Chapter 16: Gym shorts and Gatorade.
"And a one...and a two and a..." I pause the video before it can continue.
My mother is making me do yoga with her. She does this every Saturday.
"Mom, why do you make me watch and do this?" I ask my mother, who is dressed in yoga pants and a sports bra.
"Because physical health is everything." My mom tells me.
"So is mental health, mother. And you're ruining mine." I tell her.
She walks over to the sofa I am seated on, and she collects the remote from my hand.
She plays the exercise video and I stand up from the sofa.
"Where are you going?" My mother asks me.
"Out." I tell her before I walk out of the front door.
I sit on the bench outside my front porch as I read the book that I had brought with me. Laying my head on one edge of the bench, I sprawl my legs on the other edge. I read my book in solemn silence before I hear a car horn.
Can't I just have one Saturday to myself?
I sit up and I see Ashton in my driveway.
What is he doing here? We haven't talked in weeks.
I walk down the porch steps, and I walk to where he is standing.
"Ever heard of trespassing?" I ask him, folding my arms.
His black hair is gelled perfectly, as he stares at me licking a lollipop.
"Want one?" He asks me, waving the piece of candy in my face.
"I don't take lollipops from boys who like Courtney." I tell him and he laughs.
"But, you took Zachary's lollipop." He says, faking a frown.
"Okay, shut up. What do you want?" I ask him, rolling my eyes.
"A Midsummer Night's Dream." He says and I stare at him in confusion.
"It's a classic read." He adds.
I realize that he's talking about the book in my hand.
"Obviously. It's Shakespeare." I retort.
"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind..." He says and I cut him off.
"And therefore is winged cupid painted blind." I complete.
"Kinda reminds me of you and Zachary, 'cause you're so ugly and he's so hot." He says and I stare at him in amazement.
Did he just call me ugly?
"Did you just come here to insult me, or is there a valuable reason why you're in my driveway?" I ask him.
"Wanna go to the movies?" He asks with the lollipop in his mouth.
"No, thank you. I'm a little bit preoccupied." I tell him, waving the book in my hand in his face.
"Shakespeare is dead and gone. Go out with me." He whines.
"But his works aren't. Look, is Courtney out of town or something?" I ask him because his eagerness to hang out with me scares me.
"No, I just want us to hang out like old times." He says, putting his hand behind his head.
"Did your parents put you up to this?" I ask him.
"Sorta." He says and I roll my eyes.
"I knew it." I tell him.
"I'm just messing with you. I really want to let off some steam." He persists.
"Fine. Wait here, I need to change." I tell him, heading back to the house.
I walk up the porch steps and I enter the house to see my mother standing by the window.
"What are you doing?" I ask her, folding my arms.
"Are you and Ashton together? All my efforts have finally paid off." My mother squeals, clapping her hands.
"No, we're not together. He's just taking me to the movies." I tell her
"Oh, how divine. What are you going to wear?" My mother asks, pushing me towards the stairs. She drags me with her as we head up the staircase. My mother turns my closet upside down looking for the perfect outfit.
"This." My mother says, holding a yellow ball gown to her chest.
"To the movies?" I ask her, touching my forehead.
"Well, what do you want? Because we've turned your closet inside out." My mother says, giving up.
She sits on a loveseat beside the mirror.
I grab a pair of shorts and a black tank that has a drawing of a cat on the front.
"Perfect." I tell my mother as I walk out of the closet.
I change into the outfit, pairing it with loafers. I rush out of the room, taking my phone with me as I fly down the steps. I close the front door and I see Ashton typing away on his phone.
"Took you long enough." Ashton says and I roll my eyes at him.
"Shut up and open the door." I yell at him.
He unlocks the doors and I get in the car.
The space smells like gym shorts and Gatorade.
He gets into the driver's seat and starts the car. The drive is accompanied by music blaring from the car stereo.
"How are you?" Ashton asks me as I adjust my hair.
"Pretty good." I tell him, shrugging.
"How are things with Zachary?" He asks and I stare at him.
"I don't know. We're just friends." I tell him.
"Is that what we're calling it now?" Ashton says and I chuckle.
"Well, we're not dating, so we're friends." I clarify.
"Friends don't kiss each other, Valarie." Ashton says and I laugh because I had said the same thing to Zachary at Blake's party.
We pull up to the cinema. Ashton parks the car in the parking lot and we get out.
"Watch your step." Ashton says when I almost trip over a soda can.
"I've got it, thanks." I retort.
We walk to the cinema in silence.
Ashton pays for the tickets and we get seated in the movie theater. The pictures start rolling and he puts his arm on my thigh.
I ignore it.
I stare at the huge screen as I watch a blonde woman rock her baby.
Ashton's hand goes up my thigh and I stare at him.
"Okay, that's what we're not going to do." I tell him, turning my face back to the screen.
"But I paid for the movie." He says and I glare at him.
"So?" I ask him, placing the tub of popcorn beside my leg.
"I deserve some action." He says in a 'duh' fashion.
"Oh, okay." I say, smiling.
I dunk the tub of popcorn on his head.
"How's that for some action, huh?" I ask him.
I grab my phone and I walk out of the cinema.
Piece of shit.
I walk to the parking lot then I realize, he's my ride.
Fuck.
I kick a trash can and it comes crashing down to the concrete floor.
"Don't break it." I hear a male voice say behind me. I turn around and it's the person I least expect to see.
"Spencer." I say in shock.
"Hey Val." He says, waving at me.
"How are you?" I ask him. I'm really concerned because after his fight with Zach he hasn't talked to me once.
"Hanging in there." He says, putting his hand in his pocket.
"Great." I reply, rocking on my heels.
"Well, what are you doing here?" He asks me.
"I was on a date kinda thingy." I reply.
"A date kinda thingy." He repeats, amused.
"It's complicated." I tell him.
"I'm sure." He says, smiling.
"Can you give me a ride home?" I ask him.
"I can't. I'm sorry. I'm on a date. I just wanted to say hi." He says, giving me a tight-lipped smile.
Oh.
"Oh, don't mind me. Go have fun." I tell him and he clicks his tongue and points at me.
"Catch ya later." He says before he walks away.
If I'm over Spencer, why am I hurt that he's here with someone else?
"Maybe it's because you didn't picture him loving anyone else besides you?" My subconscious suggests.
Well, I guess I'll have to call Andrè.
But if I call Andrè, my mother will ask me why Ashton didn't give me a ride back home.
I'll just walk.
***
I walk up the porch steps, drenched in sweat. I open the front door.
"How did it go?" My mother asks as I walk into the house.
"It went well. I think I'm really starting to like him."I say, to throw my mother over the edge.
"You guys are going to have beautiful children together." She says in excitement.
"Eww, mother!!!" I squirm.
"You'll see." She tells me before walking off.
I have a delusional mother.
She's insane.
I walk to my room and I open the door to see Zachary sprawled on my bed.
I really have to start locking my room window and tightening my security.
"It's called trespassing, you know." I say, folding my arms.
The rate at which Zachary and Ashton show up at my house unannounced is alarming.
"Not if it's your girlfriend's house." Zachary counters.
He sits upright on my bed, and he gestures for me to come sit on his lap.
I shake my head.
"You're a lost cause." I tell him, shaking my head.
I place my phone on the desk and I take my shoes off.
"Where'd you go?" He asks, bouncing a stress ball off the wall.
"I was at Hannah's." I lie.
He just nods and stays silent.
"Why are you here anyway?" I ask him.
"I came to see my girlfriend." He says, shrugging.
"I am not your girlfriend." I reply as I take my socks off.
"And I saw her." He says.
"Who?" I ask him, curiosity getting the best of me.
"The mother of my unborn child." He says with his head hanging low.
"You said she didn't live her. did you lie to me?" I ask him.
"I didn't." He tells me.
"So, how did you see her? You know after all this time." I ask him.
My heart sinks in my chest, could it be that it's the same girl I met at that store?
"Don't be silly" I tell myself.
"My mother invited her over for dinner and now she'll be living with us." Zachary says and my heart literally stops.
"You're kidding right?" I ask him.
How the hell did this happen?
"It's only for a few months until she has the baby at least. Because right now she's living with her aunt and she feeds herself off food stamps." Zachary explains.
"So? And I thought you said she got rid of it?" I ask.
This boy is a liar.
"It turns out my mother lied to me. She sent her to a group home where they maltreated her and starved her for weeks. Her aunt came to her rescue, but things went south from there." Zachary says, running his fingers through his hair.
"What are we going to do?" I ask him, sitting beside him on my bed. The bed dips from my weight.
"I guess we're just going to let her live with us for a while." He says, holding my hand.
"Okay then." I reply, standing up from the bed.
"Your therapy session is over." I joke.
He laughs and smiles at me.
"I love you, Vee." He says with a smile on his face. "and that isn't changing."
"You look pretty when you lie." I say, looking into his eyes.
"I'm being for real here, believe me." He insists.
"Oh, Zachary, you're incapable of love." I tell him and he grins at me.
"Challenge accepted." He says before climbing out of my window.
Stupid boy.