The Summer Everything Turned Ugly

Chapter 6

Late updates, I know. :/ Sorry. :(

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We ate at IHOP for dinner.

Mom was being unfair again and said we could eat tomorrow, but she said earlier we'd have IHOP for lunch.

And what did we have for lunch?

Subway.

So I whined for the whole car trip until she finally said yes.

So here I am, eating a glorious stack of pancakes.

After dinner, I took the night shift, driving while Mom slept soundly at the back.

My phone rings and I pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, babe."

Eli.

"Hey, Elias. What's up?" I say, with a sad smile on my face.

"Not much," he says, exhaling sharply. "I miss you."

"Thanks, same here," I say.

I knew this was kind of dangerous since I was driving, so I put my phone on loudspeaker.

"When are you coming back?" he asks me quietly.

"I don't know," I say simply. "Maybe until the end of summer."

"The end of summer?" Eli asks again.

"I guess. It'll be fun," I chuckle softly. I didn't want to wake Mom up.

"Without me?" he exclaims, which earns a laugh from me.

"It'll be a challenge," I say, correcting myself.

"I should've been there, though," he mutters.

"Sorry," I reply.

A few minutes pass until he speaks up.

"Summer, about our fight..."

"I don't want to talk about it," I say quickly.

"No, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," he says sheepishly. "It was entirely my fault."

"Stop, I don't want to talk about it," I say harshly.

"Please, just hear me out, Sum," he says in a pleading voice.

What couldn't he understand?

I don't want to talk about what happened.

It's that simple.

"If I liked you, I should've had told you instead of making you wait."

There.

He just crossed the line.

He knew all along about what he did, and he didn't even try to do anything about it.

That's just bullshit.

"I need to go," I whisper.

"Wait, Summer, I-"

I cut him off by pressing the end call button but after a few seconds, he calls me again.

Ang again and again and again.

He knew he was hurting me, and he didn't even try to stop himself. All he cared about was his own happiness.

I park Mom's car in the driveway, thanking God for our safe arrival.

I carry our suitcases and place them gently on the pavement, careful not to wake Mom.