He held me close. "Good?"
I nodded. "I'm good." This conversation was a heavy one. Why we were having it in the middle of our fake prom, I have no clue. And yet it felt right.
Once he thought I was ready, asked,"What happened with your mom?"
"She would visit sometimes, but only for money. I barely ever saw her but whenever I did my resent for her grew. My dad divorced a few weeks after I was born. And when I was older he sold his company because he wanted to spend as much time with me as possible. They told him that I probably wouldn't live to see my teenage years." I said with a dark chuckle.
A silence fell over us and Tate pulled away slightly so we could see each other's face. "Thank you." He said
I looked at him confused. "For?"
"Surviving." He said with a straight face, but that one word was filled with so much love and respect it almost made my knees melt.
I moved my arms from around his waist and moved them to around his shoulders. I began to look up at him and a small smile graced my lips. "Your welcome, my Tate."
A small cocky smirk graced his face. "My Tate?"
I nodded.
He brought his forehead down and put on mine. "I like it."
"Now o have a few questions for you?" I said with a smile and he playfully rolled his eyes.
"Go for it." He said.
"When you said that your mom taught you how to paint, did you mean Jada?"I asked.
He answered without hesitation. "Yes and No. My mom taught Jada and Jada taught me. So in away both my moms taught me I guess."
"So you do consider Jada you mother?" It was probably a stupid question but I still wanted him to answer.
It took him a little longer to answer this question. He gave me a sheepish nod. "She's more of a mother and father than the great Mancini ever was." I could feel the resentment radiating off him, so decided to change the subject.
"One more question." I said
He nodded.
"What's your tattoo?" I asked I wanted to see it since the day we met and I had a few good opportunities to see them but i was too busy......with other activities.....that I forgot to look.
The Mancini smile was plastered all over his face, and I couldn't help but role my eyes. "Oooh. Is my little owl curious. You wanna peek?" He said whispering in my ear. I slapped his chest lightly. Even though the answer would be HELL YES, I wanna peek.
He chuckled. "Well since you asked so nicely." He said sarcastically. "It a tree and roots. The roots are connected to a heart. And some of the branches names of people I love in them or above them." He said cooly.
I wonder, "How many names are there?" I asked.
"Five but I would like to add one more. If things go right?" He said looking directly at me. I could feel my whole body warm. Jesus he was a good flirt.
The rest of the night was amazing. We drank. We ate. We danced. And we laughed. And by the time it was over we were all exhausted.
"Alright, kiddos. Time for us to head back." Said Tyler. We exchanged our goodbyes, I gave Tim and Becks quick kisses on the cheek, and Becks pulled me into a tight hug. "I love you, chica. Ill see you tomorrow." I nodded. I hugged Mrs. Robinson and she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
Mike just nodded at me and I couldn't help my roll my eyes, and when I finally made it to Tate i grabbed him and held him close and I was reluctant to let go. "Thank you." I squeezed him tighter.
He laughed. "You squeezed me any tight, my little owl, and my eyes will fall out." But he returned the hug in full. He pulled away slightly and kissed my forehead so intensely that I could almost feel it on my lips.
"I meant when I said I want this to work. If not you, then it'll be no one." He said laying his head on my mind.
I looked up at him. "Dido." I huffed out. I grabbed his face and kissed both his cheeks. Then his forehead. And then a quick kiss on the lips. Though it was quick, it still made my body tingle.
"Alright! Alright, lovebirds. Loni, time to go!" Tyler said from the passenger seat. I began to wave goodbye to my friends and My Tate. I was so grateful to have them, even Mike, in my life.
"You made good friends, Nemo. I'm proud of you." Dad said in the driver seat.
I nodded. "Yeah. I did."
After that night the days kind of blurred together, and the months moved faster. Tate, Mike, Tim, Beck and I were graduating before you knew it, and though I wasn't technically able to walk across the stage with them, I still felt apart of it. They all looked so cute and there cap and gown. I took way too many photos but they hated me for it. I graduated too, though it wasn't a traditional graduation it was still fun. I thank god for Milly, eventhough her lessons made me want to jump out of the hospital windows, they helped me graduate. So that's a win. After that me and lovely old Mildred went our separate ways. I'm gonna miss that old lady.
Everybody already had a college in mind, it was local college on the other side of the city. It was close enough no, that if we missed home it was only a 30 minute drive, but far enough to where we had some type of independence. All of them chose that one except Tim, he got a full-ride for football, at some fancy smancy college few states over. He had to leave in the middle of the summer for training, which kind of sucked, but we talked to him almost everyday. Especially, since we know his schedule now.
I was so happy for Tim and he was ecstatic, though he was a little sad cause that meant no more Tyler. He said it was a little crush and he'll be able to get over it, but I don't think it was just a crush. But I didn't push him on the matter. The rest seemed content with there choices. Tim and Tate, are going for business major, and Becks is going for fashion major, preformance art minor. And I was still undecided. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. And I just hoped I was alive long enough to find it.
Me, Tate, Becks and Mike sat in the hospital room watching some stupid show. Rebecca and Mike were in some stupid fight so the tensions were high. Mikes mad at Becks for going on a date with Kyle.
"Can't believe you said yes? After everything him and his brother put us through?" He said under his breath.
She rolled her eyes. "Kyle had nothing to do with that. He is an innocent bystander in all of this and he's a good guy who make me laugh." She said angrily.
I'll be honest, I think she's only going out with Kyle to make Mike jealous. Don't get me wrong, she likes Kyle, but she loves Mike, even though she would never admit it.
I snuggled closer to Tate while the two demons hashed it out. He seemed like he was trying his best to stay awake but he was failing miserably. I laughed under him, which caught his attention. His sleepy eyes landed on me.
"What you laughing at?" He said quietly.
"You can go to sleep, Tate." I said. He shook his head no. Tate and Mike had been coming to the hospital more bruises and beating than usual. I wasn't sure if it was for the fights or the training from his dad, but either one made me uneasy. I tried talking to him about it and asking if he could at least drop one or both. But he refused, and whenever I asked him why he would jus say 'I have my reasons' , after that I just dropped it. And just prayed he never com back to me with broken limbs or worse.
They would always come so tired and worn out, and it always made me feel bad that he would still rush over to see me but he insists.
"I don't get to see you a lot lately, so I want to spend as much time with as possible." He said squeezing me closer. Though he doesn't show it, I can tell he kind of scared. There hasn't been any word of a heart for me, and I can tell he's getting discouraged. I told him it can take years sometimes for some people to get a new heart, but that may have made things worse.
The door suddenly swung open stopping Mike and Becks to stop arguing and all three of them were in fight mode. When I looked at who opened the door it was my dad. Everyone relaxed, except for me. My dad never ran. He was more of a brisk walker. So if he ran it either something really good or really bad.
"Dad?" I said slowly getting out of the bed, pulling myself from Tate.
My dads gaze met mine and tears streamed down his face. And the brightest smile I had ever seen on his face glee up the room. It finally happened.
"Really?" I said in a whisper and he nodded.
"Umm what's going on?" Said Becks.
"Yeah? Everything okay?" Said Tate.
I turned to my friends and my knees seemed to buckle under me. I could feel the tears forming.
Tate and Dad were immediately by my side.
"I'm getting a new heart." I whispered. Tate looked at me with a shocked face.
"What?" Tate said.
"They got her a heart!" Dad said loudly between sobs. The room seemed to roar with tear and sobs. Everyone in the room was crying, except for Mike. I grabbed Tate and Dad and pulled them to me. I knew my dad was crying, I could tell Tate was trying his hardest to hide it. Becks came down to the floor and joined our pile of happy tears. And Mike did the same, though he had yet to shed a tear.
When we finally pulled apart, Becks shot up. "Oh my god, we have to call Tim." She said. She immediately pulled out her phone and began dialing and put it on speaker. It was around two so I doubt he'll pick up.
After two rings and out of breath Tim picked up. "Hey, sis. I'm at practice, so can this wait."
"She got the heart!"Becks screamed into the phone, ignoring what he just said.
"What?" He said shocked.
"She got it!" She screamed again.
A loud 'Woohoo' filled the room, and I could imagine how loud it was on the field. "Am I on speaker?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said.
"Loni! Babygirl! You did it! Im so proud of you. The wait is over. You deserve it baby." He said and his voice cracked a bit. He was trying to hold back tears.
A sudden scream from his side of the phone caught everyone's attentions. "Mancini! Breaks over! Bring your ass!"
"I'll call you later, Tim. Focus on practice." I said
"Love you guys. Tate, Mike! I love you too. And call me more assholes." He said.
"Yeah. Yeah. Bye, little brother." He said and the call ended. Tate still seemed like he was on a state of shock.
I kissed his cheek and his gaze met mine. And he pulled me into another hug.
Finally, my new life begins soon.