My High School Life [Rewritten - Ongoing]

22. [Isabella]

Don't go.

Hearing the urgent plea in his tone, I almost wanted to say yes, but I held on strong.

I knew if I stayed any longer, those fake smiles and laughs will eventually turn into something real. If that happened . . . forgiveness might be a possibility. And I couldn't let that happen. Forgiveness was a sign for the weak, and I was no longer that pathetic, loser anymore.

"At least stay for dinner."

"I can't. I need—"

His eyes rounded and became glacier under the sheen of light. "Please. It's not everyday Megan gets to see another guest at the dinner table."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Why did he have to bring his sister into this?

After everything, why was his words affecting me so much? Why was I even feeling guilty about anything? Why wasn't I saying no? And why the hell was his eyes looking at me like that? The sorrow that flowed through them was like nothing I'd ever seen before; dark and endless.

I let out a loud sigh and pushed my hair back. "Fine." God. John was right—I was a pushover.

His lips immediately formed a smile at my answer. "Thank you! I promise, you won't regret it."

I nodded. His words better ring true, otherwise, I'm screwed.

Not moving an inch, he continued to look at me. A glint filled his eyes. I ducked my head down and realized his hand was still wrapped around my wrist. I tugged on it, hoping he'll get the hint. When he didn't, I waved my other hand in front of his face.

"Um, Thomas."

His eyes blinked close. "Yeah?"

"My arm."

His eyes bulged, releasing my hand quickly like it was hot lava. His cheeks tinted pink, while he mumbled something under his breath and said a quick, "sorry", and backed away.

I laughed at his reaction, catching myself when I saw what I was doing. Why was this happening? "It's um . . . fine." I swallowed, and looked away so I wasn't looking directly into his eyes. "Do you mind if I make a quick phone call? Just to let my mom know where I am."

"Go ahead," he said. I could tell he had a huge smile on his face, even though I wasn't looking at him. Just knowing that, caused my face to burn up.

Not wanting him to see me, I turned around and took out my cell phone. Immediately, I saw a bunch of missed calls from my mom, and a text from my brother. The urge to run back home and rush to his college attacked my senses when I realized I couldn't see my brother whenever I wanted anymore. He'd gone back to college earlier this morning knowing full well I would stop him if I wasn't at school. But when I saw that he was doing fine, I sent him a quick reply, wishing him luck on his classes.

Now onto my mom...

Taking one deep breath, I quickly dialed her number and brought the phone up to my ear. Her voice came on the second the call went through.

"Honey?" She breathed heavily. It sounded erratic. "Where are you? I'd been trying to reach you for the past—"

"—Mom, I'm okay." I heard a sigh when I finally said something. "I'm at a friend's house, and I guess we sort of lost track of time . . ."

"Whose house?"

I groaned loudly. "Mom." Sometimes she could be worse than my brother.

"What? I need to know just in case something happens to you."