Going Nowhere [Watty 2014 Winner] Coming soon to Galatea

Chapter Five - Torment Me

"I just need to get out, thanks for the sleepover idea" I replied as I opened the car door.

"What happened hon?" Mom asked as she chucked my bag in the back seat of the car.

"I don't know" I replied honestly. "One minute I was living a simple life, and then the next I don't know if I am feeling up or down."

Mom started the car and began to pull out of the driveway. She was half way down the road before she spoke again.

"What changed?"

"I met someone" I replied

Mom sucked in a breath, I knew she was withholding the urge to shout with happiness. She'd blamed herself after the sex tape fiasco. It was misguided, but she'd thought that had I not been in the public eye because of her fame, then Ryan would have left me alone.

"Don't get too excited. I'm confused."

"Why?

"Because I don't want to get hurt, and I'm about 99% sure that if I pursue this man, I will." I whispered "But at the same time I don't care. I don't like how I feel when he's not around"

"It sounds a little like love" Mom replied softly. My eyes shot over to her and my mouth fell open.

Love? Who the hell was talking about love. I sure wasn't, I was just feeling some kind of connection, lust driven, with emotional layers. That wasn't love was it? It couldn't be;

Until 48 hours ago, I had nothing but bad memories of him. But now...

"No one falls in love that quickly" I replied without thinking. "I mean I've only known the guy a few days" I lied. I didn't need mom to connect the dots. Not when so much was up in the air.

"I did" Mom said softly "and so did your father"

Of course, I knew for them it was love at first sight. They'd met in an elevator on mom's first day of work and had never looked back. They were the exception though. They always had been. The things that seemed to break other families apart never seemed to phase them.

"That's different. You and Dad, you're made for each other. Me and him." I sighed, as I brushed my hand across my neck, where his lips had been earlier. "We're just not the same"

"Sometimes, it's being different that makes you perfect for one another" She said softly.

Xavier and I were so different that it was jarring. He was everything I feared. He had the spotlight, he had women throwing themselves at him and he had my heart, or at least some part of it.

He was going to hurt me, and I was powerless to stop it.

"I don't know if I can handle being hurt"

"Being hurt is just a risk we have to learn to take when it comes to love."

"It seems like a mighty big risk to take, Why does anyone willingly subject themselves to such heartache"

"Because when you find the one who is your everything, the risk pays off. All the hurt and torment you once felt melts away. All the trying suddenly doesn't mean anything. You're where you are supposed to be. The journey is only part of the story Scarlett, When you finally get to your destination, You know the heartache was worth it."

I couldn't say anything in reply, her words seemed so honest and beautiful, and anything I would have said would seem pathetic in comparison. I just had to hope she was right.

"Do I get to meet this mystery man?" She said as we pulled into the driveway.

You already have.