I Was Dared to Dance With the Quiet Girl—Then She Whispered Something Unforgettable

Chapter 13

The next day, Emily took me to the school auditorium.

It was empty.

The stage lights were off.

She walked to the center.

“Why are we here?”

“Because this is where my father once spoke to your father.”

She pointed toward the curtains.

Behind them was an old wooden panel.

There was a small keyhole.

My father had given me one final key.

I inserted it.

The panel opened.

Inside was a letter.

Emily looked at me.

“Your father left this for you.”

I opened it.

Ethan,

There is one thing I never told you.

The night I disappeared, I had planned to come home.

I had planned to sit at the kitchen table and tell you everything.

But I received a warning.

If I returned, they would kill you.

So I chose to disappear.

I knew you would hate me.

I hoped hatred would be easier for you to survive than grief.

I stopped reading.

My eyes burned.

At the bottom was one final sentence.

You were never the reason I left.

You were the reason I survived.

I folded the letter.

Emily stood beside me.

“I knew you needed to hear it.”

I looked at her.

“Why did you help me?”

She smiled.

“Because my father trusted yours.”

“That’s not the whole reason.”

She looked down.

Then she whispered:

“Because I liked you long before you noticed me.”

I laughed.

“You could’ve told me.”

“I tried.”

“When?”

“Every day.”

“How?”

She smiled.

“I sat beside you at lunch for two years.”

I stared at her.

“You did?”

“You were always looking at your phone.”

We both laughed.

Then she became serious.

“That night at the dance, I wasn’t sure I should tell you.”

“Why did you?”

“Because you looked lonely.”

I stepped closer.

“I was.”

“I know.”

Then she kissed me.

It was quiet.

Simple.

Nothing like the dramatic scenes people imagined.

But I remembered it forever.