Sidelines ✔️

23 • If a man talks shit, I owe him nothing • 23

"It's fine. The relationships complicated anyway." I admitted, shrugging my shoulders slightly. I knew she couldn't understand the complications attached to Billy, but I realised she could grasp an idea of my situation.

"Complicated?"

I twisted my body to face her. She was looking at me with kindness and reassurance for once. Her features were softer, making her seem more approachable to me now now she had been for a little while.

I didn't know if I was making a mistake in trusting her, but for some reason I felt myself wanting to be honest with her. I wanted her to understand my situation so she could somewhat understand what I was having to deal with right now before the boys told her the story from their filtered point of view and completely changed the reality of how much they disrespected me.

"Tommy, Harry and Sebastian don't have the best history with him."

My mom raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"He plays for the opposing team - Longview High."

"I see." She nodded, clearly getting the picture here. "And how do the boys feel about you dating him?"

"They're not exactly pleased." I sighed, thinking back to our confrontation in the parking lot and how they were with me when I came home last night. "I didn't really want them to find out, except they did."

My Mom's eyebrows lifted slightly in understanding as she put together what I was telling her.

"How did they take it? Are you four okay?" She looked at me, the concern evidence in her tone. "I've noticed recently you have been getting on better."

"I don't know." I shrugged.

My mom raised her eyebrows and looked at me suspiciously. "You didn't go out with billy to get under the boys skin did you?"'

I huffed, feeling a tinge of regret for giving her my honesty. Her reaction is exactly why I don't tell her anything.

My jaw dropped. "Like I would do that." My Mom narrowed her eyes at me as if she didn't believe me and I sighed in defeat. "Okay, it didn't help that when I first met Billy, I didn't get on with any of the boys at all, but that's not why I pursued it. I like Billy."

Billy and I weren't together, it was casual and it was nice. So far it was fun and that was all I wanted right now. We were barely dating and this has already happened. It's making me think maybe none of this is worth anything. What's fun when it leaves me feeling alone and clueless?

My Mom nodded with surprising understanding washing over her face. She pursed her lips as if she was hesitating, but a moment later she caved and decided to share with me her opinion anyway.

"Well, from where I'm standing, you shouldn't worry what the boys think on this."

"Huh?" I almost blurted out. "You're not mad?"

"No." My Mom shook my head, making me feel a tinge of relief go through me. "You can't help who you like. And whatever's going on between Billy and the boys is nothing to do with you. Just like you going out with Billy has nothing to do with them."

"Really?" I said, shocked.

"Yes. You can go out with who you want, Charlotte. If I did it, so can you. The boys can't tell you who to date because of some petty rivalry. This isn't the 20 century." My Mom said, rolling her eyes. "But you should talk to the boys."

I knew it, her words were too good to be true. Ugh, she wanted me to talk to them and I wanted an all clear to be done with them.

I rolled my eyes. "They're deranged and they disrespected me so much yesterday. I can't even look at them right now. Mom, I know you want us to get on and be this perfect family and all, but I can't see this working. They said some awful stuff to me."