WestFiction- "If You Love Something" by Mary

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If You Love Something...> chapters 7-8

“Okay, you have to let me go now,” said Joshua. Samantha just held him tighter. He sighed. A female voice boomed through the speaker. “Look, we’ll chat every two days, okay?” he said when Samantha finally let go of him. Joshua was leaving for England to further his studies.

“Who am I going to complain to, now that you won’t be around?” she complained to him.

“It will be okay, trust me,” he said looking straight into her eyes, “Come on, let’s not cry. Hey I’ll be back at the end of the semester. Time flies so fast, you won’t notice I’m gone.”

The final call was announced. Joshua picked up his bag. He said quick good-byes to his friends who came to see him off.

“Take care, son,” said her father.

“You too, dad,” he replied.

“I’m gonna miss you,” she said to him.

“Me too,” he said then gave her a kiss on her forehead. He began walking backwards to the departure gate. Samantha hung around the airport until Joshua’s plane left. She wondered how she was going to cope without her brother around.

~ ~ ~

“So what do you think?” asked Mark.

“Huh?” she asked him. She knew he was talking to her. She heard him but her brain just didn’t comprehend what he said.

“Samantha,” he always called her by her full name when he was annoyed with her, “you weren’t listening.”

“I’m sorry,” she said absentmindedly. Then she mumbled, “I need a walk,” as she got up and fished for her purse which was in her school bag. He grabbed her hand and said, “It’s on me,” then he left to pay their lunch.

Samantha waited for him outside. Cold wind hit her face. She wished it was summer here all year long. Her group of friends made plans for a movie and shopping, but she didn’t feel like it. And she didn’t want to go home either. So she suggested a late lunch with Mark when she bumped into him. And it wasn’t fair to him that she was not attentive.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked when he stepped out.

“No,” she said softly.

“Okay,” he said as they began walking.

“Yes,” she said changing her mind.

“Okay, the—“ he said but she cut him off, “I don’t know.” She sat on a nearby bench and let off a long sigh. He quietly sat beside her.

“It’s my dad,” she said, “things aren’t good between us.” This surprised Mark. “We haven’t been getting along. And I don’t know why…Since I came back he was kinda cold towards me…I mean we got along fine before I left. And when I was back in KL, we did talk for so long that he even joked that he had to work off for ten years just to cover the phone bill…I could talk just about anything to him…but now it’s hard to even get a hi, how are you doing from him.” She rested her head against his shoulder, “Josh knows something’s up but he couldn’t even guess what. And now that Josh is not around I have no idea what to do. It’s like he’s a different person from the dad I knew. He doesn’t even care anymore.”

“Hey maybe it’s his work,” he said trying to comfort her, “Give him a few days.” Samantha just stared at a kid, who was eating a lollypop, right in front of her. Since moving to Ireland, her father has always put the family first. That was what Joshua and Samantha liked when they moved here, their dad not away at work all the time. Maybe it is work, she told herself but how long can she go on believing that lie?

CHAPTER 8

Samantha and Ashley collapsed on their seats, they were laughing so hard, a few people in the shops were casting glances at them.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” warned Bryan who sat right in front of the girls.

Samantha went to Dublin for Christmas and Ashley took her to do some last minute shopping around town. They bumped into Ashley’s friend, Bryan in a CD shop and both of them hit it off pretty well. So both of them took Samantha around town, sightseeing. They also went to a toyshop, which sold a wide variety of toys. But with a difference. While most shops didn’t allow the customer to break the seal in any toys unless they are sure they are going to buy it, this shop had one ‘tester’ for every toy they sold.

Joshua collected miniature stuff, so she was shopping around something for him, as his Christmas gift. While she was looking around, Ashley gave her a sharp jab on the side and put her index finger over her lips as she showed her a rat in her hands. It was of course a rubber rat but it looked very much like the real thing. Ashley slowly slipped it in Bryan’s bag, which was over his shoulder.

Samantha however was confused then she remembered Ashley telling her about what she called a rat-o-phobic friend, which was of course someone scared over rats. Then Ashley candidly asked Bryan for a sweet, which she knew, was in the bag. Bryan, who had no clue about what Ashley was up to, pulled out the rat, looked at it for a moment, threw it over the air together with his bag and ran away screaming leaving Samantha and Ashley in fits of laughter.

“I’m so sorry,” said Ashley between laughter, “I wish I had my camera with me, you should have seen the look on your face.” Bryan however was annoyed but slowly he too began smiling.

“Well at least it got you laughing again,” said Bryan to Ashley and that’s when Samantha saw it. The longing in Bryan’s eyes when he looked at Ashley. Ashley and Samantha were the same age but Ashley was a couple of years ahead of her in school. She had above average I.Q. For a year or so she had a crush on a guy in her class. But the guy regarded her more as a friend. So when she found out he had an interest in another a girl, that broke her heart. And so it happens she bumped into Bryan when she was crying her eyes out backstage in a local theater right before a show.

“I’ll order,” Bryan offered getting up, “What would it be?”

“Fish and chips,” she said when she managed to control her laughter.

“Same here and a double chocolate ice cream,” said Samantha. When he made his way to the end of the queue, Samantha told Ashley, “You have a great friend.”

“He’s ok,” said Ashley glancing at him, who is at the ordering counter, “He’s really funny. Nice to hang out with. You won’t believe half of the things he did to get me to laugh on the opening night that day. Hadn’t it been for him I would have screwed the play.” When their food arrived, they began filling Samantha on what they had been up to and in turn Samantha told them what she had been up to.

“Sinful!” commented Bryan on her ice cream when it arrived. And then they began teasing each other. Samantha began laughing at a joke Bryan was telling and noticed that Ashley was unusually quiet.

“You alright Ash?” asked Samantha when she saw that Ashley was a little pale.

“Yeah,” she managed to say, then she added flatly, “That’s Nicholas.” She said as she motioned towards a group of guys who just came in, “The blonde in blue.” The guy Ashley had a thang for. He was not bad looking, well dressed, a little pale. Samantha tried to recall what Ashley mentioned about him, he was a football fanatic, that he played for someplace as something. What is it that Ashley saw in him? Then she saw that he had the most incredible smile.

“I think you need this more that I do,” Samantha said passing her ice cream towards Ashley.

“Him?” Bryan asked in disbelief, “You are crying over him?” That made Ashley feel small and when he saw what he did, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” He paused for a moment and said, “Any guy who doesn’t want to be with you is an idiot. He doesn’t know what an amazing person you are.” Samantha was positive that he had a major crush on Ashley.

“Bryan’s right you know. Don’t let him get you down. It’s Christmas. You’re supposed to be happy,” said Samantha trying to comfort her.

“I’ll even let you put the rat in my bag again.” Hearing this Ashley began to giggle.

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