It's not that easy.

Chapter 23

"Why thank you!" I said. I turned in his embrace so that I was facing him. "One of the most amazing people I know gave it to me."

"Oh really?" Mark said, playing along. "And how do you feel about this person?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said coyly. He pecked me on the forehead. "Okay, I love him."

"Of course you do," he said.

"Shut up," Kaylen muttered playfully. "You two are making me sick!"

Mark and I laughed and broke apart. "Sorry," we mumbled simultaneously.

The three of us were laughing together when Kaylen's family and Mark's family entered the kitchen. Mrs. Collins went to the stove to stir everything. "Dinner will be ready soon," she said.

When Mark's mom had entered the kitchen, I had pulled back slightly. I wasn't sure what his parents opinions were on girlfriends/boyfriends/dating. But as I inched a little furthur from Mark's side, he grabbed my hand, pulling me back to him. 

He winked and nodded towards the necklace.  I smiled.

*****

 Mark and I spent the afternoon with his parents and cousins, playing board games, watching football games, and just talking. It was especially good to see Kaylen. I missed having my best friend around all the time. I wished she hadn't had to move.

I was tired when I got home. Mark put his truck in park and swiveled to face me. I was having a hard time holding my eyes open, which he found quite amusing. "Tired, babe?" he said.

"You have no idea," I mumbled as I picked up my purse from the floorboard.

"Well, I'm sorry. Did you have fun though?" he asked.

"Yes, it was great," I said. "I love hanging out with your family--especially when I get to hang out with Kaylen."

Mark paused for a moment before responding. "You really miss having her around, don't you?"

"Yeah," I said. "Lots. I mean. She was the only person I ever hung out with. I hate not having her around. It's like the worst thing ever!"

Mark grimaced. "Well, you know what you should do? Ya'll should go to the same college and just be roommates  or something."

"Wow, I like that idea," I said. "Too bad that's a year and a half away."

Mark laughed. "It'll fly by. I promise." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Well, you'd better get inside, beautiful. I know your dad's home tonight. I'd hate for him to come out here and beat me up or something."

"Believe me," I said sarcastically. "He doesn't care."

"If you say so. But hey, I'll text you or call you tomorrow or something. And I'll definitely see you for New Year's with Kaylen, okay?" he said.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to that," I said. "Hopefully time'll pass quickly till then."

Mark sighed. "This sucks. I wish we didn't live so far apart."

"I know."

The tone of our conversation was getting depressing, so I opened my door. Mark leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later, okay, babe?" he said.

"Alright."

*****

Christmas break flew by, and before I knew it, I was home again, unpacking from our trip. Mom and I had spent some time together...like I've said, things had seemed to get better with her since Mark and I started dating. We actually had something to talk about, and surprisingly, she was cool about everything I told her. My dad was distant and detched--spent most of his time on the computer doing stuff for work, but that was to be expected.

Altogether though, it was a nice vacation, even though I did miss Mark terribly. The cabin that my family stayed in was on the mountains and I didn't have much reception for my cell phone, so we didn't talk much.

My parents and I had gotten home late the night before, and they had left early that morning to fly to Boston, for a work New Year's thing. Lora was off for the holidays, so I was home alone for one night before I went to Kaylen's. But, that was nothing new. I had stayed home by myself multiple times in the past few years. We lived in a very upscale, gated community with top-notch security systems everywhere, so I felt perfectly safe.

It was about twelve o'clock when I got a text from Clay. "Clay?" I muttered, picking up my phone. "What the heck?" I opened the text.

"R u home?" it read.

"Yeah why?" I replied, confused. I hadn't talked to him since school got out for Christmas. And even then, he was still acting like some weird, creepy stalker dude, so I had done my best to avoid him.

A few minutes after I sent the text,  my doorbell rang. I went downstairs and opened the front door to find Clay standing before me. He looked nice, but I honestly had no desire to see him--at all. "Um, hey," I said.

"Will you come out for a second?" he said.

I pulled the door closed and stepped out onto the porch."What's up?" I asked, curious.

"Look, Savannah, you gotta stop ignoring me," he said. "I've already told you I like you and you keep pushing me off." He grabbed me by the shoulders and jerked me to him. Before I could react, he was kissing me.

I put my hands on his chest to push him away. I heard a vehicle close by, and I hoped that whoever it was would see that I was struggling. But, I knew it was hopeless. Clay's back was to the street, so I wasn't visible. I fought against Clay, but he was stronger than me. 

I gave him one hard shove and he pulled back. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but before I could, I noticed that the vehicle I had heard was now parked in my driveway. I saw a nice, black Chevy Silverado.

Mark's truck. And he was standing beside it, watching, with pain and hurt written across his face.

I tore away from Clay and ran down my front steps. I stopped right in front of him. "Mark," I said. "Please, I promise. It's not what it looks like." I reached for him, but he backed away. I started to cry. "Mark, listen to me. I wasn't kissing him! He ki--"

"Save it, Savannah," he said harshly. 

"Mark!" I cried. He turned and got into his truck, cranked it up, and backed out, not once looking back.

"Nooo!" I said. My hands covered my mouth as I cried. "No, Mark, no!" But it was useless. He was gone. And this time, I wasn't sure if he'd be back.

I ran back to the house, pushing past Clay. He reached for me to stop me. "NO!" I screamed at him. I slapped him across the face. "Don't you ever come near me again! I hate you and NOTHING will ever change that! It you ever touch me again, I will call the police. I hate you. Get away from me."

I opened the door and slammed it behind me. Tears blinded my vision and I sank to the steps.

Mark was gone. And I didn't know how I could go on without him.