Only eight more ours, Raiden…only eight more hours…
I sat in my last period class on Friday, counting down the minutes on the clock. It had been the longest week of my life. I missed Sam so much it was like having a constant stomachache. It amazed me how head over heels for her I’d fallen in such a short time. I was crazy about her. And all I could think about was seeing her again.
I barely slept that night; I was so anxious. The biggest part of me was just excited to see Sam again but another part of me was deathly afraid of getting caught. Who knew what would happen to me then?
The plan was to meet Michael at our usual spot after he hid Sam away somewhere. Once my parents were gone, we would rendezvous with her and hang out until they came back.
At first, everything seemed to be going fine. I put on my hottest outfit, and we arrived to the mall on time. I had hoped that they would simply drop me off at the door; that would be the ideal scenario. But I should have known better than to think they would do that.
Both of my parents accompanied me inside.
Urrgh.
I hurriedly approached Michael when I saw him and asked him where Sam was.
“Don’t worry, they’re in Hot Topic.”
“They?”
“Sarah came too.”
“Oh. Cool,” I said, a bit distracted. In a moment my parents caught up to me and were saying hello to Michael.
“I’m fine, you guys can go now,” I urged.
“Oh, well, I think we’re just gonna hang around here,” my dad said casually. “We have some shopping to do.”
My stomach did a somersault. Shit! I didn’t have a contingency plan for this! How could I be sure to stay away from them the whole time?
I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I thought. “Alright, let’s go, Michael.”
He stood up and we started walking in the general direction of Hot Topic. We stopped around the corner before we got to the escalators and looked back to see where my parents were headed.
“I think we’re in the clear—looks like they’re headed the opposite direction,” I said, watching them walk towards Belk. I grabbed Michael’s arm and hurried him down the escalator.
When we got into Hot Topic, Sam and Sarah were towards the back of the store. When I saw Sam I was tempted to run and attack-hug her, but I kept control of myself. Her back was to me and I approached her from behind.
“Hey cutie,” I giggled softly. She whipped around, squealing in excitement when she saw me. I threw my arms around her, never wanting to let go. We stood there a few moments, holding each other tight. I sighed happily. When she was in my arms was the only time I felt completely perfect.
“I missed you, baby,” I whispered in her ear. She pulled back to look in my eyes. “I missed you too,” she replied softly, nuzzling her nose against mine. I smiled and pecked her lips gently. After a moment I heard a throat clearing behind me. I turned around to see Sarah standing there expectantly.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, hugging her. “Hey, Raiden,” she laughed.
“Listen guys,” I started seriously. “We have to be careful. My parents decided to stay in the mall. We can’t let them see us.”
“Shit,” I heard Sam mutter. I walked back over to her and took her hand.
“It’ll be fine, sweetie,” I assured her. “Let’s just hang out in here for a little while and then Michael and I can make sure the coast is clear later.”
“Alright.”
We walked around the store for a few minutes, eventually wandering toward the front.
What occurred next was probably the worst thing that could have possibly happened.
Just as Sam and I walked, hand in hand, to the middle of the floor, who should walk by the door and look right at us?
Can you guess?
My parents.
Dun dun dunnn!
But really, in all seriousness, it was one of the worst moments of my life.
They did a double take. My heart dropped into my stomach. But wait. What was this? They kept walking. They didn’t even come in. I thought I saw them look right at us…? Oh gosh, I hoped they hadn’t noticed Sam.
I grabbed Michael. “Here, come with me. We have to go outside and see if my parents are gone.
“Um, okay.”
I told Sam and Sarah to wait at the back of the store and pulled Michael outside stealthily. We began strolling casually, in case they were watching us. And then I saw them out of the corner of my eye.
My mom and dad turned and swiftly descended into Hot Topic, wild with rage. I felt like I was going to puke.
Fuck.
I dragged Michael back to the front of the store. I watched in horror as my mother approached Sam like a furious dragon, thrusting a finger in her face and yelling so loud it was obvious she had forgotten that she was in public.
“How dare you?” she spat with disgust. “I want to rip your face off. Stay the hell away from my daughter or you’ll be sorry.”
Sam burst into tears as my mom stormed away from her. I had never felt such strong outrage as I did in that moment. Having to look at her break down like that, with so much fear and sadness on her beautiful face, my heart felt like it was being ripped in two. Nobody was going to make her look and feel like that. Not on my watch.
I went in after them. When my mom saw me coming she grabbed my arm. “You’re coming with me. Now”
I threw her hand off of me and pierced her with a death glare. I had never been so angry with her in my entire life. I had to summon all of my self-control to keep from punching her in the face.
I pushed past her and hurried over to Sam. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight, attempting to comfort her. I knew I had to leave, though, so I let her go after a moment. But before I did I whispered in her ear softly.
“I’m so sorry.”
She nodded, still to upset to speak. I wiped the tears from her eyes gently and kissed her hand before walking away. My mom tried to grab my arm but I pushed her away. We walked past Michael and she threw him an evil look.
“I’ll deal with you later,” she growled sinisterly.
We found my dad pacing outside the store, seething with anger. His eyes locked on me, ice in his stare.
“You are in one serious world of hurt, Raiden.”
