Dorothea

The Last Summer

It was august, summer was coming to an end and the last year of high school was about to start. That was Dorothea's last summer in Tupulo, the following year she would have moved to Los Angeles, she had made her decision, she hadn't told anyone yet, nor to her boyfriend Dylan, nor to her best friend Betty, she didn't know how to tell them, she thought that would have broken their heart and made them think she didn't care about them. That wasn't true, she cared, she cared so much about both of them, she just couldn't bear the thought of staying in that place any longer, she needed to go away, to change her life, to meet new people, to find her path, the place where she really belonged to, because it certainly wasn't Tupulo.

She often found herself wonderig about her life in Los Angeles, she wanted to become an actress, to act in a movie, a real one, appearing in tv spot and as background actress in some tv show wasn't enough for her, and she didn't want to keep taking part in fashion shows either, she did that just to make her mother happy. "Just one year left" she kept repeating to herself, like a mantra, just one year.

"Dorothea!" her mother called her from the ground floor.

"Yeah, I'm coming" she said running down the stairs.

"Don't make any plans for Saturday night, your father has an important dinner and we need to be there, and how many times do I have to tell you not to run down the stairs" her mom said, she was all dressed up, and in a rush, she probably had to go to work.

"An important dinner?" dorothea asked confused.

"Yes, it's important for your father's dinner, you need a dress, tomorrow we're going shopping" her mother said.

"I don't need a new dress, I already have plenty" usually she never denied buying new clothes, she just wasn't excited about spending an entire afternoon with her mother, plus she had plans with Dylan.

"Let's not argue, we are going shopping, now I have to go, see tou at dinner" her mom said picking up her bag and leaving the house.

"I'll dine at Betty's" Dorothea screamed so that her mother could hear-

"Well next time you should let me know earlier" her mom complained, before closing the door.

Dorothea rolled her eyes and went to her room to get ready, she had to meet Betty and she was already running late, as always.

She changed her clothes, put on her make-up and took her car. Every time she took the car she wondered how she get her drivers license, she wasn't really good at driving, the first time she drove alone she almost got into an accident.

She parked her car and texted betty she was there. As she walked to her house she could see the blonde girl with two braids waiting on the porch for her.

"Hi Betty, sorry I'm late" Dorothea said hugging her.

"Don't worry today is my lucky day, you're only five minutes late" Betty laughed.

"Come in, let's go to the backyard, do you want something to eat? I made some brownies" Betty said leading Dorothea to the garden.

"How can I say no to the brownies" Dorothea said smiling.

Betty took the brownies and some drinks, then joined Dorothea that was sitting beside the pool in the middle of the big garden.

"These are so good" Dorothea said after tasting a brownie.

"Thank you, it's my grandma recipe, I hope my brownies are half as good as hers" she said smiling.

Betty's phone ringed, she looked hopeful at the phone to see who was texting her, she sighed when she looked at the screen, and took the phone down, she seemed disappointed, and she was.

"Is everything okay?" Dorothea asked sensing that something was wrong.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine" Betty said shaking her head.

"Still no words from James?" Dorothea asked, she knew Betty wasn't okay and she knew it was about James, her boyfriend, or ex boyfriend, she still had trouble understanding what was going on between them, all she knew was that James had left town in June, after the end of the school year, and Betty hadn't heard from him since then.

"No, nothing, I don't even know if we're still together, if he still loves me, if he's okay, I met his mom two weeks ago, she told me she missed me, I asked her how he was, she told me he was fine but that he didn't want anyone to know where he was. I wanted to know if he told her something about me, but I couldn't, I was too afraid to ask, I was afraid to get a no as answer, but now I think a no would be better than the silence." Betty said.

"Betty, I'm so sorry" Dorothea started saying but she was interrupted by Betty.

"You know the worst thing about all this story is that I keep thinking about him, I have questions I want to ask him but I can't, I'm alone with my doubts, it would be better if we were broken up, it would be awful yes, I'd be devasted of course, but I would find a way to accept it eventually, I don't even know how to get over this."

Dorothea didn't say anything, Betty needed to vent so she let her friend talk and made sure she was finished before speaking.

"I'm sorry about this, I wish I could help you but all I can say is that James is an idiot who doesn't deserve you, and you know what? You shouldn't be here torturing yourself with all this questions, he left without telling you anything, he still has his phone but hasn't texted you a single time, and he knows you're worried, you should be the one breaking up with him."

"Dorothy what are you saying, I love him I can't break up with him like this, and by the way even if I wanted to how could I let him know that we're over?" Betty said shaking her head, looking at the ground.

"He didn' bother to tell you where he was going, you don't owe him nothing, and at least you could move on, I hate seeing you like this and not being able to cheer you up for more than a couple of hours. James is my friend, I love him too, but look at what he is doing to you" it was true, Dorothea loved James, but what he did was wrong and she was really mad at him.

"I know you're pissed at him right now and I should be too, but I just can't. I miss him too much" a tear started falling down Betty's cheek as she pronounced those last words.

"Oh sweetie come here" Dorothea said pulling her in for a hug.

Betty returned the hug and started crying as Dorothea kept stroking her hair, trying to calm her down.

When Betty felt better they went for a walk. After dinner they were supposed to go out but they decided to stay at home and watch a movie instead. Betty was still upset and didn't want to go out so Dorothea called Dylan and told him they wouldn't make it that night.

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So hi, I'm violet, this is the first time I write a story, I'm doing this just for fun, so please be nice.
Also English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, but tell me if you find them so I can improve.
-violet🍂