Love Songs (Secret Songbook #1) (31 page)

Chapter 35

Kaley slept in the next morning, it was Saturday and she had nowhere in particular to be and nothing in particular to do.

Her first thoughts when she awoke were of the dance. She wasn’t remembering the dances she had shared with Eli or seeing him kissing Abigail in the dark.

All she could think about was the feeling she had on stage with the guitar in her hands and the microphone at her mouth.

When she had arrived home, Georgie and Strom were waiting up for her. She gave them a brief overview of the night, as much as she could manage with the fatigue setting in. They had ridden the rollercoaster with her throughout the story. It had started at a high, then gone through a low, and then ended on an even bigger high.

It was a wild ride.

Kaley stumbled out of her bedroom and had breakfast. The entire time, Georgie hovered over her expectantly, but not saying a word. “What’s up, Mom?”

“Nothing. I just want to make sure you’re okay. You know, with the whole Eli thing.”

“I’m fine,” she assured her, even smiling to prove it, really meaning it too.

So Eli was no longer her boyfriend, it was probably bound to happen anyway. In truth, she was happy to be rid of the drama. It was like the black cloud that was Abigail had been lifted from around her.

“Are you sure?” Georgie still looked concerned, like she was just covering and would have an emotional breakdown at some point in the future. But her fears were misguided, Kaley just had to convince her of that.

“Of course I’m sure. Mom, there was nothing like the feeling of being on stage last night. Nothing, not even Eli and Abigail, can take that away from me.”

“You know you can always talk to me if you need to. But I can’t tell you how proud your father and I are of you. Getting up on that stage in front of all your peers and singing. It’s amazing,
you’re
amazing.”

“You’re pretty amazing too, Mom. It was kind of your song that convinced me to do it.” Kaley finished her breakfast and gave her mother a hug. “I’m going next door if you’re looking for me. Our science project is due this week and I think we’ve got a lot more work to do on it.”

“Come home for lunch, I’m going to make you something good. Harvey is welcome too.” Georgie pulled out her recipe book to reiterate the point. “Have fun.”

“I will.”

Kaley left Georgie to her special lunch preparation and went next door. She wanted to grill Harvey about walking home on his own the previous night at the same time as finishing their project.

She had been banned from working on it, but she couldn’t leave it to him to finish. He had done most of the work on it already, it wouldn’t be fair.

The door was answered by Harvey’s mom, Mrs. Walker. “Harvey’s a little busy this morning, sorry. Maybe you could see him at school.”

“We have to work on our science project, could I just see him for a second? I promise I won’t be long.”

Mrs. Walker shifted uncomfortably while holding onto the door. “He doesn’t want to see you. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

Kaley was lost for words, Harvey didn’t want to see her? She thought they were over their fight or whatever it was. He seemed happy last night, he had hugged her. Surely it wasn’t an act, for what purpose would it serve?

“Would you mind if I grabbed the project then? It’s in the shed in the backyard.”

“I’m sure that would be okay, go ahead.”

Mrs. Walker smiled before she closed the door in her face. Kaley stomped around the house to get to the shed. She was so certain she had put the drama behind her and now Harvey wasn’t talking to her again.

She flung open the door to the shed and pulled out the box containing their rocket. She trudged home with it, hoping Harvey saw her struggling with the box and felt guilty about it.

Back in her own yard, Kaley spread the project out over the grass. It had come along since she had last seen it, but there was still a lot to be done before it would function and be considered finished.

She got to work, funneling her annoyance at Harvey into something productive. She was going to finish the damn project and show him she didn’t need his help. She could manage just fine on her own.

Chapter 36

Monday morning came around far too quickly. However, Kaley wasn’t worried about going to school. As she walked through the corridors, people actually smiled at her. Some even commented on her performance, saying how great it was.

They even knew her name.

Not one person ran into her and failed to apologize. It was almost like she had elevated her status to that of a celebrity. She couldn’t be more visible if she tried.

Kaley passed Abigail, standing with Macy and Madison. They didn’t even look at her, let alone come up with some snarky comment or two between them. It only gave her more confidence to keep going with her head held high. She didn’t need to be on Eli’s arm to be seen, she could do everything without him.

Reaching her locker, Kaley spotted Harper. It took her a moment to notice her. She was pressed against the wall, Cooper attached to her lips. They had obviously reunited after the dance.

Kaley couldn’t help but smile, she was so happy for her. At least one of them got the man of her dreams with no strings attached. Cooper seemed like a nice guy, perhaps he would be good for her. If he wasn’t, he should watch out.

She retrieved her books and glanced at Eli’s locker beside hers. For a moment, she wondered where he was. He wasn’t with Abigail, at least that gave her some comfort.

“Kaley, I’ve been waiting for you.” Harper joined her, Cooper disappearing down the corridor.

“It looked like you were busy,” Kaley teased. “Cooper is over his food poisoning, I see.”

“He’s very much over it. We spent all yesterday talking and watching movies. It was so great, he makes my heart shudder.”

“I’m happy for you. So were you looking for me just to gloat, or did you have something else to say?”

“Have you seen Harvey this morning?” Harper’s tone changed, she grew serious. Kaley shook her head, she hadn’t seen even a glimpse of him. He hadn’t been waiting to walk her to school that morning. “He’s upset.”

“I kind of figured that when his mom wouldn’t let me see him on the weekend. I had to finish our science project on my own. Do you know why he’s so upset?”

“He saw you talking to Eli after the dance and he thinks you’re back together. I told him you’d broken up but he said it looked like you had forgiven him.”

Kaley hit her forehead, so
that
was the third person in the corridor. It wasn’t Abigail, but Harvey. “Well, he’s clearly mistaken. I don’t want anything to do with Eli anymore. We’ve over, full stop.”

“You don’t need to convince me of that.” Harper put her hands up in surrender, telling the absolute truth. “But I think you should talk to him. He hates the way Eli was treating you.”

“We have Science together this morning. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good luck.”

Kaley was sure she’d need it. Friends looked out for each other, it was actually quite sweet that Harvey was so protective of her. It was good having someone watching her back. It would have been better if that person was her boyfriend, but a good friend was the next best thing.

They headed off to class, making a beeline for the science rooms. Everyone had to present their term projects so there were plenty of people already setting up.

Kaley took her seat and checked the rocket she had dropped off earlier. She had texted Harvey before leaving home to let him know she had it. All she had to do was wait for their turn and then the whole thing was over and done with. She was sick of the sight of the thing. At least it looked pretty decent.

Harvey came into the classroom and sat beside her without saying a word. He glanced at the rocket but if he had any thoughts about it, he wasn’t sharing them.

“Everything’s ready to go,” Kaley told him, trying to keep her voice light. She received a slight nod of the head in response.

They waited while eight partners presented their projects one after the other. Thankfully, no-one else had made a rocket. They would have a unique edge to their presentation.

Finally, it was their turn. Kaley took the rocket to the front of the class and set it up. Harvey watched on, shuffling through the index cards they had prepared at the beginning.

Over the next ten minutes, they demonstrated the features of the rocket and how the thrust mechanism worked. Their finale was placing it on the floor and igniting the fuse. It was only designed to go five feet into the air before falling back to earth. It wasn’t like they were planning on going orbital with it.

Kaley gave Harvey the match and waited while he lit the string. Within moments, the rocket shot up and hovered momentarily before crashing back down again. It had successfully done everything they had designed it to. In their mind, it was a complete success. Hopefully Mr. Hannigan would agree.

“…and that’s it,” Kaley ended their presentation, standing awkwardly in front of the class.

“Well done, Miss Thorne and Mr. Walker,” Mr. Hannigan said earnestly. “You’ve done a great job.”

“Harvey came up with the idea,” Kaley replied quickly, making sure he got the credit for the amount of work he did. “He also built the internal fuse workings.”

“But Kaley did most of the structure work,” Harvey added, he actually looked her in the eyes for the first time that day.

“Noted. I’m giving your project an A, it suitably met all the criteria I was asking for. Thank you both, you may sit down.” Mr. Hannigan wrote the mark in his notebook and dismissed them.

Kaley was relieved, if she had received anything less than an A, it would be difficult to explain to her father. She had never got anything below it before and didn’t want Eli to be the reason for her grades dropping. Now, she didn’t need to worry about it.

They had to sit through another three projects before the bell rang to signal the end of class. Most people had passed, with only a few dismal attempts coming from those she expected it from.

Eli and his partner earned a B for their project, although Kaley suspected he had little to do with the merit. Harper and her partner earned a B+.

When the others started to file out, Kaley placed her hand on Harvey’s arm to stop him from leaving.

“Harvey, I need to talk to you,” she started, hoping he would listen. “Can you wait for a minute?”

He shook his arm free. “I have to get to the next class.”

She was crushed as he didn’t wait to hear anything else she had to say. She wanted to make things right again, tell him she wasn’t back with Eli so everything could go back to normal again. She didn’t want much, that’s all.

Sighing, Kaley grabbed her books and left the classroom. She had no other option except to keep going. It was going to be a long day.

She stepped into the corridor and saw Eli straight away. He was talking to Abigail. Once, the pain of seeing them together would have cut right through her. Now, she was indifferent. They deserved each other.

As Kaley passed them, a smile spread across her face. They weren’t just talking, they were arguing. Whatever they were fighting about, it sounded heated and not fun for either one of them.

Good.

They could drown in each other’s pettiness. It only affirmed the fact she had made the right decision. That drama was no longer hers.

Chapter 37

Kaley walked home by herself, she didn’t have a choice. Harvey wasn’t waiting at the school gates for her like he always was. He obviously hadn’t warmed to her during the course of the day. So she trudged home alone and spent the whole journey trying to work out why she had upset him so much.

Even if her and Eli had reunited, it wasn’t any of his business. If he was annoyed about doing most of the science project himself, then she had made amends by finishing it. She was completely perplexed why he was still so mad at her.

By the time she walked through the front door of her house, Kaley felt totally depressed by the whole thing. How could her life have changed so much over the course of a few weeks? The three amigos never would have fought like this before. The only thing that had changed amongst them was that she started dating Eli.

Kaley flopped down on the lounge in the living room. Georgie joined her, coming in from the backyard and wiping leaves from her hair.

“How was your day, my girl?” She had gardening gloves on, traces of dirt on her knees.

“We got an A on the rocket.”

“Well done. Why don’t you sound happy about it?”

“Harvey’s still not talking to me.”

Georgie sat on the lounge next to her. “Why do you think that is?”

Kaley shrugged, if she knew the answer she would do something about it. “I don’t know. The only thing that has changed was me dating Eli. I don’t know why that would make him so mad at me.”

“Really? You have no idea?” Georgie waited expectantly to hear the answer she had already figured out.

“No, I really don’t know. I wish I did.”

“Kaley, honey, you never have been able to see what’s right in front of you. You’re just like your father.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kaley replied, wondering if her mother had been into the wine a bit early that day. Whatever she was meant to be seeing was a mystery to her.

Georgie stared at her, waiting for the penny to drop. It didn’t, she was going to have to spell it out for her. “Kaley, Harvey is in love with you. Why do you think Eli annoyed him so much? He wants you for himself.”

Kaley’s mind went into overdrive trying to process the information. She didn’t know whether she wanted it to be true or not. Harper had teased her about Harvey having a crush on her before, but she had never taken it seriously.

It never seemed possible.

They had been friends for ten years, their feelings toward each other weren’t meant to change. They were supposed to be friends forever. Just friends.

“Do you really think that?” Kaley asked, trying so hard to understand it all. It did explain why he was acting like a two year old, but surely there had to be another reason. He couldn’t be in love with her.

“Open your eyes, my girl. Harvey has been in love with you for years, from the moment he could understand what love really is. The way he looks at you, the way he treats you, the way his face lights up when he’s around you. It’s love,” Georgie ended with her voice just a mere whisper, trying to lay down the truth gently.

“But we’re friends.”

“Sometimes the most profound love begins with a friendship. There is nothing better than falling in love with your best friend. I happened to marry mine.”

So Harvey loved her, Kaley figured there were far worse things in the world. It was sweet, in a way. She just had one question to answer now: “What do I do about it?”

“Only you know the answer to that one.”

Great, another lesson from Mother Barbie about growing up and making her own decisions.

She thought about Harvey and her newfound knowledge. It didn’t have to change anything, right? They could still hang out, they could still be the three amigos, and they could still walk to school together every day.

Right?

Except now she knew Harvey had feelings for her. Nothing would be the same, it
couldn’t
all remain the same. No matter how much she wanted it to, it would change things.

“This makes my head hurt,” Kaley moaned. “I’m going to my room.”

“Don’t think about it too long,” Georgie warned.

Kaley went to her bedroom and closed the door, leaning against it for support. She glanced over at the window, thankfully Harvey wasn’t in his bedroom. If she saw him right now, she would probably fall over her own feet with embarrassment.

It was just so difficult to accept that the boy next door, the one she had said goodnight to through the window every night, the one she had caught chicken pox from and spent the week playing video games with, the guy that stood up for her when no-one else would, the guy she shared everything with, could be in
love
with her.

He wasn’t supposed to change.

She picked up her guitar and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to make her brain concentrate instead of spinning out. She pictured Harvey in her mind and all the moments they had shared over the years.

He was there for everything, every single milestone was his too. They shared so many memories it was like they had lived a lifetime together already. The thought made her smile.

Lyrics came to mind as she strummed on the guitar strings. They weren’t from one of her existing songs, they belonged to a completely new one.

As she sung and found the right notes, Kaley realized she needed to pay attention to the words. It wasn’t her head making the song up as she went, but her heart.

And it was speaking the truth.

As the song went on, everything started to become clear. Harvey was in love with her. She could accept that as being true. However, the thing was, she realized she was in love with him too. She always assumed their affection for each other was friendship, something comfortable and always there.

But it wasn’t.

It was something more.

What she felt for Eli was nothing compared to how she felt about Harvey. It was deep, it was real, and it was beautiful.

Her heart leaped with the realization. She had never been so sure of anything in her life before. She loved Harvey and he loved her. They could be so happy together. If only he would talk to her.

Once Kaley understood how she felt, she needed a plan for how to get what she wanted. She wanted Harvey and he wasn’t even speaking with her. She had to convince him to listen, she had to convince him she wanted the same thing he did. But how?

As her fingers stroked the guitar, it suddenly hit her. Music was the answer, it always was. Every problem could be solved with the melody and lyrics that filtered from her heart to her hands.

She quickly realized the words she had sung would be the key to winning Harvey over. She worked on it for the next forty minutes without stopping.