Page 9 of Violent Attraction

She nods again, keeping her eyes on the fabric. I think she isn’t going to say anything else until she finally breaks the silence.

“Doing something I love isn’t worth it if I can’t share it with her.”

There’s sadness in her voice and for some reason I want it to go away. No one should sound so sad.

“Share it with me.”

Did those words just leave my mouth?

“What?”

“Share what you love with me.”

The more I say the words the more I realize just how crazy I sound. Isabella and I aren’t close. There is no reason for her to share anything with me. She probably thinks I’m taking pity on her or something just because she’s Leo’s sister.

“Why would I share this with you?”

Good question. I have no idea, so I just make something up.

“Because I don’t like seeing you sad and you giving up something you love will make you lose your smile. Share it with me and remember your mom with every project that you do.”

I want to see her happy. I want to see her smile again, and to see her out in the world doing things like playing catch with Leo and me.

Isabella just stands there looking at me, not saying anything. I take that as my cue to leave.

Giving her a small smile, I turn towards the door. The door is open and my foot is over the threshold when I hear my name said in a small whisper.

I turn, seeing Isabella holding on to a piece of fabric tightly in her hand.

“Thank you for giving me the fabric. Thank you for caring.”

“I will always care about you, Bella.”

I may be only fourteen, but I know that Isabella deserves someone who cares.

Hopefully I can be that person, if she lets me.

4

16 years old

I will always care about you, Bella.

A set of words that have been stuck in my head since I heard them four years ago.

You would think that a twelve-year-old girl would forget something that her brother’s friend said to her, but no. They have been swimming in my head and are something that I hold near and dear to my heart.

Not only do I hold the words close to me, in recent years I have found myself holding the boy that voiced them close too.

It started off as just a small crush and then it transformed into more.

It was like a swarm of butterflies that showed up every time that he was around. Every time that he said my name or said even a word to me, the swarm would attack inside of my belly.

Being around him made me happy and nervous all at the same time.

Every time I shared one of my projects with him and I got a bright smile, the things I was feeling for him started to feel more and more different.

That’s when I realized that the crush that was once there was something different.