Chapter Six
Candice
I couldn’t wait to see Dominic again, especially now that I finally figured out where I knew him from. The whole thing felt so serendipitous to me, even though it was something I had never believed in. Fate was something that only happened in the movies, or that was what I had always thought. I didn’t tell Derek that I was seeing Dominic again. I didn’t think he needed to know. Besides, we were only seeing each other for the school project. It wasn’t like we were going on a date or anything. Derek was going to just have to get used to it. And if he had a problem with it, then he could go and speak to Professor Jackson about it. I laughed at the idea of him doing that. Professor Jackson would give him a mouthful.
I hadn’t been at the school for very long, but I was already slightly besotted with the professor. Not in a romantic way at all, but in a very respectful way. He was someone that I knew I could learn a lot from. I liked the fact that he didn’t stop being himself, despite the looks he got from some of the students. He was unashamedly himself, and there was a lot to be learned from someone like him. I wish that I sometimes had the guts to do something like that. As I walked to the library, I passed a mirror and saw my flaming red hair. I liked the new look, but I knew I had only done it to try and hide myself. Sometimes, though, I wondered if I had only served to put a spotlight on myself. I should’ve gone a mousy brown rather than the bright red I had chosen. My father had gone crazy when I’d come home with that hairstyle.
“Candice! What have you done?” he had gasped when he saw me.
“Don’t you like it?” I said. My mother walked in and gasped too.
“Your hair! It’s red!” she said, stating the obvious.
“I thought it would be good for me to make a change. New school, new hair, and all that. And you’re always telling me to go after what I want in life. Well, I wanted this.”
“I like it,” my mom had decided. She’d told me later on that she wished that she sometimes had the guts to do something bold like that. My father, on the other hand, was not impressed.
“I don’t like it one bit. Where’s my beautiful blonde girl?” he said.
I laughed. “Oh come on, Dad. It’s just hair. I doubt I’ll have this hair color forever. But it’s fun to have it now. I’m young, and it’s very rare that I ever do anything like this.”
“I hope that’s not a sign of what’s to come. I want you to behave when you’re at the school. Remember, it’s not just your own reputation that you have to worry about.”
I sighed at that. “Yes, Dad, I know.” And thanks for reminding me.
He had gotten used to the hair, although I still caught him watching me every now and again. I knew that every time I came home to visit he would be hoping I would arrive with my old hairstyle. And maybe one day I would. For now, I was enjoying the red. It made me feel like a different person. It was amazing what a difference hair could make on someone too.
I got to the library and took a seat. In my eagerness, I was early, so I got out my notes and spread them across the table. Then I sat back and watched the people come and go. I often wondered how long the libraries were going to last. Would my own children be able to sit in a room full of books or would everything be based online? I hoped not. Things were easier now with the internet, but there was nothing quite like holding a book in your hand. And the library had always felt like such a special place. A room filled with stories and books and adventures and truths and lies. It housed everything under the sun. I saw a couple sitting in the corner, almost hidden by everyone else. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. For them, the library was a meeting place, a way to be together away from the crowd. I forced myself to look away and give them privacy.
When Dominic walked in, I didn’t even see him. I was too lost in my own world. When he sat beside me, I jumped and then chuckled when I saw it was him.
“You seem very far away,” he said.
I smiled. “Yeah, I was people watching. Turns out the library is actually kind of a fun place for it.”
“I love people watching.”
“So do I, Nicky. So do I.”
He looked at me, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Nicky?”
“Does that ring a bell?”
“Faintly.”
“I always thought that Nicky was way cooler than Dominic. You agreed, and for a while, you were Nicky to me. I used to like that nobody else called you that. It was my name for you and nobody else’s.”
He sat back and stared at me, and I watched as the pieces of the puzzle slowly began to form in his mind. He smiled, and I knew that he had remembered.
“Candy?”
“You refused to be the only one with a nickname,” I said.
“I used to say that you were as sweet as Candy. Oh my God, is it really you? No wonder you have looked so familiar to me. I knew that you were someone I used to know. Wow, this is crazy.”
I smiled. “Isn’t it?”
“What made you remember?”
“It’s been bugging me since I met you. I ended up asking my mom if she knew anyone named Dominic Aarons and she told me that you were the boy that rescued me when I was eleven. Then it all sort of came tumbling back. It was such a long time ago. I’d forgotten about that part of my life. And, you look, well . . . you look different.”
He grinned. “I should hope so. It would be kind of weird if I was still walking around looking like an eleven-year-old.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. That would be odd. But I still recognized you, so that means some of your eleven-year-old self is still lurking.”
“Yeah, but that means so is yours. I thought you looked familiar too. You’re gorgeous,” he said and then immediately looked embarrassed for saying it. “Sorry, I mean, well, you were cute at eleven, but you’re all grown up now. And your red hair threw me off,” he added in quickly to try and move away from the compliment that he had just given me. I didn’t mind. It was very sweet of him.
“I actually only changed the color to come here. I sort of wanted a fresh start.”
“I like it. Your dad couldn’t have been happy though,” he said.
I groaned. “You remember my father.”
“Of course I remember him. How could I forget? He didn’t exactly like me very much.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know. But I’m still sorry,” I said. I still felt deeply embarrassed by the whole thing. My father had hated how close I was to Dominic back then. The whole thing was ridiculous because we were so young. We were good friends, but there was nothing romantic about it. Although, I did recall once telling my parents that I would marry Dominic one day. I wondered if that was what had set my father off in the first place. My father had very specific ideas of the type of guy he wanted me to be with, and Dominic was not that guy.
“It’s okay; it’s not your fault. And anyway, back then there was very little that we could do about the situation. We were so young. And when my parents decided to move, there was very little that I could do about it. Wow, I had no idea that you were still living here. As you can probably tell, I’m very out the loop when it comes to political things. I’m so focused on football and my studies, that sometimes I don’t really see what’s around me.”
“It’s good to be focused. And it’s always nice to talk to someone that isn’t into politics. It makes for a nice change.”
He smiled. “I’m sure. Oh wow, I still can’t believe that I’m sitting here all these years later talking to you. This is crazy, Candy.”
I groaned. “Is that what you’re going to call me now?”
“Maybe.”
“Well then, Nicky, two can play that game.”
“Still think Nicky is a cooler name than Dominic?” he asked.
“Nah, I think you’re cool enough as it is now. Look at you. You’ve turned into this big football player now! Who would’ve thought that the scrawny boy I knew all those years ago would transform into this guy in front of me? Although, I probably shouldn’t be surprised. You were always into football. Even back then. Remember all the posters on your wall?”
He smiled. “Oh yeah. And I remember you telling me that one day my own posters would be on the walls of younger kids’ rooms. Wow, I can’t believe it. I had forgotten about all of that.”
“When did you move back?” I asked.
“A few years ago. It was weird coming home, but I always wanted to come back for this university. It was the best place for me to play football. If I wanted a shot in the NFL, then I knew this would be the place for me to get it.”
I smiled. “And here you are.”
“How about you? I’m surprised to see you here. I figured your dad would homeschool you.”
“He did. I had all the best tutors in the world. And then, out of the blue, they decided that school would actually be good for me. I cannot tell you how much I didn’t want to come. I had planned on doing all my studies online.”
“Really? You preferred homeschooling?”
“I guess I just didn’t expect to leave home, that’s all,” I said. “And to get thrown into the deep end like this was very daunting. But you know my father: when he wants something, he gets it.”
Dominic chuckled. “Don’t I know it. So, how are you liking it?”
I shrugged. “It’s nice. Not the easiest place to meet people, though.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. Everyone has their own little groups. You have Derek though,” he said.
I felt uncomfortable talking about Derek, especially after the last exchange. “Uh, yeah,” I said. “I guess that helps.”
Thankfully, Dominic seemed to sense that I didn’t want to talk about him because he quickly changed the topic. “Uh-oh. Look at the time. We didn’t even look at our notes.”
I looked up and saw that it was time to head to the next class. I gathered my notes and laughed. “Oops. Sorry, my fault. I had to let you know how we knew each other.”
“I’m glad you did. It would’ve bugged me forever. It was . . . it was a tough time, back then. Leaving you. I didn’t want to leave. I hope you know that.”
I smiled and nodded. “I didn’t want you to leave. You saved my life. I could never forget that,” I said as a memory of him came flooding to the forefront of my mind. I hadn’t thought about that in such a long time. “And I didn’t want you to leave either. We got close so quickly. The two of us were inseparable back then. It’s . . . well, it’s good to have you back.”
“Friends reunited. There’s no way I’m going to let you go this time,” he said and grinned at me.
A warm feeling rushed over me at the thought of having him back in my life again. “Does that mean I finally made a friend at school?” I said and laughed.
“Candy, you and I were meant to be friends.”
I laughed. “I’ll see you around, Nicky. Maybe next time we’ll actually get some work done.”
I walked off feeling good about the exchange. It had been fun thinking about old times, and I was glad that he wanted to stay friends with me. We had so much catching up to do. Years and years to fill each other in on.