Rick Campbell, one of the most famous boys of our school who has graduated this year and is now in college. He is what you call an all-rounder. Mainly he is popular here because he was the captain of our basketball team. He was actually talented and he is going to pursue basketball as a career or so I heard.
Now why were his eyes haunting me a long time ago? Well, that is a long story. We have personal history. He is Ray's older brother. That alone does not explain everything.
He is nearly one year older than us. Though Ray and I always used to hang out, he was not just as involved with us. He was there and we had a pretty decent relationship but that is all. After their parents died and Ray left, things began to accelerate. As we found a common ground with Ray distancing from both of us, we started getting closer.
Well, a little too close that blurred the lines of the common relationship between a best friend's brother and a sister's best friend. I interpreted that as more of a relationship like best friends and he interpreted something else entirely.
He was a popular kid and as he lived alone, still does, he used to throw parties on a regular basis. The incident that changed our lives happened at one of those parties.
Flashback-
“Rick. Wait. Slow down. Where are you taking me?" I manage to ask huffing as he almost flies to the backside of the house pulling me with him. As an athlete, he naturally has the stamina to run around and I definitely do not have that as a bedridden potato.
"Just come with me and you will see for yourself", he throws over his shoulder, glancing once to check my state, and laughs.
“Don't laugh!” I bark, forcing my legs to keep up with him.
Though the house is overcrowded, somehow we make our way to the back of the house. I think that he has somehow managed a restriction in this area because it is nearly empty. But that is not what grabs my attention. I am more invested in the decoration of the surroundings.
The house has a pool in the backyard. The pool water twinkles under the soft glow of the fairy lights hanging from the trees. Red and white balloons are everywhere, tied to chairs, fences, in the water, and on the ground. Candles in little jars are placed all around, flickering softly with the gentle breeze.
It is such a contrast to the environment inside the house. We can still hear the noises but they are muffled. Honestly, it is suffocating inside. On the contrary, the backyard feels peaceful, warm, and inviting.
I have never liked crowds, so an immediate smile forms on my lips. It does not occur to me immediately that these are too weird to be perfect. Why is no one else here? Why is it so beautifully decorated? Why is he so insistent on bringing me here? None of them comes to my mind. I'm just too mesmerized by the whole decoration that every other thought leaves my mind. I do not even notice him leaving my side. I take a few more steps and face a big banner hanging on the wall beside the pool. My heart drops and the peaceful feelings are shuttered when I read what is written on it.
"Will you be my girlfriend, Tulip Garcia?"
I take a step back and then notice that Rick is not anywhere near me. Hearing a rustling sound behind me, I quickly turn around and find him kneeling before me on one knee with a bouquet of pink tulips in his hand. My favourite flower. He is grinning at me so brightly, the signature grin that makes the girls at our school fall head over heels for him. His eyes are twinkling brighter than the fairy lights hanging from the trees or the stars in a dark night sky.
He opens his mouth and I brace myself already anticipating what he is about to say. "Tulip Garcia, I have known you almost my whole life. Despite that, you were basically a stranger to me all these years. My sister's best friend, a very dear person to her but a stranger to me. It never occurred to me to make you anything more than that.
“But over the past month, you have secured a special place in my heart. That stranger has suddenly become someone important to me. Before I knew it, I required you everywhere all the time. To the point that it feels suffocating when you are not by my side.
“I start realizing that I have fallen for you. So I have gathered all my courage today and knelt before you. Tulip Anna Garcia, would you give me the honour of making you my girl?"
I feel my hands shaking. My eyes travel to the windows of the house facing the backyards. People are watching through the closed windows. It is natural because the main attraction of Rick’s party is his pool. There has to be a serious reason for closing it off. Everyone is curious.
I do not understand his reason for confessing at a party. We are together all the time. He easily could do it anywhere else. It is not a public confession, nor a private one. What is he doing?
However, it is public enough to let people see what is happening, meaning they will be able to see what my answer is as well. The only problem with a public confession is that the girl will easily be the villain if she rejects the guy no matter what the situation is. We are in the same school. This is gonna be a problem.
I smile at him, taking the bouquet and grabbing both of his arms to pull him up to his feet. He is returning the grin but looking confused at the same time. Makes sense. I grab his hand and take him with me out of the back door and into the empty street.
“What are you—” Rick starts to ask, confused as hell. I keep smiling. “Walk with me.”
He obeys. We walk for several minutes. When I’m sure we are out of earshot of the nosy teenagers, I face him. He still looks confused but the smile has faded. Maybe he has already sensed what is about to come.
I give him my answer. "Rick, I am really happy that you have confessed to me your feelings and asked me to be your girlfriend. I am truly honoured. But…..” I pause, thinking about it for the last time. This is the best for both of us. I do not see him that way. If I date him, it will be out of pity for him. I will never get this sort of feeling for him. It will get messy in the long run and will hurt both of us.
“But what?” he prompts, his voice sounding weak. I take a deep breath. This is gonna be hard.
"I can't be your girlfriend. Rick, I'm sorry,” I try to sound sincere but when I look him in the eyes, I see the damage I have done. I have always thought his eyes are beautiful, deep, and warm. Maybe that is the thing about beautiful things… they are not meant to be broken. But I have done just that. I have never seen something so broken and still looking gorgeous.
“And….. Why is it, may I ask? I’m not tryna be rude, I just—” I stop him with a gesture of my hand to give him the reason. "I love someone else, Rick. I can never return your feelings."
Then I turn around and leave the place without a second thought or glance.
So, yeah, that is about it. We lost each other after that day. This probably sounds rather like a normal rejection story. But why I said his eyes had been haunting me is because they were the last thing I saw before leaving him in the middle of that road. The imprint of how terrifyingly sad they looked was stuck in my mind. I broke him, one way or the other. He already had enough sorrow in his life. He didn't need me to do that.
When I see him hovering over my book, I am definitely surprised, if not terrified, after not having any contact with him for almost a year now. I stand instantly closing the book.
“Hi, Tulip,” he simply says with a grin, with his signature grin, like it is a random Tuesday one year ago, like he is just here to pick me up after my duty is finished in the library and his practice is done.
“Mr. Campbell.” I start with the professional tone because I will not be comfortable otherwise or pretend like everything is normal. “What brings you here today?”
He definitely notices it but does not remark. Instead, he gets down to business. He puts a book over my closed one and says, “I’m here to change this book on my friend's behalf.”
“You got the card?” I ask, taking the book.
“Yeah, here.” He slides me the card next. “I've got the next book name too.”
I nod, making the entry. “What is it?”
He gives me the name. I check to see that the book is available. Then I tell him to wait here and go inside to fetch the book.
The book is in the fifth row and on the top shelf. It is obviously out of my reach. So, I am about to bring the rolling ladder when a hand reaches over my head to grab the book.
“Let me grab that for you.” I turn around to find Rick hovering over me. He glances down and our eyes lock. Those damn brown eyes, warm as the sun on a cold day, and still as a calm river in the deep forest. They are observing me, so deeply that I feel like they can see my soul. It is so easy to get lost in them that I start to wonder what will happen if I—
“Tulip.” No yelling. No shouting. Just a simple name-calling. Yet I feel a shiver down my spine. Because it is Dax and when he calls me by my name, it means danger. I do not honestly remember him calling me by my name. Like ever.
Slowly, I turn to my right. There he is, standing four or five steps away from us, leaning against the bookshelf with a smile that definitely terrifies me. He does not even glance at Rick hovering over me once. His eyes are fixed solely on me. I have been thinking that Rick’s eyes are seeing my soul. But the way Dax is staring at me, I believe his eyes are devouring my soul.
“I'm here to pick you up today.” Never have I ever thought that such a simple sentence could sound so much like a threat.
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