the choice • charlie conway

chapter nine

sadie

The door to our room slams open. I look up from my homework to see Ella storming into the room, a furious look on her face. "I really cannot believe him Sadie."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about El?"

She sits down on my bed next to me and shuts my book, so I know that a rant is coming. I reposition myself so that I am sitting up instead of lying on my stomach, and place my hands in my lap. "Hit me."

"Sadie. After two weeks, two weeks, I was finally able to get it out of Adam what his fight with Larson was about."

"You're telling me you really didn't know?" I ask sarcastically.

"Okay fine. I knew." she answers immediately. "I just wanted to hear him say it."

"And how is that unbelievable?"

"Because it's the fact that he still isn't over it, and took it upon himself to try and beat up the guy. I get it, I screwed Larson. But it was nine months ago. I wasn't even planning on doing it, and neither was he! And Adam knows that! It only happened that one time, and he just doesn't want to accept that it only did happen because of his own mistake. I guess he's mad because he wanted both of our first times to be with each other and Larson stole that from him, but it's not like I actually liked Larson or anything!"

I give her a look, and she immediately corrects herself. "Okay, fine. I did like him a little bit... but not anymore!"

She runs her hands through her hair and starts to play with her bracelets, something she always does when she's stressed. I grab her hands and give them a small squeeze, feeling as she immediately relaxes. "El, you did nothing wrong. Maybe you pushed him a bit too much about it, but he shouldn't have acted the way he did. This will all blow over soon, trust me."

"Thank you Sade." I wrap my arms around her in a hug, and we just sit there enjoying each other's company for a few minutes.

She eventually gets up to let me do my homework, but I want to take a break anyway. I grab my phone and text Charlie, asking if he wants to grab a snack or an early dinner in the dining hall.

With September already coming to an end, homecoming is starting to be the talk of the school. This year's homecoming is on the first Friday of October, which is already next week.

The Saturday after homecoming is Ella's sweet sixteen party. It's being held at the Minnesota Club, and it's the talk of the school along with homecoming. I'm really looking forward to it, especially since I'm in her court.

After waiting over an hour for Charlie to answer, I just decide to grab dinner with Blayke, Kyla, and Ella. Morgan went out with Dean, otherwise I'm sure she would've come with us.

I throw on a sweatshirt and walk with Ella over to the dining hall. When we get inside, we see Kyla and Blayke already at a table with food. We grab our own food and join them, greeting them with warm smiles as we sit down.

"Are you guys excited for homecoming?" Ella asks as she takes a bite of her salad.

Blayke and Kyla's faces light up as they start to nod excitedly. For the next few minutes, we listen to the girls talk about their plans. The most entertaining part is when Kyla tells us about her date problem. The gist is that she has three guys that want to go to homecoming with her, and she has no idea who to go with.

"Hold on." I say, interrupting Kyla when she starts complaining for the fourteenth time about having no idea what to do. "If you want to go with the football player, go with him. Just let the other guys down easily."