Chapter Six

More and more students added to the crowd that grew around them. Lawson was standing before her in the middle of a hallway, and he had the undivided attention of every student who was pushing up against one another to hear his words carefully.

"Ria," he said. "Our first meeting was not typical of most meetings. But when I learnt about you, you sparked something in me that I long thought was dead. The world is brighter with you around, and I don't have to stumble around in darkness anymore. I don't know how to say this but all I know is that I love you more than I can express."

Ria's breath hitched. She only heard words like these in romance novels, and out of nowhere, she suddenly felt as if she was the heroine in one. The students around her sighed pleasantly at his words and she knew that every girl wanted to be in her shoes now. She was about to reply when a hole parted in the crowd, and in came Declan.

"Let me through, you dimwits," Declan said, finally breaking into the circle. "Look, Ria. I'm only going to say this once, so make sure you hear everything," he said. "I love you."

"Ria," Lawson said. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'll follow you anywhere, be anyone you want me to be. I want to live and breathe for you."

Declan turned his head to Lawson and looked him up and down. "Fuck you," he said to Lawson.

Lawson stared at him casually. "Well, fuck you too."

They both returned their gazes to her and she felt like a deer caught in headlights. Two confessions, right after the other? What was she supposed to do? She swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. Lawson ranked second in school and Declan followed with a close third. They were brilliant people and they both loved her?

"Both of you," Ria said. She paused for a while before she opened her mouth again to continue.

❃❃❃

Ria tossed to one side of her bed. She had run away in the middle of two confessions like a fool, and now she was regretting it so much. But what was she supposed to do? She had no idea who she loved more, Declan or Lawson. If anything, she felt something for both of them but with the way the world was, she knew she had to choose one of them.

Why choose?

Why couldn't she have them both? It would sure make love more interesting. After all, two was always better than one. She turned to the other side of her bed. Who did she prefer? Lawson had always been kind to her, gentle and sweet. He talked to her with fondness and respect, and he was a good guy. Declan, on the other hand, was a bad boy. But he challenged her like no other, and talking to him got her heart rate up so quick, much more than Lawson ever could. Yet, Lawson was the calmness she needed in life.

She sat up in bed, thoughts racing. Who was she going to pick? Lawson? Declan? What if she picked neither? What would she do then? No, she couldn't pick neither. She would rather eat shit than be one of those girls that went "oh, I pick myself!". To hell with that.

"RIA!"

Ria jumped in her bed. No, no, no, she swore to herself. Not again! She sped out of her bedroom, wracking her brain for every possible issue her mother could be fed up with. So long as she did not get into one of her horny moods again, then she wouldn't attack her again. She stood before her mother, who was slamming the front gate closed.

"RIA!"

"Yes, mama?" Ria asked, her shoulders shaking with fear. The pungent smell of alcohol drifted from her mother's body to her nostrils.

"PACK UP! WE'RE LEAVING TOWN NOW!"

Ria's mouth fell open. "But - But - "

Her mother glared at her. "RIA!"

"Okay! Okay!" Ria said. "I'll go pack up now!"

And it would be a few years before Ria heard from either Lawson or Declan again.