Sam
48 weeks before Mesi woke up...
The aroma coming from the kitchen was heavenly. You could practically taste the red pizza sauce on your tongue. There was the faintest tint of parsley accenting the tomato.
For a while, that smell took me away from where I was. Suddenly, instead of walking down the hall, collar ruffled, hand clenching the tie I'd frustratedly given up on tying, I was back to being a little kid when my mom used to make my brothers and me Spaghetti-O's. We used to sit around the table in the kitchen, laughing over milk-mustaches and painting sauce on each others faces. We wailed, cracking up so much we cried and held our cramping stomach muscles.
I smiled at the memory. Being a kid was so nice. Why couldn't I just go back to that?
"Mom, I can't the tie right. Is it all right if I just don't wear it?" I asked, finally stepping foot in the hottest room in the house. Sweat immediately beaded on my brow.
"Sure," she sighed, bending over the pot of sauce. She tended to get a bit distracted and irritated when she was focusing on something. And it took all of her focus to cook. My mom was pretty serious about it when she was younger—even considered culinary school. But then she met my dad, this big-shot lawyer, fell in love, and got pregnant.
I gave her a small hug from behind, to let her know I was there if she needed anything. It was a small gesture, but all I could think to do. Women could be so difficult sometimes!
Someone walked in through the door I'd just used, and I craned my head to see who it was. I blinked when I realized I didn't know the boy--?--man--?--standing in front of me.
"Who're you?" I grunted. A stranger was in my house, I wasn't about to be overly polite.
The guy--?--looked at me awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I'm Graham."
Shit. I was such an idiot. "I'm sorry, man. It totally slipped my mind that you might be...you. It's all a little new to me."
At that, Graham chuckled. "I know the feeling. I have a little brother and he was the same way when I came home with my first boyfriend. You'll get used to it."
"Reall—"
"He's fine, Graham! He's completely supportive of Ryan, isn't he?" My mom gave me a glare over her shoulder.
I cleared my throat, once again feeling uncomfortable. "I never said I wasn't. It's just different."
"Of course it is. It's a change for everyone, and that doesn't mean you think it's a bad thing," Graham came to my rescue. I was starting to like this guy. Yup, I decided on guy.
My mom huffed and continued stirring the sauce.
"Why don't we go hang out in the den?" I offered. "Ryan's probably in there playing video games."
Graham followed me into a small room paneled in dark cherry wood with a big sectional and built-in bookshelves filled with movies and video games. It was the room where all of us—Alex, Ryan and I—spent a lot of time when they were still around. There were daily bets on who could beat who in what game. There were also daily fights over who actually won.
"Hey, I see you met Graham," Ryan said, looking up quickly from some war game.
I grinned. "He's a keeper."
Next to me, Graham blushed and rubbed his neck like he had earlier. I guess that's what he did when he was nervous.
I was about to ask if I could join the game when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" I shouted and ran towards the front door. I knew the only person it could be was Mesi and I wanted to get to her before my family could.
I threw the door open, not even bothering to be subtle about how excited I was to see her.
Mesi looked up at me through thick eyelashes, the edges of her eyes crinkled as a smile played on her lips. She was so beautiful when she smiled.
I pulled her inside and wrapped her in my arms. I hadn't seen her in days and didn't even know I was missing her until I saw her there, looking so...Mesi.
She let out a little shriek, surprised, but soon settled into the hug. I felt her arms reach up to my shoulders and I squeezed tighter. What can I say? I was a hugger.
"Can't...breathe..." she choked out. I instantly let her go, making sure she was okay, but the grin never left my face. I was just so happy to see her. I never knew being in the presence of one simple person could make someone so elated.
Then again, Mesi was anything but simple. She contradicted herself all the time, purposely playing Devil's Advocate against herself. I don't think I'll ever quite understand why she did that, but I did know I loved it.
"Good to see you, too," Mesi laughed, straightening her skirt. It was a dark burgundy skater cut that she'd paired with a clean white three-quarter sleeved top, black tights, and short brown boots. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I wasn't much of a guy to really care what a girl was wearing, but when it came to Mesi, I couldn't help but notice every detail.
"Yeah..."
We stood there in silence for a moment until my mom called us in for dinner.
I grabbed Mesi's hand and she trailed behind me as I walked into the dining room where everyone was already seated. My mom was at one end, facing my dad, and Ryan and Graham were next to each other, leaving two seats for Mesi and me. I was thankful that we would be sitting next to each other because I didn't want to let go of her hand.
"I hope you like pizza, Mesi." My mom passed the bowl towards me and I held it as Mesi took a portion.
"I love it," Mesi smiled.
I wasn't really sure how this was all going to go down. I figured my mom would probably gruel Mesi on school and clubs and all of that, but she seemed to be acting fairly normal. I think that scared me more than anything.
Nobody talked while we took our first bites, savoring my mom's special sauce. There really was nothing like it. Her homemade pizza was practically gourmet.
"So Mesi, Sam tells us you go to Saint Helena's?" My dad was the first to ask. How did I not see that coming?
"Yeah, I applied on a bit of a whim two years ago and ended up getting a scholarship." Mesi said it like it was the most insignificant thing in the world for her to get a scholarship to one of the best high schools in the state.
"That's amazing. It must be hard to keep up your grades with all that pressure, though. And then colleges want to see you playing sports and participating in clubs, too. I couldn't imagine." It was my mom's turn to chime in, and this was a test.
I was going to answer for her, when she piped up,"It's not really that bad. I play field hockey in the fall and I'm the president of Model UN and the vice president of the modern poetry club."
Mesi glanced at me as she took a bite of salad, like she was saying, See? I know what I'm doing.
I let out a breath I'd been holding in. Mesi was amazing and I could trust her to take my parents in stride.
"I heard you play soccer?" Graham asked, looking to me.
I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected Ryan to talk about me to his boyfriend. "Yeah."
"He's been playing varsity since freshman year," my dad boasted.
I rolled my eyes. He loved to show off to anyone that would listen, but when we were alone he had no problem telling me that I should've made captain by now.
After dinner, I helped my mom with the dishes while Mesi was in the bathroom.
"What do you think of her?" I asked, not entirely sure I wanted an honest answer.
She put down the plate she'd been drying and turned to me. I couldn't decipher the look in her eyes.
"I like her."
I almost choked on nothing. "Are you okay?" I held a hand to her forehead, miming checking her temperature. "Because I know no parent of mine would ever approve of a girl I chose on my own."
"I don't know how your dad feels, but I'm fine with you dating. In fact, I think she might have a good effect on you."
I swear I almost jumped for joy, in the literal sense. I was most definitely doing it figuratively.
Mesi stepped out of the bathroom and looked at me. "I should get going, so my parents don't worry." Then she turned to my mom. "Thank you so much for having me. Dinner was impeccable."
My mom actually smiled a little. That was a first. "Have a safe drive home, Mesi."
I walked Mesi out to her car.
"So," she started,"do they completely hate me?" She looked up at me, seemingly as nervous as I'd been when I asked my mom a similar question moments before.
"My mom loves you," I laughed. "I honestly wasn't expecting her to like you so much. I was more prepared for her to tell me we had to break up." I realized how that sounded and added,"Not that I would break up with you because she told me to!"
Mesi bit her lip, trying to hold back a grin. "I'd have to kick your butt if you did."
She gave me a peck on the cheek, slid into the driver's seat, and drove away.
My face was tingling from the feel of her lips until I finally drifted off to sleep that night.
Did I mention that girl was amazing?
A/N:
I'm sorry this took so long to get out! For some reason I really struggled with it. Because of that, I decided to post this one unedited. So here's where I say sorry for all of the atrocious grammar and spelling errors. I'll get around to editing it soon, but I thought I owed the five loyal readers (whom I forced to read this) a new chapter. Thank you guys for being so AMAZING (haha, punny) about this book. I know a lot of people would shy away from the weird girl who spent time writing instead of, well, I don't know what normal people do.... And thanks to the AMAZING (it's still punny) people who found this book without even knowing me! You're the real MVP's for reading my writing without an obligation to. Sorry for the long message! I'll let you get on with your day/night/morning/afternoon/whatever now.
UPDATE: I screwed up the name of Mesi's school, but it's fixed now!! Sorry :P