With Time

Chapter 16

Walking into her house after school, Brielle, set her bag down and went straight for food in the kitchen, looking around for a certain something she grabbed her leftovers from last night. She knew her mom would be home in the next two hours and her dad wouldn't be home for another 16 hours.

Her head snapped up to a person that walked into her view. It was Joey, he had been here during the day for the past week and every time she looked up he was in her space, bothering her. She understood why he needed to be someplace other than where he was, but she wished there was someplace else he could go.

"Hey, Bri. I didn't hear you come in." Joey said sitting at the kitchen counter. Every day it was him trying to spark up a conversation between them so things wouldn't be so awkward, but for Brielle, it was just plain irritating. Having him there after their last exchange and the complicated history they shared was just an everyday reminder of the mistakes she had made. Growing up, her mother always told her to wait to lose her virginity, but she didn't listen. She felt like a fool to see the struggles of a teenage mother first hand, and yet she still couldn't resist the urge to taste the forbidden fruit. She couldn't imagine the disappointment her dad would have if he ever found out, she just knew he'd never look at her the same once he knew. Having joey here just threatened so much for her, it made the chance of her secret getting out ten times higher and made it even harder for her to resist him. As much as she couldn't stand him, she missed him seconds after he was gone. He represented so much for her, her first love, her first mistake, and her first heartbreak, so living here was out of the question. She had to figure out a way to have him move into her Grandparent' house instead of her own. She didn't want him on the streets or back in   The care of his foster parents, but he couldn't be here with her, she didn't trust herself that much. He was her kryptonite in a way, he broke down all walls, made all of her self-control go out of the window and everything she had been taught was irrelevant when the two of them were together.

"Joey, What are you doing here? Don't you have a ball to dribble?" She asked with an attitude, watching her food spin in the microwave as it heated up. Focusing her sight on nothing but the microwave she tried to ignore him burning a hole into her with his eyes.

The two teens were so inexperienced with this thing they thought to be love, maybe it was lust. Neither one of them knew they just knew every time they fought it, they lost miserably.

"I don't have a ball to dribble today. My next game isn't until Thursday, but I wanted to talk to you about our situation. Listen, your folks are amazing, and they've been hinting towards me staying here for good, but I know you've got some issues with that. Which you have every right to, I was just thinking that maybe if we talk about it, we could either work past it or know that this is something that we can't fix, and I can't stay here. I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your house, but I do want you to know that I'd love to be here with you. I really want to get to know you and see where this can go. It will be weird if I move in but at least you know we got something in common with each other, I never told you this but before that night I had never had sex. To be honest, I was nervous that I'd mess up because I had no idea what the hell to do, but I felt like you were the right person to share that with. I know how you make me feel, I guess what I need to know is how you feel about me." Joey said, coming around the counter to be next to her. The microwave had stopped long ago, and she hadn't moved yet, so he thought she was open to staying to talk.

"That was your first time too?" She whispered, finally looking at him. He nodded and began to speak again, "It just felt right with you. There was something there."

Hearing that it was the same for him made her feel a lot better about her decision to give him her virginity. She slightly regretted losing it so young the way she did, but she felt doing it with joey made up for all of that. He was worth it for her.

"I know that's not how you imagined your first time, but maybe it was meant to be like that for a reason. We both shared a night we will remember together after meeting each other for the first time. Adults might think we were being irresponsible, but we did what we felt was right. I don't mind sharing moments like that with you again. Only if you want to..." Joey said taking a step forward to be closer to her.

Taking a breath Brielle contemplated what could be before her, the battle with her parents to be with Joey or the battle with her heart to ignore what her heart told her every time she looked into his eyes.

"I don't want just sex, I need more than that. If you're serious about it then I want to feel that, and I need to see it in your actions. Sleeping with each other made this a lot more messy than it had to be, but we can't take that back. We can take this seriously or just drop it and not waste each other's time." Brielle said, leaning her head back in defeat. She knew fighting it wasn't even worth an attempt.

"I want something with you. Something beautiful that we Can both share. Even if it's short-lived or hidden, having it will be enough."

The locks twisted on the other side of the door and the door opened with a creak.  Miranda walked in feeling like she was about to drop to the floor in exhaustion. Recently her hormone treatments had drained all the life out of her it felt like.

"Bri, Joey... You guys here?" She called from the entrance.

"Kitchen." They both said

Walking in, her eyes moved across the room, sensing something was off.

"What's up guys?" she asked sitting at the kitchen island.

"Nothing much, how was your day, Miranda?" Joey said trying to ease the tension in the room.

"It was tiring as usual. I think it's just my body getting used to those meds. I'm thinking takeout for dinner since Ben won't be home. You guys start thinking about what you want to eat tonight." She said making her way through the house, winding down from her day.

It wasn't until She actually took a seat on her bed that she realized her ring was gone off the dresser where she left it this morning. Seeing her ring gone sparked a surge in her that made her want to tear the entire house to shreds looking for it. She knew it had to be somewhere near, she never took it to work since most of her day was spent in the OR where she couldn't wear it.

"Where the hell is it?" She whispered in frustration.

"Think Miranda, Think Miranda." She coached

Remembering something, she walked into the guest bathroom across the hall. Seeing her ring on the edge of the counter, she swiped it, making it hit the floor. Bending down, she reached for the ring next to the trash can. Seeing something hanging out the trash can she froze.

" I know damn well..."

**Short and sweet, I'm getting y'all readjusted to the story :)