Enchanted By: Mariah Soleta

Chapter 3-Alex

The whole day went by in a blur. I must've had some sort of look on my face because Anna and Jacob kept asking me what was wrong. I got it together and told them it was nothing. I got both of their cell numbers and was on my way home when I thought of Lizzie. Wow, I'm actually kind of surprised. Anna, a girl I just met today, took my mind off the whole LIzzie thing, which before meeting her, I was fretting about all morning. I have a feeling I'll have to rely on her more in the future. Whatever, I don't have to worry about that now. I pull into my driveway and stay in my truck, deciding to text Lizzie. Should I tell her about Ian? Should I rely on her after she bailed on me? Well, she couldn't have known she would be sick could she? I decide to not tell her anything because she bailed and if she wants to know anything she can come to school. I know that sounds harsh but she needs to learn to not bail on me, especially when she knows I'll need her the most. I get out of my truck and slam the door before stomping upstairs to my room. I saw my mother look at me with a surprised expression but I really didn't care. I didn't want to tell her anything because she'd make a big deal about the whole "Ian thing" and she'd probably call the cops. I don't need anymore reasons for him to hate me so that's why I'm not going to tell her a thing.

After I stomped my way up the stairs like a six year old, I walked to my room and slammed the door. I need someone to talk to, but who? Not Anna. Firstly, because I just met her and secondly, because I don't trust her just quite yet. Who else? Jacob? He seems like a nice enough and understanding boy, but I don't trust him quite yet either. If only Adam was here. I could talk to him and he's understand everything that's been going on. Yeah, keep dreaming Alex. He's never coming back, I have to grasp that idea but I just can't. It's like trying to grasp a fish, it's too slippery to hold on to. That's what I think about that. The idea that he's never coming back is just too slippery to hold on to completely. While thinking this, I lay back on my pillow and close my eyes. I can see images of me and Adam behind my closed lenses. The time we went to the park with our moms and he was pushing me on the swing. He accidentally pushed me too hard and I ended up on the sand crying my eyes out with a bloody nose. He started to apologize and I told him it was alright. Then there was another time when I came home from school crying my eyes out because Ian had called me an ugly freak and he said I deserved to be kicked out on the street. He saw I was crying from his bedroom window and he ran over and comforted me until he had to leave. Those are the types of memories I like to hold on to. I know I'll never forget them because they're etched into my brain like Adam himself is.

I drift into a peaceful sleep and am awoken by the smell of freshly baked cookies. I now know that my mother knows something is wrong because the only time she bakes cookies is when me or my sister have bad days at school. She tries to bribe us with sweets but this time it won't work. I quietly go down the stairs and peek around the corner into the kitchen. My mother is sitting at the table talking to Ashley, who has red poofy eyes with mascara running down her cheeks, making her look like a racoon. Apparently I wasn't the ony one who had a rough day at school. I walked to the table and took a seat across from my sister.

I took extra care because my sister was like a wild animal when she's upset. She will literally destroy anything in her path if you make her mad. So I ask very softly and carefully, " Ashley, what happened?" She takes one look at me and starts sobbing her eyes out again. I look at my mother and she mouths the word, " boyfriend". I immedietley understand what happened. Danny Plaetz, her boyfriend of not even a year has broken up with her. She shouldn't be making this big of a deal about that creep, but she said she had loved him the first moment she had laid her eyes on him. That's pretty cheesy and romantic for my sister, but she insisted on staying with him forever. I didn't care who she dated as long as she was happy. Now though, I feel like I could kill Danny. He broke her heart and he probably doesn't even care.