot to my feet, my mind a whirlwind. The elation of what she felt for me was overwhelming in the best way. But I was confused too. If this was how she felt, why had she said otherwise?
I fished my phone from my back pocket and tapped on her name. But if I called or texted, what would I say? ‘So, uh… hypothetically speaking, if someone were to, maybe, accidentally read your super-secret song lyrics, should they pretend not to know you’re in love with them, or…?’
Yeah. I couldn’t sideswipe her like that. She was going to be upset, at least a little. This conversation needed to happen carefully and in person.
Then I had a terrible thought: what if she’d changed her mind after being around me the past few weeks? Maybe she’d thought she loved me but now she realized she didn’t.
I fell back onto the bed, pulled the notebook into my lap, and flipped, searching for any clue. I didn’t have to go far. One page. It felt like the air had been punched from my lungs. There was another reply song. This one to ‘Please Come Home Tonight.’ I turned three pages and found another. Then another and another and another. Each song pulled me in deeper, my mind spinning, my heart lifting higher with every turn.
She’d filled an entire notebook. Page after page, the dates inched closer to the present. Her feelings hadn’t faded. If anything, they’d only grown stronger.
By the time I got to the last song, my hands were shaking, nervous system completely overloaded. If I flipped this page and this song was an I-just-don’t-feel-that-way-about-you-anymore song…I didn’t know what I’d do.
I blew out my breath and turned one more time.
She did not disappoint. This song wasn’t a reply song at all. It was all her and it was all about us. A leave-it-all-on-the-table confessional called “Sing Me Home.”
And the date?
The day after I’d kissed her in Anna and Blue’s pool.
twenty-five
Cash
Ispent the next two hours sight-reading her songs, spellbound. Even if a single word hadn’t been about me, I still would’ve been impressed. She couldwritemusic.
I’d always known playing, singing, and performing were equal for me—a three-way tie for first. Writing came in a close second. Charlie had a great voice. No doubt. Kind of smooth with a raspy edge to it. Like Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish had a love child. Butwritingsongs? Charlie had something different. Something next level.
Every few minutes, I’d check her location on the Stalk My Friends and Family app. Around ten p.m., her dot started to move, which meant I had about half an hour until she got here. I carefully put everything back the way it was when I’d come in. Then I gave the notebook a longing glance before exiting the room.
Dad and Mom were in the kitchen when I floated down the stairs. Their voices hushed when they saw me. They said nothing, waiting for me to speak, but there was hope in their eyes.
“She’s in love with me.” My face split into a massive smile, the joy trying to burst through the balls of my cheeks. “There’s an entire composition notebook full of proof. And Dad?” I exhaled slowly, my heart still feeling the aftershocks. “She can write music.”
He smiled. “I heard.”
“He sat at the bottom of the stairs for the first hour, listening,” Mom said, looking so happy for me. “What’re you going to do, bud?”
“Nothing, tonight. She’ll be tired when she gets back. Definitely tomorrow though. I won’t be able to sit on it for long.” My hands went to the back of my head. “She’s not going to like that I went through her songs. But now I know.”
“What you need is to take that girl somewhere she can’t escape.” Dad laughed under his breath. “Makeher talk. Make her tell you why she’s been acting like she doesn’t have feelings for you.”
Mom’s expression said she didn’t think much of that idea. “Well, wherever you do it, just know that I already promised Addie that she could have friends over for a sleepover.”
“What if you take her out on the lake?” Dad said. “She won’t be able to get away and no one will bother you out there.”
“That’s…” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Actually a great idea.”
Dad snapped his fingers. “Take her out in the dinghy. The one without the motor. Row her out to the middle and tell her you’re not leaving till you get some answers.”
My mind trailed off, picturing it. After we confessed our undying love to each other, I’d take her to the hill Dad said I could build a house on someday. We’d lie in the grass, daydreaming about our future…
Mom’s loud guffaw brought me back to reality. “That sounds like a good way to tick her off.”
