Love vs. Lust

(21) Love vs. Lust

“Finally” Conner joked sarcastically. My mom didn’t say anything but waved me over looking really nervous and worried. The expression on her face made me forget about Cole for a second as I made my way over to her. I sat down on the chair next to her and she immediately pulled me into a hug as she started sobbing. I hugged her back as my body tensed up. What on earth happened for her to be acting this way?

“What’s wrong?” I asked when she finally let go of me.

“Oh sweetie, I don’t know how to tell you this. I’m so sorry” She moaned as she started crying again. I looked over at Conner but he just shrugged his shoulders looking just as confused as me.

“You’ve got to tell us what’s going on mom” Conner said looking a bit worried himself.

“I know, it’s just so hard for me to tell you this” my said as she wiped away her tears then continued talking.

“My boss is opening a new company and he wants me to help him set it up” she stated looking at us.

“I don’t understand, that’s good news isn’t it?” I asked confused.

“The company is in New Zealand” she said watching us carefully. Conner gasped and I just stared at her, speechless.

“What exactly does that mean?” Cole asked when we didn’t say anything.

“We are going to have to move there” she answered looking from me to Conner.

“No way! It’s my senior year, I’m not moving anywhere!” Conner yelled jumping to his feet. I saw my mom flinch away looking terrified.

“Calm down” I said looking at Conner. His face was red with anger.

“I’m not moving” he said as he sat back down again.

“It’s a really great opportunity, I’ll get good money and if I do a good job I might be promoted to managing the entire company” My mom said in a pleading voice.

Conner was silent for a while before he spoke again.

“You should go then but I’m not coming with” he said calmly, his mind was obviously made up.

“What do you think sweetie?” my mom asked turning to me.

“I don’t know” I answered honestly. A new start would be great but could I really leave everything behind and start over. I wasn’t sure if I could, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. It would solve a lot of my problems, I wouldn’t have to worry about how I felt about Cole or Gordon for that matter. I could just pack my bags and pretend they never existed, the question is if that is what I really wanted.

“What does that mean?” my mom asked looking hopeful.

“It means exactly that, I don’t know if I want to move or not” I stated clearly.

“Oh come on Gabby! Your school is here, your friends are here. You’ll have nothing if you move there, you will have to start over from scratch!” Conner complained, obviously wanting me to agree with him. I looked over at him, he had a desperate expression on his face, like he was begging me to help him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked over at Cole. He was looking at me with sad eyes so I quickly looked away.

I placed my head in my hands and took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I don’t want to move, I want to stay here” I said knowing that I was doing the right thing. My brother needed me and I really wasn’t sure if I could leave everything behind and start fresh anyway. My mom looked really sad as she looked at us.