Terrified of Love

Chapter 10

"No" I say

"It's over. It ended" He says

"That's bullshit" I say

"No, I'm serious. She ended things with me" He says
"Why?" I ask

"Because of you...her family" He says

"If she cared about us at all, she wouldn't have done it in the first place" I say

"I don't know about that, but I don't think it's so simple" He says

"What the hell do you know?" I ask

"Not much, really. But I know she really loves you two" He says

"Us two? There's three of us? There's me, my brother, and my dad" I say

"I know, I meant three" He says

"Why did she do it?" I ask

"I—I don't know. I think you mom has spent...a really long time sort of stuck in a role. I mean, not stuck, uh...but there's more to her then just being a mom, you know? I think sh just needed to be reminded of that, to remind herself" He says

"Wow. That is super deep, dude" I say sarcastically before I dump the drink on the table and throw the glass, shattering it as I walk out

[Newton High School: Silent Dance]

Sharice, Abigail and I are walking through the school. I'm in a maroon, strapless dress, "Something is up with you. What's wrong with you? Did you get into a fight with Jeremy?" Sharice asks

"No. Maybe" I say

We walk up to the table, "Oh, girls! Look how great you all look. So beautiful. Did you see Christopher? Look how sharp he is" Mom says

"I want to leave" Christopher says as we hand them the tickets

"Here you go. You guys, go ahead and go in there. We'll be in soon. Then we can all shake our booties together" Mom says as she hands us headphones

We walk in and it's completely silent but everyone is dancing and having a great time. It's a surreal moment as we walk around, looking at all the decorations, "Wow" I say

"I know" Sharice says

"Aw! My garlands look so pretty. I made every snowflake uniquely different just like real life nature does" Abigail says

"Cam!" Dad says

"Dad!" I say

He walks over, "Look at you! You look fantastic!" He hugs me, "You look so good" He says

"Thank you" I say

We pull apart, "Did you see the igloo? I made this igloo. You like this?" We look at it, "Pretty good, right?" He says

"It's amazing" I say

"I even used the stuffing from Paige's murdered penguin as a snow base" He says

"Oh, my god" I say

"I'm gonna go stand by it and make sure no bozos spill punch on it. Okay, you girls, you look magical. All right, have a great night. Have fun" He tells us before he walks away

"Let's do this" Sharice says

We place the headphones on and the music starts. We look at each other and smile before we start dancing with each other. Then I see Sam walk in as he talks to Paige before she walks off, "Hey, dance with me" I tell him

I start leading him to the dance floor, "I only have two minutes, and I don't like to slow dance" He says
"Shut up" I tell him

"Okay" He says

We make it to the floor and put our hands on our shoulders, "Ew! Why are you wet?" I grab his arms, "You know what? Never mind. I don't care. Just...Hey. I don't have to go to Clayton Prep" I say

"What?" He asks

"I mean, like, Sam, if you need me or whatever, I can turn the scholarship down" I say
"That would be dumb" He says

"Well...like what if something happened like yesterday and I'm not there?" I ask

"I know you think you have to protect me but I have Mom and Dad and lots of other people. You can go" He says

"Well, what if you didn't have Mom and Dad? Like, what if they weren't together?" I ask

"Like if Dad was at work? I guess I'd wait for him to come home. It's definitely been two minutes. I have to go" He says and walks away

I look at my dad and see him happy before I pull out my phone, "Hi. Can you come get me?" I ask

I'm waiting outside the school when Jeremy shows up, "Hey. You okay?" He asks

"My mom had an affair" I say

He sits down next to me, "Here, come here" He says

He pulls me into him, "I knew she was a dick. I just didn't know she was that big of a dick. Sorry I was so weird to you" I say

"No, it's, um...it's okay. I was, uh...an idiot. And when you didn't say that you loved me back, I just—I felt like a tool. But I really don't care whether you say it or not. I love you and...and that's that" He says

I pull back and look at him, "Yeah?" I ask
"Yeah. And I should have been more mature, so, um, how about this? I'll race you tot he top of those steps. And if I win, then you have to love me back" He says

"That sounds fair" I say

"Doesn't it?" He says

"Mm-hmm. Go" I say and take off

He races after me but I make it up first, "Oh" He pants

I grab him by the shirt, pulling him close, "I totally love you" I say before we kiss

Afterwards, he drapes his coat on my shoulders, "So does your mom know that you know?" He asks

"No. I've just been a total jerk to her. I even left a passive aggressive note on her stupid to do board" I tell him

In case you wanted to know what that note was, lets just say it's not as passive aggressive as I may have made it seem...STOP BANGING THE BARTENDER!