Cheaters Anonymous

chapter 5 | decisions

My mom always told me you fall in love multiple times. Sometimes, it's with the same person at different times, and other times, it's with as many people as you give a part of yourself to.

I always wondered what type of love it was with her and Dad. If at one point it was the type of love that was sweet love letters and sneaky butterfly kisses in bookstores, even if it had turned into late night hushed arguments and badly woven lies.

Even though I looked more like Dad with my dark hair and eyes, my mom and I had always been the ones that were close. She wasn't one of those strict moms- she knew about me going to parties, was okay with me dating, and even let boys sleep over- as long as the door was open. Christian had stayed over several times without me getting the infamous STD's are not your friend talk.

It had been just the two of us for several years now, and our Sunday nights were usually spent with girl-boss romantic comedies and takeout from our favorite Mexican restaurant. I added an enchilada to my plate, noticing my mom smiling at her phone screen.

"New boyfriend?" 

She shook her head, laughing as she moved it out of the way. "Shouldn't I be asking you about your love life? I feel like you're the parent now."

"In that case, no texting during the movie," I joked, tying my hair back into a braid before I looked back at her. "But no seriously. I would be okay with you dating again. You deserve to find love, and you definitely deserve better than Dad."

I let my words settle in the air, and Mom wrinkled her nose at me admonishingly. "He's still your father, D."

But he wasn't. Not to me. To me, he was just the first man to ever break my heart.

"You deserve better," I repeated quietly, and Mom didn't say anything this time.

The doorbell rang and she looked at me, trying to get the mood light again. "Was Jasmine planning on stopping by? I can get some popcorn ready."

"Uh, nope. She had to babysit her brother. But I'll go see who it is." I paused the movie before walking over to open the door.

Boys coming over? I could explain.

What I couldn't explain was why this particular boy was at my door. Sutton Friar leaned against the frame with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. He met my gaze, eyebrows slightly raised.

"May I come in?" He asked, running a hand through his blonde curls.

"Yeah, I don't think so," I said.

He scoffed, as if he had expected my reply to be such. "Come on, Dakota. Don't be childish. Just let me talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you," I replied coldly.

"See," he said, stepping forward and waving the paper in his hand. "I think you have a lot to say to me actually." I recognized the article about him and was suddenly hit by a wave of nerves.

Before I could reply, he had walked past me and into the hall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed, trying to grab his arm. "My mom's home so don't make a scene."

Sutton looked irritated, which was ironic considering he was trespassing my property. "Look. I know you don't like me because of everything that happened at Zach's party. But if you really fucking look at it, nothing even really happened."

I felt my stomach twist. I hadn't expected him to bring up that night. 

"We were cool at one point, Dakota. At least we could've been in the same room without you hating my guts," He laughed drily. "And I know I never said I'm sorry."