Serendipity

Chapter 4

“Hello?” I answered nervously. “JESSICA, WHERE ARE YOU?!” my mother's voice blared out of my phone. What was I supposed to say? That I was out in Downtown sitting in a stranger's car, wearing a stranger’s shirt, and thinking about lying to her? She didn't give me time to think. “Your father and I have been worried sick! Are you aware of the number of times I tried calling home? This is very unlike you, Jess,” she said clearly angry. “I'm sorry mom, I really am. It won't happen again,” I answered getting in to my car.

“Where are you and what exactly are you doing?” she questioned. There's really no need to lie I thought. “I'm at Dairy Queen,” I answered. “What in the name of sweet Christmas are you doing at Dairy Queen?” she asked emphasizing the words “Dairy Queen”. “Getting a blizzard...” I trailed off. “Jessica, you know better than to be out and about this late at night. What if you got kidnapped? What if something happened? Your father and I would never know,” she said quietly. I thought I heard her sniffle. “Oh mom, please don't cry,” I said feeling a lump in my throat. I hate when I made my parents feel like this. “I have no other choice,” she said full out crying now. “I'm sorry, mom. I was just bored and Amelia was at her friend's and I was just incredibly lonely,” I admitted to her. “Just please be safe and don't go out without my permission, okay?” She said. “Okay, mom. I promise.” I said feeling slightly relived.

She paused for a second before speaking. “I forbid you to go out while your father and I are away, understood?” What? No! She couldn't do this. “Mom! Please, you can't do that!” I said. “And why not?” she said challenging me. What was I supposed to say now? “I won tickets to see One Direction and it would be terrible if I wasn't able to go!” I reasoned. “You should have thought of that before going out,” she said. “But mom--” She cut me off. “Please don't argue with me, Jess. I'll speak to you tomorrow, now please go home,” and with that, she hung up.

I sighed and threw my phone behind me. I heard it land somewhere on the floor of the car. Why did I always have the worst luck? I honestly couldn't be that bad of a person, could I? I wasn't sure what God was testing me on, but I hoped I would pass and it would all be over soon. Why do good things always have to end? I thought to myself as I drove home.

Once I got home, I checked our house phone. 12 missed calls it read. I sighed and made my way in to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. There was a pile of papers and textbooks on my desk. I still had a ton of work to do before school started again. I walked over to my desk and picked up my math textbook and took a look at all the work I had to do. Feeling extremely unmotivated, I chucked the textbook back on my desk and dived in to my bed. It was now 12AM and I was both physically and emotionally exhausted. As I curled up in bed, I sensed Zayn's scent again and realized I was still wearing his shirt. Immediately, I started crying. There was no way I would be able to see him now that my mom had basically put me under house arrest. I cried and felt sorry for myself until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up to birds chirping. It was 10AM and I was surprised to be up this early. I usually never got out of bed until about 12PM. I brushed my teeth and made my way in to the kitchen and turned the radio on while I decided to make myself a huge breakfast. I hadn't eaten anything last night and I was beginning to feel a little light-headed. As I slid my scrambled eggs off the skillet, the door creaked open. In walked Amelia holding her sleeping bag. “Hey, how'd you get home?” I asked. “I was supposed to pick you up in about an hour,” I said glancing at the clock. “Sarah's mom had to run a few errands so she dropped me off on her way there,” she said kicking off her shoes and jumping on to the couch. I shot her a look and she shrugged. She knew it got on my nerves when she kicked her shoes off like that and didn't bother putting them where they belonged.

“Who's shirt is that?” she asked looking at me. Crap, I thought. “Um...I found it at the back of my closet while I was cleaning up yesterday,” I lied. What is with me and lying all of a sudden? I thought to myself. “It's too big for you,” she commented. “You look like One Direction's body guard, Paul.” she said while taking a bite out of my scrambled eggs. “It's perfect,” I said through gritted teeth and grabbed my plate and stomped in to my bedroom slamming the door. “What's with you?” I heard her call out. I sighed as I sat on my bed. Suddenly, I felt beyond annoyed.

I spent the rest of the day trying to finish all my homework and being productive. Around 5PM my mom called to make sure I was at home and not out sneaking around. I was hurt that she actually had her doubts about me. Up until yesterday, I had never gone out at night, and now suddenly I was an out of control freak. What annoyed me even more was the fact that she allowed my sister to attend yet another sleepover the day after tomorrow. “Sucks for you,” she said cackling in my face.

I decided to check Twitter and regretted it as soon as I saw the words “One Direction” all over my timeline. So many people would be attending their recording session tomorrow and I would be sitting at home crying my eyes out. Something had to be done, I was not going to let a perfectly good chance of meeting One Direction pass me by. The only way I would be able to go would be if I snuck out. But was I really willing to take that chance again?