𝓣𝓻𝓾𝓮 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓼 𝓞𝓯 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 {Eddie Munson}

102) 𝓪 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮

{A few days later, Oct 9th}

-Ariella POV-
I was cleaning the model of a yellow '69 Camaro that I kept in my room. The one that Dad and I did together when I was about 8. I miss him, but he's never left. He's just not the same. He used to be so cool.

I lightly ran a tissue over the clear plastic windshield, wiping the dust off. I was going to use a wipe, but Dad told me that it can take the decals off. He used to make them with Steve, but I wanted to be a part of it, too; so he started making them with me.

" Ariella, it's time for dinner!" Mom called from downstairs, I sighed and set down the car on my bed, throwing away the tissue as I walked through my door.

I saw down at the table beside Steve, playfully smacking the back of his head as I did so. " Ariel, stop playing at the table." My mother scolded me as she sat down.

" So, Mom, I was thinking about my job-" Steve started, tapping his fork against his plate.

" Can I get a new one? All of my friends have made fun of me by this point..." My brother continues, " And I think that-"

" Stevie, you have friends?" I joke, and playfully rolls his eyes at me. " Ariella, I told you to stop playing. You wanna know what I found the other day?"

I looked from my plate of steamed vegetables, with my eyebrows sewn together. She slid a photograph across the table, I took into my hands, attempting to not choke on my food.

There stood Nathan and I, his hands on my waist and mine around his shoulders.

" Why do you even keep these?" I ask, trying to stay confident as I tear the photo, " Ariella! That was a nice photo!"

" Yeah, but why keep it? He's not even in my life anymore.." I mumble, " Well he should be, he was a good influence on you. You did so much better when he was around. Just look at this one,"

My mother tried to slide another photo to me and I pushed it away, " I don't want to. I don't like him anymore. I like someone else." I said without thinking, referring to Eddie.

" Who? Is he better?" My mom asked, " I don't want to talk about it."

" Honey, you need someone like Chrissy's boyfriend, Maybe you could get back in touch with Nathan?"

" I said I don't want to talk about it, and I don't want to talk about Nathan." I told her, taking the other photo from the table and ripping it up.

" You know, you are so miserable, you don't even try anymore, Ariel. What have I done to get a daughter as miserable as you?" My mom began to shout at me.

" I'm not miserable! I'm just so tired of having to be so perfect all the time for guys like Nathan, I'm glad Chrissy is dating Jason, but I don't want to date a guy like him again." I state, taking a drink of water from my glass.

"Well then Ariel, who are you supposed to be in relationship with? You need a man like you had, to get you back on track. At your volleyball game, your serve didn't make it over the net and you guys lost a point, but when you were with Nathan, you were fine!" My mom snapped at me.

"But I don't like him anymore! And I'm not finding another boyfriend until I'm ready!" I shout, "Ariella! There is not such thing as 'ready' or 'not ready' you need another influence on you! You know why? Because you are becoming a failure! And we do not need this for our family image! So you better straighten up and find yourself a boyfriend. Now eat your dinner."

" How the hell am I becoming a failure?" I shout, causing Steve's eyes to look up at me, and my dad to snap out of his trance like state he had while staring at the table.

" I do everything you want from me, Mom." I say, trying to hold back my tears, hurt from my mother's words, and even more hurt that the rest of my family hasn't done a damn thing about it.

" Ariella, we ask very little of you and you can't even do that! All we ask is that you give a polite image, and you follow the instructions given to you! But you can't even do that!" My mother yelled at she stood up.

"Shouldn't you know the truth already? You're becoming a failure! My only daughter is a failure." My mom said, I couldn't hold back my tears any longer as I felt them run down my already hot cheeks.

I quickly stood and ran upstairs to my room. " And there's another reason! You don't even put in any effort to fix your problems!" She shouted after me as I closed my bedroom door, locking it behind me. I felt those pathetic tears run down my face and neck, dropping into my lap as I sat on my bed.

I slowly picked up the model Camaro again. Running my fingers over the black stripes on the sides of the door and over the hood.

I jumped when there was a tap on my window. I looked over to see a silhouette of someone behind it. As I moved towards the window, the silhouette was revealed to be a very familiar, beautiful face with wavy hair framing it.

I quickly wiped my eyes and opened the window and he began to step inside. " Eddie! What are you doing here? You can't be here, my parents are home!" I exclaimed,

" I parked down the street they'll never know." He replied with a laugh, but his tone suddenly changed, "Have you been crying?" He asked, reaching to cup my face but I instinctively pushed his hand away.

" No. Why would I cry?" I snap, sitting back down on my bed. "What's upsetting you?" He asked, stepping in front of me and slowly moving hair from my face.

"Nothing. I'm not even upset. Why did you come here, anyway?" I asked him, then our eyes locked and I found myself not being able to look away from the beautiful colors. A mix of dark browns and mahogany.

" I came because I wanted to see you. I've missed you, love." He said sweetly to me, " Eddie you see me everyday, we go to the same school." I said, trying to be polite to him, but my voice came off as bitter.

"I know I see you everyday, but it's not the same, we- we haven't really hung out. It feels like you've been avoiding me." He says, sitting beside me on the bed.

" I haven't. I promise, I've just had a lot on my mind lately..." I explained, turning my body to face him.

" You wanna talk about it?" He asked, gently grabbing my hand and rubbing circles into my knuckles. I found myself tearing up as I thought of my mother's words.

" No."I told him, as I held back a sob, his other hand began to rub my lower back, " Yeah." I chocked out, trying to wipe my tears as they fell,Ed's hands quickly grabbed my wrists, gently moving them from my face, he then laid down and took me with him.

He soothingly shushed me, his hands running through my hair, fingertips brushing my scalp. "Now take it slow, tell me what happened."

" I got in an argument with my- my mom, and she told me that I- I was a fucking failure! She- said I was a failure because I didn't have a boyfriend, and I can't keep on track. She said that I could do so much better with- If I got back together with Nathan, and she-she basically just said that I need a man in my life because I'm not good enough. And she just rubbed it in-into my face that I didn't have a boyfriend. Like I already don't know that-"

I said as I cried into Eddie's T-shirt, my mascara therefore staining it.

"Sweetheart, you are good enough, more than good enough. You know that right?" Eddie asked, continuing to soothe me with just his voice.

" And you always will be. You don't need anyone, because you don't have some douchebag in your life, doesn't make you a failure. It makes you better, it means you don't need anyone to rely on. That's what I admire about you, you're independent, and you're just fine, if not better without being in a relationship." He whispers, kissing my forehead gently.

" Eddie, I love you. You're always so kind to me." I told him, feeling a smile on my face, my mood instantly better after he came.

" That's a part of love for someone else, kindness."