Home > Work > Magnolia (Magnolia Branch, #1)
101 " Better to have all the important stuff downstairs with me, where it’s safe. You know, in case the roof blows off.Which it very well might do, I decide, listening to the howling wind. "
― Kristi Cook , Magnolia (Magnolia Branch, #1)
102 " I’ve been thinking about what you said--you know, about the eighth-grade dance. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out what you were talking about. And”--he swallows hard--“there’s something I need to tell you.”Why is he bringing this up now? “You don’t have to, Ryder,” I say, my heart accelerating. “You were right. It was a long time ago.”“I know, but, well…just hear me out, okay?”I nod, mentally bracing myself. I’m not sure I want to hear this--to open those old wounds again.“I said some things that night, things I’m not proud of. And…it occurred to me that someone might have told you, and--”“I heard you, Ryder,” I say, cutting him off. “I was there, hiding in those trees by the rock. I heard everything.”He lets out his breath in a low whistle. “Shit. I am so sorry, Jemma. I didn’t think--I mean, not that it makes any difference, but I didn’t know. I figured you’d had second thoughts or something and decided you didn’t want to go with me.”“I wish,” I mumble.“The thing is, Jem, those things I said? I didn’t mean them. I was there waiting for you, when Mason and Ben showed up and started teasing me. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to get rid of them, and then they started saying stuff. You know, about you.”“Yeah, I heard.” Even now, all these years later, the memory makes me cringe.“And I knew that if they knew the truth--if they knew how much I really liked you, it’d be even worse. I swear, in some crazy, convoluted way, I thought I was protecting you or something.”“I still can’t believe Laura Grace made you ask me,” I say. “Was Mama in on it too?”He shakes his head. “No. Don’t you get it? I made that up. My mom had nothing to do with it--she didn’t even know. The truth is, I wanted to go with you. Something had changed between us, remember? At the beach over Christmas break?”“I remember.” I’d been hyperaware of him on that trip--self-conscious and nervous and giddy and excited all at once. I’d caught him staring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking, and I’d stolen some secret glances myself.“That was when I realized you were the prettiest girl in Magnolia Branch,” he says. “Hell, maybe in all of Mississippi. Anyway, I was excited about the dance. I even snuck into town that afternoon and bought you a corsage. I had it in my pocket when I went to the rock to meet you.”I barely hear him, because I’m still stuck on the “prettiest girl” part of his speech. "
103 " Don’t worry. I scrubbed this place down with bleach a couple of days ago, and I made sure there were no spiders.” A shiver races down my spine in spite of my assuring words, because we have some pretty nasty spiders here in Mississippi. It’s not the giant, scary-looking ones you have to worry about. They’re mostly harmless, except for the heart-attack factor. No, it’s the little ones--the black widow and brown recluse--that are truly dangerous. "
104 " All these years, and you never told me?”“It’s just that…one day went by, then another. After a while, it just seemed easier to let you hate me, you know?”“God, Ryder. All this time…” I shake my head, my cheeks burning now. “Do you have any idea how upset I was? How humiliated?”“I’m sorry,” he says, sounding miserable. “I was a jerk and a coward and…I don’t know what else. Just…please say that you’ll forgive me.”I lie there quietly, trying to make sense of it all--to understand the workings of a thirteen-year-old boy’s mind. But my thoughts keep going back to something he’d said earlier. “You really thought I was the prettiest girl in Magnolia Branch?”“I still do, Jemma,” he says, his voice quiet. "
105 " You really thought I was the prettiest girl in Magnolia Branch?”“I still do, Jemma,” he says, his voice quiet. "
106 " Ryder Marsden could not possibly have said what I think he just said. Nope. Not in a million years. But then he rises up on one elbow, gazing down at me, and…My breath leaves my lungs in a whoosh as his head angles down toward mine, his breath warm on my cheek. I swear my heart stops beating for a second--seizing up in my chest before resuming its noisy rhythm. He’s going to kiss me, I realize. Ryder is actually going to kiss me, and--“You’ve got something…” He pauses, brushing his fingers across my cheek. “There. I got it.”Disappointment washes over me. He wasn’t going to kiss me. He was just noticing a smudge of dirt on my face or something. I feel like a total idiot. My cheeks flare with heat as I scramble to a heated position and reach for a bottle of water.“Thanks,” I mumble, unscrewing the cap. I drink for a long time, mostly to avoid meeting Ryder’s eyes. Problem is, I already have to pee. This is not going to help the situation. "
107 " Right now I feel like we’re in the middle of the Apocalypse. I keep waiting for zombies to appear or something. One thing’s for sure--if they do, Delilah and I are ready. "
