The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance

by Chantal Gadoury

  “You spent a lot of time on this list, didn’t you?” Rachel asked as she lifted her chin to look at me.

  “Yeah, I did,” I said as Jennifer gave me a knowing grin. “I kinda talked to my dad about it last night and the words just came to me.”

  “Are you just going to stick it in his locker?”

  “I am.” I nodded and carefully took the letter back. I folded it and tucked it into the CD sleeve.

  “And you’re going to wait at the Grand Lakes Library?” Rachel asked. “Do you want David and me to come hang out with you?” I saw her cheeks turn red. “I mean....”

  “Wait, wait.” Jennifer held up a hand. “Did David finally ask you?”

  Rachel gauged Jennifer’s expression and then erupted into a fit of giggles.

  “He did!” Rachel beamed. “He did, last night!”

  “About time!” Jennifer laughed. “Wow, my two besties found men!”

  “This isn’t about me, though,” Rachel deflected. “The offer still stands, Charlie, if you’d like David and me to come keep you company.”

  “It’s okay. I’m just going to go there and read or...find something to do.”

  “What if he doesn’t…?” Rachel began, but Jennifer shook her head.

  “There’s no way. He’ll show up, I know he will.”

  The bell rang, dismissing us for the day. My stomach twisted with nerves. I needed to act before I got cold feet.

  “I have to run and get this in his locker, before he leaves!” I grabbed my backpack in a rush. Rachel and Jennifer grinned at me as I darted to leave.

  “TEXT US!” Jennifer’s demand echoed after me as I bolted through the doorway.

  “I WILL!”

  I flew down the hallway. I knew Micah usually stopped at his locker before getting on the bus. I had already planned on not getting on. I wanted him to have the chance to read the letter and figure out what he wanted to do, without me sitting beside him.

  I came up to his locker and slipped the CD with the note inside into the top portion that was left unlocked. My heart was thudding in my ears. Just as I saw Micah heading in my direction, I raced the other way, slipping inside an empty classroom. I peeked out of the doorway and watched as he opened his locker and saw my gift waiting for him. He looked over the CD sleeve and then all around, as though waiting for me to pop out of nowhere.

  “Micah! Come on, man!”

  Micah closed his locker, CD in hand, and walked in the voice’s direction. Once he was out of sight, I exited the school through the side doors. I crossed the street and turned the corner as two school buses drove by, and then our bus went past. I wondered if Micah was sitting in our normal seat. Was he reading my letter? I was pretty sure I was going to get sick, right there, all over the sidewalk.

  Despite it being too late, I was having second thoughts. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I pulled it out, hoping it wasn’t Micah—at least, not yet.

  JENNIFER: You doing all right?

  CHARLIE: I’m trying to breathe!

  JENNIFER: That’s important to do, Charlie.

  JENNIFER: Keep breathing!

  JENNIFER: Just get to the library and we’ll go from there.

  Mrs. Greenwich smiled at me when I arrived.

  “Oh, what a nice surprise, Caroline!” She hugged me.

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” I managed, “I’m just here to study.”

  “Well, you know where the tables are!” Mrs. Greenwich gestured up the staircase, to where Micah and I had gone the last time.

  “Thanks,” I replied, and made my way up to the second level. I walked to the back of the library, where a table was situated by itself. I opened my backpack and started to spread out a few homework assignments, trying to decide which one to focus on first. I just needed to distract myself.

  “He will come,” I whispered to myself. “He’s going to come. He’s not going to leave me hanging. He feels something for me, too. Just believe in that.”

  RACHEL: Anything yet?

  CHARLIE: No…

  RACHEL: Don’t stress. He’s going to show.

  After a few attempts at solving math problems, I put my school work away and decided to explore the back stacks of the Grand Lake historical records. There were a few old logs filled with drawings showing the layout of the first establishment. There were pictures of a huge field where the high school was built. There were even photos of the Ritz under construction.

  What time is it?

  I pulled my phone from my side pocket to check the time, only to see that an hour had gone by.

  An hour.

  One stinkin’ hour. Time seemed to move so slowly, and I did everything I could not to feel disappointed. I glanced at the historical selection of books I had pulled from the shelves and wondered how many more I’d have time to pore over until he showed up. If he showed.

  “He will,” I murmured under my breath, tucking a book back onto the shelf.

  I was startled by the sound of commotion from the entrance of the library. I heard Mrs. Greenwich call out, “Young man, this isn’t a gym! No running!”

  “Charlie!” Micah’s voice echoed throughout the building. “Charlie! I’m here!”

  I knelt, frozen, with the piles of old, musty-smelling books around me.

  “Charlie!”

  “Please keep your voice down! This is a library!” Mrs. Greenwich hissed after him.

  I heard his shoes on the stairs as he climbed up to where I was. I quickly stood.

  “Charlie, answer me!” His voice was insistent as he came up to the last step.

  Through the shelves, I watched him as he looked around, noticed my things on the table, and headed deeper into the library stacks to find me.

  I inched out from hiding, into his range of sight. Micah paused and stared at me from his side of the room. He appeared sweaty and out-of-breath as he lifted the crinkled note in his hand.

  “I came as soon as I finished reading,” he said.

  I stared at the paper and then back to him.

  “Speechless again, I see.” A smile grew on Micah’s face. “I guess it’s my turn to tell you how I feel.” He stopped in front of me. There was tenderness in his eyes, just like the night he had kissed me.

  “I do like you, Charlie. I have liked you since the first time I talked to you on the bus. You intrigued me. And then...something changed. We changed. We connected in a way I never expected. I knew after the night of the dance, that there was something more to us. And that kiss, I was never really sorry for it. It meant something to me, too, Charlie.

  “Your CD…” Micah gave a small smile. “I haven’t listened to it yet. I don’t need to listen, because your notes on the track listings told me everything. And I don’t need to figure out how I feel about you, because I already know. You beat me to the punch. I was going to tell you the truth myself.”

  I was shaking as he took another step toward me.

  “I want us to listen to these songs together.” He held out the CD. “I got to share the parts of me that only music could show, and I want you to be able to do the same with me. Openly. Freely. Face to face. It’s only fair.”

  “So…” I breathed, “what does this mean for us?”

  “It means that we are more than friends. It means I want us to be happy, together.” His hands cupped my cheeks gently. “This doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to worry about what other people think. What matters is what we think of each other.”

  “I do want that,” I admitted.

  “Me too,” he grinned.

  The fear of rejection fell away as Micah’s fingers tipped my chin up, and his lips brushed against mine. My hands drifted to the tops of his shoulders.

  Micah’s lips explored mine, his kiss deepening as my mouth parted for him, soft but all-consuming. His hands
slid away from my face, and drifted down my spine. As he pulled me closer, the warmth of his fingers rested on the small of my back. I was breathless as Micah lifted his mouth away from mine. I licked my bottom lip as my eyes caught his dark, warm gaze.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Micah cocked his head toward the staircase and took my hand.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, feeling as though I were floating. We grabbed my things from the table and started down the steps.

  As we escaped into the evening, Micah smiled at me. “Wherever you want. Name it, and we’ll go, C.”

  “Heaven”

  OneRepublic

  HOMECOMING WAS THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY, and most of the classes that day were treated like study halls. Some of the teachers gave us light reading to do. Too many of us were excited for the big football game. Josh and his friends were all pumped to defeat the Green Guards (the neighboring school), while I was more excited for the dance afterwards. The day buzzed by and before long, I was getting off the bus with Micah’s promise to pick me up at seven. Josh was already home with his friends, dressed in their football gear. As I walked in, J and Ben were high-fiving my brother.

  “Jackie O is a go! Man! About time!”

  I winked at Josh. “She finally said yes?”

  “Brent Pierce broke his leg, so I stepped in,” Josh said with a self-gratifying grin. I giggled and rolled my eyes.

  “Congratulations are in order, I guess?”

  “Are you going to get ready for your date with Micah?” Josh asked, grabbing his sport’s drink.

  “I am, actually,” I said with a nod and gestured to the hallway. “I going to go do that right now.” I walked to my room and wasted no time getting into the dress that Jennifer, Rachel and I had all picked out at the mall just a few days before. Rachel had chosen a beautiful ruby dress, with a soft, tan sweater, while Jennifer bought a black rocker dress that had little lace sleeves. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I was glad to have chosen a deep blue dress with a flowing short skirt. I noticed my phone light up, and I strode to the side of the bed to check it.

  MICAH: R U excited?

  I grinned and quickly replied back.

  CHARLIE: Of course. I got a really nice dress.

  MICAH: ;) Oh man. I’m going 2 have a hot date 2night.

  CHARLIE: LOL! Sure.

  MICAH: C U in a few, babe.

  Babe. Now, every time he pressed a soft kiss to my temple or cheek, he’d always say “babe” and it made me melt.

  I received my mom and dad’s approval when I came out of my room later, grabbing a few bites of dinner before Micah was due to arrive. My parents had plans to go to the football game to cheer on Josh. When the doorbell rang, I was quick to jump up and grab my jacket.

  As soon as I had my black flats on, I opened the front door to find Micah standing on the other side. His hair was slicked back. He wore a dark blue shirt to match my dress, and black slacks. His hands were in his pockets as he looked at me with a broad smile.

  “You look beautiful, Charlie.” He pressed a kiss against my cheek and I felt myself begin to blush.

  “Don’t be out too late,” Dad called after me.

  “No worries, Dad.”

  Dad winked at me. His expression turned stern as he directed his attention to Micah, staring him down. The old retired sergeant was still in him. Micah gave my dad a respectful nod and held out his hand to me. I waved at my parents and shut the door behind me, following Micah out to his car. He walked ahead to open the door for me and waited until I was situated inside to close it. As he climbed in, and started the engine, he studied me with a smile.

  “I padded my feet this time.” He winked at me.

  “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” I laughed and poked his arm. He chuckled and began to dig through his stack of CDs.

  “What are you going to play this time?” I asked, peeking at all of the blank CDs in his hand.

  “I don’t know, something good.”

  “Let me pick,” I said.

  He pursed his lips, acting as though he had to think about it.

  “Come on, Micah. Live a little.” I raised my eyebrow with a giggle as I extended my hand for the discs. His lips slowly quirked into a warm smile.

  “All right,” he replied, handing me the CD’s as he pulled out of the driveway. “Play me a song from the heart, Ms. DJ.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I pulled a disc from the pile and slipped it into the player. Micah adjusted the volume and then reached for my hand. Tenderly, he lifted it to press a soft kiss against my knuckles. Together, we listened to the gentle beginnings of a song fill the car. At first, the melody was soft, just as we had been. Eventually, it grew, expanding and building strength as the tempo increased. We, too, had grown and developed, until there was something more.

  There was no denying the beating of our hearts were the songs we had been searching for.

  “Our dreams can come true,

  if we have the courage to pursue them.”

  – Walt Disney

  The journey of “The Songs in Our Hearts” has been a very exciting and rewarding one! And it’s all because a group of people believed in me enough to help me believe in myself, and my dream of writing another novel. First, I have to say thank you to a fantastic friend, Gretchen, who endured countless hours of texting and messaging from me; asking about character development and editing. Without you, this story would have never been completed. Thank you so much for our short time in Disney, for your beautiful personality and our constant friendship.

  To my Mom, who gave me the title “The Songs in Our Hearts.” Thanks for reading over the manuscript a few times and more. You’re an amazing woman, Mom. I hope you never forget just how much I truly love you. Thank you for supporting me in every little idea that I have, whether it’s my wish to be a writer, a painter, or a big dreamer. As Dad said, “I love you to the moon and back.”

  To my Dad, even though you’re not here with me physically anymore, you’re a constant source of comfort for me. I look up to the sky and think of you. I miss your “I don’t think so Tim” and “Walk it off.” But even more, your hugs. This is my hug to you, Dad. I hope that for each reader that picks up this novel, the essence of you comes alive again and again through Charlie’s Dad and the friend, Paul. I miss you and love you more than I think anyone could ever understand.

  To Carrine, who has gone from little to grown. You’re an amazing, strong woman. I love you, and thanks for always being there for me.

  To my own Micah–MHS–thank you for these memories.

  I want to thank all the people who have supported me in the past few years. To the family members who have taken the time to keep in touch. To the friends from high school, college, and church who I know I can always turn to—whether it’s for writing or life advice, I want to just say thank you.

  I want to thank #Team48Fourteen for everything. Juanita, for taking the chance on Micah and Charlie and allowing me the opportunity to share the novel with others. I can’t wait to learn more from you and the team, and I can’t wait to share more of “The Songs in Our Hearts” with others!

  To C.K. Brooke for reading and editing and making this novel come to life—sparkle and shine–more than I ever thought possible. Thank you for your daily optimism and kindness! You’ve really inspired me! My experience at 48Fourteen has made me feel like Cinderella, who was just given a blue ball gown and fancy glass slippers.

  Just as Cinderella says, “Thank you for everything.”

  Chantal Gadoury is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published three novels, “Seven Seeds of Summer,” Allerleirauh” and “The Songs in Our Hearts.” Writing has always come naturally to her, beginning at the early age of seven. Her love of writing evolved from a passion to read and document ever
ything about her life in journals. (A Real-Life Harriett the Spy, without the spying!) While Chantal is pursuing writing avenues, she enjoys acrylic painting, watching Disney and romantic historical movies and spending time with her family.

  You can find more information about Chantal at:

  www.chantalgadoury.com

  http://www.facebook.com/chantalgadouryfans

  http://www.instagram.com/chantalgadouryauthor