From the Heart: A Valentine's Day Anthology Read online

  “Um … thanks,” Tyler answered, his expression more guarded than it had been when he’d first walked inside. He cocked his head to the side, looking around Rebekah until his gaze met with mine. “Emmy.” He nodded as he acknowledged me, and that small gesture made my stomach do that stupid cartwheel thing it always did whenever he spoke to me. I entwined my fingers in my lap and tried my best to smile.

  “Tyler.”

  When he turned away, I blew out a slow breath and rested the back of my head against the booth, feeling Rebekah’s eyes on me the whole time.

  “What in the world was that?” she asked, and I turned my head just enough to be able to witness the look of horror that was now clearly displaying over her face.

  “What was what?”

  “Emmy?”

  I shrugged and leaned forward, peeking around her to make sure that Tyler was no longer close enough to hear our conversation. Thankfully, it didn’t seem that he was paying any attention to what we were talking about. As he casually leaned up against the counter, I watched as he removed his baseball cap and began raking his hand through his dirty blonde hair a few times while waiting to place his order.

  Bringing my attention back to Rebekah, I shrugged, “It’s what he’s always called me.” I explained as I rested back in my seat.

  Her eyes narrowed at the same time her lips formed into a tighter than tight line, “Isn’t that what your mom, dad and brother all call you?” she questioned.

  I nodded, still confused by her reaction, “Yeah, why?”

  “And Tyler has always called you that?” I nodded again and she grimaced. “Okay, then this is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I think it’s time for us to skip right past plan A and work on getting you through plan B.”

  “Um … and what exactly is Plan B?”

  CHAPTER 2.

  “Emily! Wait up!” I heard my name being called and immediately spun around, feeling intrigued when I saw Rebekah rushing down the sidewalk, obvious urgency in each and every step she took as she made her way closer.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I asked, noticing that her cheeks were a brighter shade of pink than usual and she was panting for breath. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in volleyball practice?”

  She nodded, “I’m headed there now but I needed to catch you before you left!” Whatever it was, she was definitely excited if the tone of her voice was anything to go by.

  “Well? What is it? Did you ask James? Is that it? Did he say yes?”

  “James?” she asked, appearing confused. “Oh! James! No, no. I didn’t ask him yet.” She waved her hand dismissively and went to reach inside her bag.

  “You didn’t ask him yet? If you didn’t ask him then what are you so excited about?”

  She grinned and hooked something from out of the side pocket before offering it over to me.

  “What’s this?” I questioned, and lifted my hand to accept the neatly folded piece of paper from her.

  “That right there is Plan B,” she stated proudly. “And there’s no need to thank me.”

  My shoulders immediately tensed just from hearing those words and I began to shake my head, refusing to accept the piece of paper that she was still trying to push inside my hand.

  I thought that she would have forgotten about Plan B by now and moved her attention onto something or somebody else. Or at least, I’d really hoped that she had.

  “Are we really still on this?” I whined.

  “Just open it up!”

  Deciding to humor her, I hesitantly unfolded the paper, my brow furrowing deeper when I saw what was written on the inside.

  “Wait. This is plan B?” I asked, still studying the words that were scrolled in black ink across the top of the page. “Okay, so if this is plan B then can you at least explain to me who in the hell Sofia is?”

  Rebekah laughed and gave my arm a gentle nudge.

  “You are!” she beamed brightly at me.

  My mouth fell open.

  “I am?”

  “Well, you are now,” she answered, slipping her cell from out of her jacket pocket and holding it up in front of me. “I sent him a friend request late last night and he accepted it first thing this morning!”

  “Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. Please tell me you didn’t?”

  “He calls you Emmy, Emily. E.M.M.Y. The same name your mom, dad and brother have all called you since you were, like, what? Two years old?” she explained, but she really didn’t need to go there. I knew what he called me, and it hadn’t ever bothered me before. At least, not until Rebekah not so kindly pointed out that it was like he saw me as just some kid when we were at the burger place last week. From that day on, it made me cringe every single damn time I thought about it. “As I see it, desperate times call for desperate measures, and this is definitely one of those desperate times. I did what any other good friend would do.”

  “So you decided to make up a fake account online?” I asked, feeling fully exasperated. If she hadn’t of been my best-friend, I would have hated her. “How is this even a plan?”

  “Well, now that he’s accepted, you will message him as Sofia, then he will reply back, okay? Then you’ll get to know each other a little more, then BAM! You’ll ask him to the dance and he will say yes!”

  I closed my eyes and exhaled a deep breath, “Right … Only, aren’t you forgetting about one small teeny tiny little problem here?”

  Her eyebrows knitted together, “Huh?”

  “I’m not Sofia. And say I do go along with this ridiculous idea of yours, which I won’t. But if I do and by some small miracle he does agree to go to the dance with me, he’s going to know that I’m not Sofia, too.”

  “No, listen. I have it all worked out. I already know that you’re not really Sofia and you already know that you’re not really Sofia, but for the time being if Tyler thinks that you are Sofia then you can work your magic on him so that when the times comes and you go to the dance, you can tell him the truth. You can tell him that it was really you and then—”

  “And then we all live happily ever after?” I interrupted her trail of thought because she definitely needed a reality check. “You’re crazy. If your plan works, which it won’t because it’s definitely the most absurd thing you’ve ever done in the history of forever, but if it does work, and that is a huge if, then he’s going to be majorly pissed when he finds out that Sofia … Hernandez, is that?” I held the phone up and squinted at the small words that were displaying in the top right hand side of the chat window. She nodded enthusiastically. “Right, so when he finds out that this Sofia Hernandez doesn’t actually exist and it was me all along, do you honestly think that he will ever want to speak to me again?”

  She waved the piece of paper in front of my face again and bit down on her bottom lip.

  “I suppose there’s only one way you’re going to find out.”

  ***

  Chewing on my nails, I paced the entire length of my bedroom floor, back and forth repeatedly, trying to ignore the incredible urge I’d had since I arrived home from college to log into the account Rebekah set up the night before.

  Did I want to message Tyler? Yes. Was I going to? No. Absolutely not. There was no way. At all. Well, maybe I wasn’t. No, yes. I was. I was definitely going to.

  I stopped pacing and reached inside my jacket pocket, pulling out the piece of paper and setting it down on my desk before I had a chance to finally see sense and change my mind again. Tyler had probably already realized that he didn’t even know a Sofia and would have unfriended and blocked her account by now, anyway. Any sane person would have.

  Taking a seat at my desk, I fired up my computer and waited for it to load up, my left foot jiggling on the floor.

  Login: [email protected]

  Password: SexyPants101

  SexyPants? Really, Rebekah? I rolled my eyes as I began typing it in.

  ONE NEW MESSAGE: From Tyler Wade.

>   He messaged her?

  I swallowed hard and hovered the arrow over the inbox to open it.

  Tyler: Hey. SENT 16:55

  I checked my watch. He sent that only a few minutes before I logged in.

  Did I or didn’t I? …

  Sofia: Hi yourself.

  I closed my eyes and hit send.

  What was I doing?

  Tyler’s typing …

  Tyler: You go to the same college as me, right?

  Sofia: Yes.

  Tyler: So I know you?

  Sofia: Yes.

  Sofia: Maybe.

  Sofia: Not really.

  Sofia: But yeah, I guess.

  Tyler: Right. So I do know you and I don’t know you?

  Sofia: Exactly that.

  Tyler: Makes sense … I think.

  Sofia: You do but you don’t. Actually, I know more about you than you do about me.

  Tyler: Have we met before?

  Sofia: Maybe.

  Tyler: Maybe? Do you have a profile pic? I might remember you if I see you. I’ve never really been any good with names.

  Just as I was trying to think of how to reply and make my excuses, my bedroom door burst wide open, making me jump back in my seat.

  “Rebekah?” I squealed, clutching my hand to my chest. “You scared the ever-loving crap out of me! What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Making sure you don’t screw this up,” she answered as she threw her hands up in the air, her pony tail swishing abruptly from side to side as she pushed me aside and knelt down in front of my computer.

  “But how did you know that I was … You were watching?”

  “Of course I was watching,” she rolled her eyes as her eyes scanned over the messages. “I signed up for notifications to make sure you didn’t blow it.” She added, tapping a few keys.

  My gaze darted between her fingers and the screen, finally settling on the screen to see what she was typing.

  Sofia: Do you have a date to the dance yet?

  “Rebekah!”

  “Relax, you needed something,” she threw at me over her shoulder. “Your conversation went stale the moment you said hi.”

  Tyler: No. I’m not going to the dance this year.

  Sofia: Why not?

  Tyler: Because it’s not really my thing.

  Sofia: What is your thing?

  Tyler: Is that a trick question?

  Sofia: Just curious.

  Tyler: Oh yeah? Why is that?

  Sofia: Because I like you.

  “Subtlety has never really been one of your strongest points, has it?” I rolled my eyes.

  Sofia: That through ball you played in training this afternoon was pretty impressive.

  Tyler: You saw that?

  Sofia: Sure I did. I watch you train most days.

  Tyler: Oh really? You like football?

  Sofia: Sure. Who doesn’t?

  I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned over her, “I didn’t know you liked football.”

  “That’s because I don’t, but saying that you do will automatically pique his interest,” she stated matter-of-factly, and I began to wonder just how my best-friend’s mind functioned in comparison to most other human beings. “Besides, they train just over from us so it’s hard to miss sometimes. Especially when they’re jumping all over each other and rolling around on the ground.”

  Tyler: Actually most girls I know don’t like a lot of sports.

  Sofia: Maybe I’m not like most of the girls you know.

  Tyler: It seems I’m just starting to figure that part out.

  Tyler: Are you a senior?

  “See? He’s interested,” Rebekah gestured a nod at the screen, a smug smile etching over her face.

  Sofia: Yes. I’m a senior.

  Rebekah held her hand up in my direction, like she knew that I was about to shout at her again, “And before you say anything, you said it yourself last week. He only goes for girls the same age as him or older. And now you’re the same age as him,” she mumbled, still keeping her attention solely focused on the chat box. “Now watch this.”

  Sofia: I have to go. It was nice chatting with you.

  Tyler: Wait a sec?

  Sofia: ?

  Tyler: You planning on watching the game tomorrow afternoon?

  Sofia: Maybe. ;)

  Rebekah slammed the screen closed and brushed her hands over her shirt as she stood back up straight, her grin wider than I’d ever seen it before.

  “See? I told you it would work. It looks like you finally have your crushes attention.”

  CHAPTER 3.

  “Well?” Rebekah asked, slumping down in the seat beside mine while gesturing a nod toward my cell phone. “Have you heard anything back from him yet?”.

  I shook my head and continued stirring the straw around in my chocolate milk.

  “Nothing,” I told her. “Not a thing.”

  “Well, that’s weird. I thought leaving it like that would’ve sealed the deal,” she pulled the gray plastic chair closer to the table and put her left hand out to me. “Here, pass me your phone for a second.”

  “What? No,” I shook my head and slid it from out of her reach. “There’s no way I’m letting you play little Miss. Cupid again. We tried. We failed. Can we just move on and forget the whole thing ever happened already?”

  “Fine.”

  Well, that was much easier than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting her to go on and on and on until she got her own way.

  “Oh, hey. Did you change the password yet?”

  “No, why?” I looked to her, instantly noticing the newfound mischief displaying wildly in her eyes as she swiped her finger across her cell phone screen and smirked. My shoulders immediately stooped low. I needed to remember that it was sometimes okay to lie to my best friend, especially when it came to things like this. “Rebekah, don’t.”

  It was too late. She’d already tapped in a few keys and hit the send key.

  Sofia: Nice shirt. Red really suits you.

  A few seconds later, I heard a pinging sound coming from the table opposite to ours and saw Tyler reaching inside his pants pocket.

  “Congratulations, Rebekah. You just went from being a class B stalker right to the top of the damn league,” I told her, pushing my drink into the center of the table with so much force that it almost tipped over.

  “Chill,” she said. “One last try and if this doesn’t work then I promise I won’t mention you, Tyler, or the dance in the same sentence ever again.”

  “You promise?”

  She nodded, “Scouts honor.”

  “You were never a scout,” I mumbled, resting my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands, peeking back over toward Tyler so I could see his reaction when he read her latest message.

  He flipped the screen open and smirked before shaking his head. That wasn’t exactly the reaction I had been hoping for.

  “Come on. Come on. Come on,” I heard Rebekah whispering from beside me.

  Tyler lifted his gaze and quickly glanced around the cafeteria before snapping it back closed again and slipping his phone back inside his pocket without sending a reply.

  “Well fuck you too!” Rebekah hissed, slamming her cell down on the table while aiming a fully formed scowl directly at him.

  “Are you happy now?” I asked.

  She shrugged her shoulders once and lifted her apple to her lips, “The guy’s a loser anyway. You could do way better than him.”

  “Wow, you don’t handle rejection very well at all, do you?” I joked with her. “Do you promise no more Tyler talk?”

  She nodded, “Yeah. You win. I promise. No more Tyler talk.”

  ***

  ENTER NEW PASSWORD: *************

  CONFIRM NEW PASSWORD: *************

  There. Now Rebekah couldn’t go back on her word and message Tyler again, and I could go back to watching him from afar, just like I always had.

  I moved the cursor over to the log out op
tion with every plan to not ever log back into Sofia’s account again, at least, that was my intention until I saw a new message flashing up on the screen.

  Tyler: Hi. You there?

  Tyler: It says you’re online.

  Log out and go back to how it was before you got your hopes up. It was a stupid idea. You’re just Emmy.

  Just. Emmy.

  But I didn’t want to be just Emmy.

  Sofia: Yeah. I’m here.

  Tyler: Are you upset I didn’t reply back earlier?

  Sofia: Why would I be?

  Tyler: It wasn’t the best time for me.

  Sofia. Sorry. You looked bored.

  Tyler: No, that’s cool. I did?

  Sofia: A little bit.

  Tyler: Then I probably was. The reason why I didn’t answer was because of my ex. See, you probably don’t know her, but she—

  I typed and sent another message before he had a chance to finish his.

  Sofia: Brooke, right?

  Tyler: You do know her. Figures. Most people do.

  Sofia: I don’t know her. I’ve just heard about her.

  Tyler: Right. Well she messaged me at the same time you did and I knew she was watching me.

  Sofia: So you didn’t want to reply to me in case she saw you replied to somebody else and not her, therefore giving her a reason to fight with you about you not answering her.

  Tyler: Wow. You’re good.

  Tyler: Anyway. I don’t wanna talk about her. I just wanted to explain.

  Sofia: You really didn’t need to.

  But I was glad you did.

  Tyler: Did you come and watch the game today?

  Sofia: I didn’t get a chance to today.

  Tyler: That’s too bad. I looked for you.

  Sofia: That must have been hard considering you have no idea what I look like.

  Tyler: True. Makes it fun though, I guess.

  Sofia: Do you like fun?

  Tyler: Do you?

  Sofia: I asked first.

  Tyler: Yeah. Who doesn’t?

  Sofia: And what do you do for fun?

  Tyler: It’s my turn to ask you something now.