Adrian Gonzalez knows the painful truth about liking someone you have no chance with-they never like you back and you're left heartbroken. Ever wonder why it's called a 'crush?'
But when the hopeless crush he has is on Parker Thompson-nonbinary scho...
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Parker's iPod rubbed against my thigh after every step. I had tried to give it back before I left the school premises, but he had already left by the time I finished with my presentation. But in some ways, I thanked the universe for that small hitch. It was nice knowing that I had a part of him with me, even if it was in the pocket of my jeans.
I dug into my other pocket and pulled out the keys to the front door, stopping short when I realized I never unlocked the fence at the front. It was ajar, which meant that someone was around. An odd phenomenon.
The door gave way when I twisted the handle, making me proceed with caution as I poked my head in first, trying to find clues of anyone's presence inside.
I didn't have to search for long; the presence found me first.
"Is this the time you get out of school every day?" my mother asked, pulling off the oven mitts before looking up at me.
I suppose I should have answered her question, but all that bubbled out of my throat was "You're home..." as I stared hard and long, wondering why she was here when she got off work at six.
"Yes. Asked for a half-day as soon as I heard you had a panic attack again." With purposeful strides, she made her way over to me, examining my face for signs of God knows what.
"Oh," I whispered.
"Your teacher called, she said it was terrible." My mother pulled me to her chest, wrapping her hands around me and rocking slowly. Hearing the small crack in her voice, as she pressed her face into my hair, had my breath hitch. "I was so worried, mijo."
"I'm fine. You shouldn't have done that."
"What else could I do?" She let go of me, her sombre expression switching to a sharper one. "I tried calling, but you were unreachable."
I rubbed at the back of my head, eyes moving to Jellybean who daintily sauntered out of the kitchen "My phone died. I'm alright though."
"You know you can tell your father and me anything, right, mijo? You know that?"
Jellybean circled my feet, rubbing her tail against my leg and purring softly. I picked her up. "Yes, Mamá. The place smells nice," I added, taking a whiff of the heavenly scent that wafted into the living room..
"So can you tell me what happened?" she probed.
"Huh? How am I supposed to know when you're the one---"
"I meant school. Why did you get an attack?"
"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I had a presentation."
"Should we get an appointment with Dr Fine---Dr Finn? No, it was Dr Phineas?" She let out a frustrated groan as she tried to remember correctly, finger poised on her lips. "¿Cómo se llama? Ah, I don't know---that therapist you used to go to. We should get an appointment."
