Kitten (Brian&Leah,1)

18. We'll Be There

"Would you rather be in my bedroom with no clothes?"

"Brian, are you in there?"

"Wait a minute, Mom!" O'Brien yells.

Turning around, he focuses his gaze on me. "You can't do the walk of shame, Kitten. Not until you've seen the boy. So, let's go downstairs like two adults and have Sunday breakfast with my family. Okay?"

"It's uncomfortable," I mumble. "They'll think—"

Brian rolls his eyes as he gets out of the bed and grabs a pair of sweatpants and a tee from the closet. "People in this house aren't judgmental, Kitten. Even if we'd had sex, they wouldn't say anything. We were alone, and I'm an adult. I don't need to explain what I do as long as I deal with the consequences. Come on."

Brian gets dressed, grabs my hand, and opens the door to his room. It's even weirder now because we walk into his kitchen holding hands.

"Leah! What a surprise!" Aria beams at me and walks over to hug me.

O'Brien's dad smiles at Brian and nods toward the table. "Sit; we're gonna have breakfast."

Aria kisses Brian's cheek and pulls out a chair for me. I thank her and plop down on it, feeling more at ease when I don't see a trace of judgment on their faces.

"So, it finally happened," Aria says, pouring coffee into my mug. "Brian has a girlfriend."

Brian laughs. "Nah, Kitten spent the night here cause we were watching movies and talking."

"That's what couples do." Aria smiles. "Well, other things too, but I'm not gonna ask you."

"Thank fuck for that," Brian says, handing me a big muffin. His dad laughs and winks at me.

We chat about the weather, and I mention the lake where Brian took me. It turns out it's also his parents' favorite. Aria tells me about the beautiful places out of town and the city where she and Brian used to live. I'm intrigued by it, but asking seems tactless. We hardly know each other.

When I look at the clock, it's almost eleven. I excuse myself and go to the bedroom to get changed. A glance at the bed makes me remember everything that happened last night.

I miss the moment Brian walks into the room. He picks something from the nightstand, and I recognize my bucket list.

"Wait," he says and takes his phone to take a picture of the piece of paper in his hands. Then, he gives the list to me. "For you to start crossing shit out."

I smile. "Thanks, and thank you for breakfast. Your parents are really nice."

Brian chuckles. "Yeah, I'm lucky. Come on; I'll walk you out."

I say goodbye to Brian and his parents and head home. The nerves make my stomach tighten the closer I get to my house.

My relief is enormous when I see Mom's in the shower — I won't have to lie about where I've been. I dash to my room and get changed. Somehow, I can still smell Brian's cologne on me. I sit on my bed, and the water in the bathroom stops running.

Mom appears in the doorway some minutes later. "You're home." She raises her brows. "Gavin didn't want to come in?"

"He has somewhere to be. He told me to say hello."

Mom nods as she sits on the edge of my bed. "I've got news."

Good news isn't something I'm used to; that's why I don't know what to brace myself for.

"I got a job at a factory in the neighboring town. I'll be working the night shift, but the pay's good. We'll finally have food in the fridge."

"Mom, that's amazing!" I squeal.

Mom's eyes soften. "I'm starting tomorrow."

I nod, and just because she seems to be in a great mood now, I say, "I want to break up with Gavin."

Even though I already did, telling her the truth isn't an option.

"What? You're joking, right?"

"We have zero things in common, Mom. I don't want to waste my time on someone I don't like."

"Don't be stupid," Mom says. "It's your chance, Leah, and I won't let you make a mistake. That poor boy surely did nothing wrong."

"You don't even know what he did!" I clench my fists. "I'm sorry, but I made up my mind. I'd rather study hard and get a grant than depend on Gavin and his parents."

"That's out of the question," Mom says with a steely undertone to her voice.

Unwilling to ruin my Sunday, I say nothing else. Mom leaves me alone, but I know she'll try to talk to me later.

***

The following day is Monday, which means I'll have to face Gavin.

I'm right — he sees me approach the school building and runs toward me.

"Leah, we need to talk," he says, panting.

"No, we don't. I said everything I wanted to you."

Gavin blocks my way. "I'm sorry, okay? I said that because I felt you didn't want to spend time with me anymore, but didn't mean any of it."

"I don't believe you. Let me go, or we'll be late."

"You can't just break up with me. My parents—"

"Your parents don't have a say in it."

I push past Gavin and walk into the school, but he follows me to the classroom, surely ready to guilt trip me and try to get a reaction from me. I won't go back to him. His pathetic apologies are pointless.

"Leah!" he snaps when I ignore him and head toward Annie, who looks at me with a wide grin on her face.

"Is this seat taken?" I ask.

She smiles. "No. Make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you. I wanted to get away from Gavin."

Annie claps her hands, and I laugh at her reaction.

I laugh a lot all day — Annie and I chat about movies and music. I learn that Brian's brother Jimmy's a superstar and feel stupid for being so ignorant.

Even the walk home isn't as tedious as usual. However, my mood takes a nosedive when I see Mom talking to Gavin's mother on the porch.

"Good afternoon, Leah," the woman says. "I was just inviting your mom to the birthday dinner we're organizing for you this Friday. This morning, Gavin told me you were excited about it."

I open my mouth, but no words come out. After the way I stormed out of Gavin's mansion, our breakup can't be a secret. Why his mother is pretending it didn't happen is beyond me. Did Gavin send her here?

"We'll be there on Friday," my mom says.

"What?" I whisper. "No."

Mom grabs my arm, and her fingertips dig into my skin. "We'll be there."