Stone Cold (13 page)

“I wish I knew what to say to you to make you feel better. I’ve had crushes too
, but the way you describe this, I have nothing to compare it to.”

Gina
had joined her on the floor in the other bean bag chair.

Before Gina
could say anything else, Hannah blurted out, “I did something else I didn’t tell you about. I asked him in the email to meet me at the ferry again on June 30. That’s the day my mom and I are going to NYC to visit my great aunt.”

She lifted
her eyes shyly to look at Gina, as she nervously bit her lip.

“I think we’
re supposed to be together. Maybe not now, but sometime. When I touched him, I had visions of events that happen in our lives Gina. Things in the future like dates and kisses and marriage and children.”

She watched the expression on Gina’s face.

“You probably think I’m so weird.”

“I don’t think you’re weird at all. I’ve heard about people who know when t
hey meet their match. Maybe he’s this person for you. I just don’t want to see my best friend get hurt. Guard your heart Hannah. You’re only fifteen. There are so many things we haven’t done yet and so many guys we have yet to meet.”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I’m being so stupid. If we meet again then great
, but if we don’t it’s cool. So should I go to the ferry to see if he shows up?”

“You have nothing to lose so why not? Maybe I’ll go with you to see what’s so great about
this guy you’re mad about.” Gina smiled.

“She always has my back,” thought Hannah.

“Let’s watch that movie now.”

Hannah was going to try even harder to keep Conall from entering her every thought. Keeping busy had always worked for her before to keep her mind from dwelling on things. It was worth a try.

“Put in a comedy so we can laugh.”

“I have just the thing.”

Watching the comedy was exactly what they needed. For the next 2 hours, both girls laughed until they cried. They had such a good time they decided to watch another one but it was late. About half way through, each girl had fallen asleep right where they lay.

Morning found them huddled in a ball in their bean bag chairs. After sleeping until noon, they decided to spend the day outside in the warm spring weather, playing tennis and walking in the park.

During dinner, Hannah realized she hadn’t thought about Conall since last night. Her plan to stay busy had worked so far and she hoped it would continue to do so.

Gina
went home after dinner to get some homework done and prepare for school the next day. Hannah had homework to do as well. It wasn’t until after she was finally in bed that her mind drifted to the boy with the unforgettable eyes.

She would allow herself to think about him for one minute and then it was time to shut him ou
t for the night. She knew Gina had a point and it was probably never going to amount to anything. She had to somehow make herself forget about Conall and move on with her life.

Hannah thought he’
d felt the same about her as she did about him but maybe she’d imagined that. He was more than not just like most other guys, and never thought about her again once he left the ferry. Out of sight out of mind as they say. For all she knew he had a girlfriend already and he didn’t remember meeting her at all.

Just like that
, her minute was up and she felt her mind going blank as she drifted off to sleep.

*****

Monday morning began as another beautiful spring day with abundant sunshine. Hannah was eager to get to school to keep herself busy.

Every time a vision of Conall tried to sneak into her mind she quickly turned her thoughts to something else. It was easier than she thought it was going to be. At one point she was doing times tables in her head. Another time she was reciting a poem she’d learned in her English class last year.

She and Gina ate lunch together and Conall never came up once. They were talking about how they couldn’t wait to be done with junior high and go on to high school. After that, they planned to go to the same college and room together but that was still three years away. A lot would happen between now and then and they were looking forward to it.

The rest of the day went very fast. Hannah had biology, algebra, and gym all of which required a fully engaged mind so she was spared any thoughts of Conall. It wasn’t until she was on her way home that she started to become a bit anxious.

She wondered, “Did the office staff get my email and pass it on to him? Did he read it and throw it away laughing? Did he keep it and run home to send me an email response or did he text or better yet call me?”

The walk home seemed to take longer than usual but Hannah didn’t mind. The longer it took her to get there, the longer she could hang onto the fantasy that he
was equally into her.

The house was quiet. Her parents were still at work and her sister was at tennis practice. Hannah took her time as she made her way up the stairs. He hadn’t texted or called her so she was going to check her email.

Her computer took forever to boot up. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she brought up her email account. The cursor hovered over the inbox tab for a minute or two. It was either there or not and she’d have to deal with the outcome no matter what.

Hannah closed her eyes and pressed the inbox tab. She waited for a few seconds and then slowly opened one eye and looked at the screen. She had about 20 emails to scroll through
so she opened both eyes and went down the list one by one.

She could rest easy for now. There was no email from Conall yet.

“Come on Hannah what did you expect.” She chastised herself for thinking he would’ve emailed her so soon.

“If they gave my email to him today, he probably didn’t have a chance yet to do anything with it. He may not even be home from school yet.”

Hannah felt let down even though she knew the odds were against her ever talking to him again.

She lay on her bed looking up at the ceiling wondering if there was anything she could do that she hadn’t already done to f
ind him. She had homework but she didn’t feel like doing anything right now.

The light started to fade outside and she heard both of her parents come home from work. Her
sister Morgan had come home too.

It wasn’t until her mother announced that it was time for dinner that Hannah finally moved from her bed. There was nothing going on in her head at this point. Her thoughts were blank. She liked having nothing to dwell on from time to time and this was one of those rare moments.

She was looking forward to enjoying a relaxing dinner with her family without Conall in her head.

Chapter
10

When Conall was back in his room he
couldn’t wait to read the information Eden had retrieved from Jack’s phone.

He locked the
door and sat in his computer chair. If her email address was part of it he was going to send her an email at that very moment. He carefully leaned back in his chair to allow easier access to the front pocket of his jeans. His hand shook as he reached in and grabbed the paper. In his haste to unfold it, Conall nearly dropped the paper on the floor but made a quick recovery as he read the first line.

“Hannah.

Meet Conall at the Bosque Garden near the ferry landing on June 30 at 1 pm. Every year after that on April 1
st
at 1 pm until they meet.”

He sat there for a moment expecting it to say something else, to say more, as he read it over and over again.

“I don’t get it. Where’s her phone number? Her email address? Her last name? Eden must not have gotten all of the information from his phone. She must’ve left it on there by mistake!”

Conall was disappointed to say the least.

Desperate to know more he decided he had to talk to Eden.

“Eeeede
n! I need to talk to you NOW!” Conall exploded as he bolted from his room to find her.

He was at her
bedroom door in seconds. Without thinking, he tried to open it unsuccessfully and simultaneously started banging on it with his fist.

“It’s locked lil bro, what do you want?”
Eden was annoyed that he thought he could just barge into her sanctuary whenever he felt like it.

“I’m not letting you in unless you ask me nicely.”

“Eden please open the door. This is serious. I need to talk to you. Come on, don’t start playing your games.”

“What’s the urgency?
She wanted to know.

“It’s about the favor you did for me – the information you gave me.”

Eden slowly got up from her computer chair and walked across her room to unlock the door. She barely had time to move out of the way as Conall burst in.

His face was red and he was slightly out of breath.

“You were supposed to get all of her information from his phone. Where’s her phone number, her email address?”

He held up the paper in the air between them.

“I did exactly what you asked me to do. What I wrote on the paper was the only information Jack had on his phone about your precious Hannah.”

Eden
rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her body.

“
I just assumed there’d be more. I saw Jack typing what seemed like a lot of information into his phone.”

Reluctant
at first to help him with his search for the girl who was vying for his attention, Eden felt a sudden surge of pity for her brother.

She’d only seen him this heartbroken one other time in their lives. It was the day their cat, Anemone, was hit by a car and died. Conall was ten at the time and he’d had that cat since he was three. It was a constant companion to him,
his best friend, providing the unconditional love he lacked from his peers. 

It had taken at least a year for him to talk about Anemone after she died.
Eden could see it had changed him. He had a sadness in his eyes for a long time and she was seeing it again over Hannah. She tried to offer him some hope.

“
If you think about it, don’t you have something even better than her email address and phone number?”

“What do you mean?”
he asked dejected.

“Conall, she invited you to meet her again. You know the exact place, date, and time. H
ow do you not see how great this is!”

Conall looked at the words on the paper again and let it sink in for the first time. He’d been so intent on getting her phone number and email address that he neglected to see that
Eden was right.

“I can’t believe it.
Eden you’re so right,” Conall breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is way better - well, it’s just as good
. I’ll have to wait awhile longer before I get to speak with her but at least it’s a start.”

Conall thought for a minute.

“There may be a slight problem though.” He remembered his discussion earlier with their dad.

“I was supposed to tell you about what mom and dad talked to me about today,” Conall’s mood became sullen.

Eden frowned as she stepped back and sat down on her bed.

“Please don’t tell me any more bad news, I don’t think I can take any more right now,”

“I don’t know if you’ll think this is bad news or not. You’re graduating and going to college so it really won’t affect you much if at all.”

“Just come out with it then. What is it? Are they getting a divorce? Are they having another baby? What is it?”

“They said they’re selling the house and we have to move to Bushkill Pennsylvania right after my community service is over. School will be done then and Kylie and I have to start at new schools in the fall.”

Eden
was stunned but not surprised really. She knew Conall had been pushing his luck with some of the little things he’d been getting in trouble for. It seemed like just a matter of time before their parents took action to try and prevent their only son from becoming a juvenile delinquent.

“I’m really sorry about this Conall. I know how hard it was for you to finally fit in at school. Plus your friends are here and it’s going to be your junior year.”

“Okay now you’re depressing me. I think it sucks too, but there’s no changing dad’s mind. He’s retiring and wants to get out of the city.”

Eden
tried to find the silver lining for her brother.

“Things will probably be easier for you now to fit in at a new school. I mean look at you.
You’re no longer the “fat” kid. You’re getting really buff, and even though I’m your sister, I can see that you’re hot! Face it Conall, the girl’s love you and it’s only going to get worse the older you get. Trust me on that!”

Conall blushed at her words.

Rethinking what she’d just admitted, Eden said, “You tell anyone I said that about you and I’ll tell them your biggest secret. Remember that time you locked yourself out of the house naked and had to cover yourself with a garden gnome to ask the neighbor for our spare key?”

He bristled at the mention of that horrible memory and clearly didn’t want it to become public knowledge
.

“Don’t worry, I’m way too self conscious about my looks to ever bring it up to anyone. It’s not something I think about or even care about. There are more important things in life.”

Conall was concerned about how people were going to receive him at a new school. Eden was right. He knew girls liked him but he was way too shy to act on anything they may want from him. He would probably concentrate on sports, maybe football or soccer. Besides, there was only one girl who he was interested in.

H
e was going to have to figure out how to meet Hannah in June like she’d asked.

His father would certainly have
moved them by then. Bushkill was where they went on vacation every year for as long as he could remember. His father loved it for the natural beauty and for the peace and quiet.

Conall had to admit the quiet appealed to him too. He enjoyed sitting in solitude for hours. That’s when he did his best thinking. Even so, he would still miss his friends and all the city had to offer. Ther
e was always something to do; never a dull moment.

The mountains were only about an hour west of NYC. If they were living ther
e by the middle of June, he’d have to figure out a way to get to the ferry landing and back again without his dad finding out.

After thinking about it for some time, Conall came up with a pla
n he thought would work.

He’
d ask Eden to help him. She’d have to tell her parents she was going to visit friends in the city and that she wanted to take him along for company and protection.  Their dad was always concerned about girls travelling alone so he’d probably agree to Conall going with her. Once there, she really would visit her friends and he could meet Hannah at the ferry. They’d be able to spend a few hours together before he met Eden for the ride home. Unlike the genius plan to steal Jack’s phone, this seemed foolproof.

Conall winced
at the memories of how his former ‘supposed’ foolproof plan had turned out. That’s what would make this plan hard to sell to Eden.

She’
d been messing with his hair the whole time he was thinking about the move and his plan to meet Hannah.

“Why is it that boys always seem to get the best hair instead of girls! It’s so unfair,” she pouted as she
gently combed through Conall’s soft locks with her fingers.

“What I couldn’t do with your hair if it was mine.”

She was in a good mood and he saw it as an opportune time to ask for her help.

“
Eden, I want to ask you to help me when it comes time for me to meet Hannah.” He waited to see her reaction.

When there wasn’t one he continued.

“What if you told mom and dad you wanted to go to the city to visit friends that day and that you wanted to take me with you?”

Eden thought for a moment.

“Do I get to meet her?”

Conall wasn’t sure he wanted them to meet yet. He needed time to get to know Hannah first.

“Well I kind of want to get to know her better myself before introducing her to anyone else. You understand.”

Eden
paused and then said, “How about if I at least get to see her, from a distance of course.”

He sighed, “I guess if I have no other choice I’ll take it but you have to stick to the plan
Eden. No changes.”

“Okay fine. I’ll do it
, but you’ll owe me big! I’ll want to visit my friends by then anyway. We can work out the details later.”

They shook on it and Conall went back to his room, content with the plan
s they’d just made. He wanted to tell Bobby and Shawn about it but remembered his father had cut him off from the outside world. He wasn’t supposed to communicate with them at all except for when they were doing their community service.

He might as well have been under house arrest. The only thing missing from his punishment was the electronic ankle bracelet. Better keep that thought to himself – didn’t want to give his father any ideas.

His mind wandered to Hannah and what she must be thinking. She was probably wondering why he hadn’t responded to her email. The thought crossed his mind that she might have decided not to meet him since she hadn’t heard from him. She probably thought he didn’t want to have anything to do with her and it made him shudder.

“Hannah if you can hear me keep your plans to meet me at the ferry. I’m going to try my best to make it there.”

He was almost afraid to say those words out loud. He wondered how long she’d wait for him before she decided he was never going to contact her. There was only about seven weeks left until the end of June, but he feared too much time may have expired already.

Conall’s anxiety was escalating and he knew he had to change his train of thought and fast. There was no point in making suppositions over things he couldn’t control. Too
many days like this and he’d make himself go crazy.

Tomorrow was his first day of community service and he was looking forward to it. He needed something to do to keep his mind occupied and a place to go other than inside his house and school.

He was going to be mentoring younger boys who had lost their fathers. Conall couldn’t help but wonder how this was supposed to make up for what he’d done to Jack Barnes.

That name. It
brought so many feelings to him. Conall worried that Jack would remember the date and time Hannah was going to be at the ferry landing.

He
knew he should tell his father about the meeting place because he was certain Jack was going to be there. It all came down to whether or not the adults in his life would take him seriously or not or whether they’d take one look at Jack Barnes and dismiss Conall as a confused young man.

H
e was certain he’d figured out what Jack wanted with Hannah. She was a perfect stranger to him and yet he seemed obsessed with her for some reason. After what he’d heard Jack say on the phone, it made perfect sense.

Conall’s anxiety had subsided but thinking about Jack and his involvement with Hannah
brought it back and made it soar even higher this time.

Eden
and his plan had to work. The only other way to do this was to involve his parents which he didn’t want to do. There was a good chance they’d tell him none of them were going to meet Hannah. That meant she was vulnerable to Jack, a man she had no idea was involved with her life at all.

*****

The next five weeks seemed to fly by quickly. Conall did his community service and enjoyed it, much to his surprise. It gave him some perspective on what other people go through in life and he realized that his life was pretty good in comparison. He was sad that he would be leaving the city because he wanted to continue to mentor some of the boys he’d met.

He’d talked to Bobby
and Shawn a few times when their paths crossed during community service. They planned to stay in touch even though Conall wasn’t supposed to. He got them in trouble, not the other way around even though his dad didn’t see it that way.

Darin retired as planned and Evelyn resigned from her job in preparat
ion for the move. They’d found a buyer for their home and had their belongings sent to their new home in PA. They rented an apartment until the school year was over and Conall was done with his community service. It was mid June and upon Eden’s graduation, the whole family moved to their new home.

Conall and Eden immediately began making plans for their trip back to the city.

“I’ll wait until three days before we plan to leave to tell mom and dad I want to take you with me,” said Eden.

“They both seem to be so focused on getting the house in order that we shouldn’t have much trouble convincing them to allow you to go along.”