Different Sides To The Same Story

Chapter nineteen - Lilith Pearson

   After procrastinating the inevitable I finally knock on the door, immediately hearing footsteps behind it before it's open revealing Jason. He's wearing a button up shirt and jeans, making this one of the few times I've seen him dressed up.

I decided to wear one of the dresses I didn't sell, a light pink one that's made out of thin fabric and goes down to my mid thighs.

"Hey beautiful." He greets motioning me in and giving me a small peck on the lips. "You look great." He tells me.

"Thanks," I smile, "You too."

He holds out his hand, joining it with mine as he leads me to the kitchen. "Momma this is Lily." He says, introducing me.

There's a woman who looks to be in her mid forties who I assume is his mom. Her straight black hair is down and cut near her shoulders. Her cheeks are full and her jaw is strong, she's got freckles that cover fifty percent of her face. Her lips are tinted a red that contrasts against her tanned skin.

"Hi Lily it's so nice to meet you, I'm Chariya." She tells me with a light accent.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I tell her.

---

I just finished eating when Chariya offered to show me Jason's baby album despite his groaning, I agreed eagerly.

"This one is from his first halloween." She tells me, pointing towards another picture. A small boy with wisps of black hair was sitting on steps in front of this same house wearing a pumpkin. A small girl stood beside him dressed as a cat, I assume this little girl is Carrie.

"Aww." I coo, looking at the picture as Jason visibly groans.

She points to another picture, "Here's Jason at christmas when he was five." The picture is of a little boy, who looks like a younger Jason, Carrie who looks to be about tan, and a dark skinned man. They all stand around a bright christmas tree, Carrie and Jason still in their pajamas.

"Who's that?" I question, pointing at the man in the picture.

I see a ghost of a smile playing on her lips, "That was Carrie's father." She says vaguely. I look back at Jason and see him visibly pained by her words.

She flips a few more pages, "This is Jason the day Perri was born." She says.

Carrie is in the picture, she looks really young, and holds a small baby in her arms. Her hairs slicked back with sweat as she lay in a hospital bed, wearing a gown. Jason is beside her looking much younger. He's wearing a large grin on his face as his arm is around his sister and he's pointing at the baby.

"Here's Jason in junior high." She says, pointing to a picture of Jason, he looks a few years older than the last picture. His hair is long, falling into his eyes as he wears a short sleeved band shirt. The first thing I notice about the picture is his arms. His arms are plain, tanned and bare, no scars or cuts.

"I'm gonna go use the washroom." Jason mutters, exiting the room.

I think about going after him, something about his tone doesn't sit right with me. "Lily." Chariya says, gaining my attention. I turn to her and she takes my hands in hers, "You make my son happy, happier than I've seen him in years." I smile a bit out of pride at her words, "I can see in his eyes, he loves you." She tells me, squeezing my hands.

"Thank you, I love him too." I tell her, making her smile grow as she pulls me into a hug, wrapping her arms around me.

Jason reenters the room, "should I be worried?" He asks, wearily, as Chariya pulls out of the hug.

She nods, "You should, I'm gonna show her your grade nine pictures." She teases immediately, gaining a reaction from him.

"Oh hell no." He says, trying to grab the album from her.

I grin at the interaction, "Well now I have to see." I joke as his mom starts flipping through the pages again.

---

"Hey, this went great." Jason tells me, gaining my attention, "I'll see you tomorrow yeah? For the walk out?"

I nod, "yeah, but I'll see you in history first." I tell him as he places his hand on the side of my face.

"I love you." He says, brushing his thumb against my cheek.

I smile, leaning forward to kiss him, "I love you too." I tell him. I finally turn to leave, opening and closing his door behind me.

---

"I need to make up my math grade or my whole average will drop." I tell the guidance counselor, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

He has a long ponytail and gives me hippy vibes. He reminds me of the counselor from freaks and geeks.

"Yeah, your average is already pretty low." He tells me, checking one of the sheets on his desk, "a sixty nine or a 1.3 GPA." He reminds me.

"Yeah I know. I failed my last test and I was hoping I could redo it, if I don't I'll be kicked off the volleyball team and I'll lose everything I've worked for." I tell him.

He checks his sheets again, "You'd need a eighty-five at least to bring it up to a passing grade. You've got an early acceptance from UCLA, is that your plan?"

I shake my head, "For next year yes, but I can't accept it at the moment." I tell him, repeating what I've told my mom, but in a nicer way.

"Are you positive about that? This is a hell of an offer, a full ride and all you have to do is pass the math test and you'd be golden, a full ride through UCLA." He tells me, repeating something I've heard a bunch.

"I'm sure, I've already made the decision." I tell him.

He looks at me questioningly, "Then why having you denied it? You still have until the end of spring break to deny it and yet you've already made your decision."

I guess I was still holding onto it. Maybe I just needed the motivation to try. I don't know. "Does it matter? Can I retake the test or not?" I ask, somewhat defensively.

"Yes, you can retake the test, right after March Break." He says, "Study up and I'll see you then."