AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So that girl who was here,” Paris huffs. “She’s the one you were fucking?”
“You and I are over. You don’t get to know who I’m with or what I do. Now get out.”
“You know it’s over with her, right? Your parents would never allow it. You with some trashy girl that works at a diner?” Paris laughs a little. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they locked you in your room until graduation.”
“Great. Looking forward to it,” I say, sarcastically. “Now get the hell out of here before I throw you out.”
“I’m not leaving.” She smirks. “Your parents invited me for dinner. It’d be rude not to stay.” She reaches up and kisses my cheek. “See you downstairs.”
She walks off. I shut the door and try to figure out what to do. I don’t have a phone or a car. How am I supposed to figure out what’s wrong with Nova when I can’t call her or go find her?
Why was she here? She said she needed to talk to me, but why? What happened? Is this about Ted? Did he kick her out? Or maybe he hurt her. Maybe he got really drunk and hit her. I could see him doing that. If he did, I’ll go over there and hit him right back. I’ll punch him so hard he’ll be passed out of the floor.
If Ted hurt her or kicked her out, she wouldn’t go back to the apartment, so where would she go? Would she stay with that asshole, Mateo? He’d only agree to that if she had sex with him. Shit, she better not do that. She’s done with that guy. She’s with me now. But maybe she thinks she’s not after seeing Paris here.
I have to go find her. I have to explain what happened today. That it’s not what she’s thinking. I have to explain why I didn’t tell my family about her. She thinks it’s because I’m ashamed of her. When she said that, it broke my heart. I’ve been doing everything possible to convince her she’s worthy of love and having people in her life who care about her, and now she thinks that was all a lie. That I’m ashamed of her and didn’t want anyone knowing about her.
“Easton!” Jenna bangs on my door.
“What?”
She opens the door, smiling. “Mom wants you downstairs. We’re eating soon.”
“Tell her I’m not hungry.”
“There’s no way they’re letting you out of dinner. It’s Thanksgiving. Dad will drag you down there if he has to.”
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll be down there in a minute.”
Maybe if I sit through dinner I’ll get my parents to agree to let me leave. It’s not likely, but it’s possible if I play along with their stupid holiday traditions.
“So am I supposed to call you Sean now?” Jenna says, laughing. “I can’t see you as a Sean. That name doesn’t fit you.”
It’s because that’s not who I am anymore. I wasn’t allowed to be. My parents changed my name, then changed who I was, making me more like them. But I don’t want to be that guy. I want to go back to the person I was, the real me.
I ignore Jenna’s question and walk past her into the hall. She follows me downstairs to the dining room.
“Nobody’s here,” I say.
“I didn’t say we were eating right now. Mom just said we were eating soon and that you needed to be down here.” She walks off.
I go to the kitchen and see my mom making mashed potatoes. The turkey is out of the oven and sitting on the counter with foil over the top.
“When are we eating?” I ask.
“In a few minutes.” She glances behind her. “Could you hand me that bowl?”
I give it to her. “So are you with dad on this thing with Nova? You won’t let me go see her?”
She sighs as she mixes the butter into the potatoes. “Honey, I know you have feelings for her, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. You seeing her again.”
“Why isn’t it a good idea?”
“Because she brings up so many memories from your past at a time when you should be focused on the future, on going to college and meeting new friends.” She spoons the potatoes into the bowl.
“Mom, those memories never went away. I just tried not to think about them, but doing that didn’t help me. It just made me feel like there was something wrong with me.”
She turns to me. “What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with you.”
