She's Such A Nerd

11: Coming Clean

11: Coming Clean

I just stand there in shock for a moment before responding, closing my eyes. What am I doing?! I'm supposed to be mad at him! Oh, I'm mad alright. So I put all my anger into the kiss. Controlling. Yeah, right. If he wants controlling, I can be controlling. I pull him closer, wrapping my arms around his neck.

It feels as if this moment could never end. I'm so mad, I'm kissing the jerk. I push him away, climb off his lap, throw his phone back to him, and walk out of the room.

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After what felt like an hour, Maria finds me in my hiding spot, tears streaming down my cheeks and my mouth stuffed with a cookie. Maria must've let me hide out for a while, considering I've had this hiding spot since I was little. There's a little spot in the pantry that I still manage to fit in. It's right by where Maria stores all the sweets she makes. I used to hide here when I was upset, whether it be whenever my parents left for long periods of time or when I had issues at school. This was always my comfort spot. I haven't hidden in here since I was twelve. I didn't know where else to go.

Maria doesn't say anything. She just sits beside me and grabs herself a cookie before pulling me close. I cry as she sings softly. I cry like I've never cried before. I cry because of my parents. Because of Jake. Jake. I lift my head off of her shoulder.

"Are they still here?" My voice is hoarse from crying.

Maria shakes her head. "I sent them home as soon as you left the room. I had a feeling you weren't going to be leaving this pantry for a long while."

I start wiping the tears from my face. "What about Mark?"

She smiles, helping me wipe my face. "He got a ride. Otherwise, I would've taken him home." I just nod. "Do you want to tell me why you were upset?"

The tears come falling down my face once again. I have to tell her. "Jake isn't my boyfriend," I manage to get out. I tell her everything, from when we were partnered up all the way up to the kiss we shared earlier today. When I'm done, Maria doesn't say anything. She just grabs another cookie and hands it to me.

"You've got quite a mess on your hands, darling," she says softly, brushing my hair out of my face. I nod. "You know, you can't hide in here forever. Life doesn't work that way. Sometimes, you just got to pick yourself up, keep your head held high, and keep moving forward."

I sigh. "I know, but-"

She shushes me. "No buts. You can't let yourself mope over this. This is only one of many issues that you will come across in your life. If you allow yourself to be like this every time an obstacle comes flying your way, you won't ever be happy. I know it's hard, dear." It's her turn to sigh. It's at this moment that my stomach decides to let out an embarrassing growl. Maria laughs. "I guess those cookies didn't help at all. Let's go get you some food. How does Mac 'n Cheese sound?"

We both stand up, walking out of the pantry. "It sounds great."

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I crawled into bed right after dinner, wanting to watch old movies. Halfway through Penelope, my phone starts going off. I look at it to see Jake's face, calling me. I let it go to voicemail. Wait, I didn't set a contact picture for Jake. I pull up his contact to see a picture of us. He's smiling at the camera and I'm curled up against him, asleep. I look through my photos to find several pictures of us that day. A picture of him kissing my forehead as I sleep here. A picture of me asleep there. The first thought that comes to my head, I really need to put a passcode on my phone. Jake starts calling again, his picture coming onto the screen. Letting it go to voicemail, I put my phone to the side and continue to watch the movie.

I wake up to glow of the television being the only light in the room. Rubbing my eyes, I get out of bed and start making my way downstairs. On the kitchen counter is a note.

There's a smoothie in the fridge for you. I was going to give it to you earlier, but you were asleep. Get some rest, dear.
-Maria

I smile. I've been wanting a good smoothie lately. I take it out of the fridge and head back upstairs. Closing my bedroom door behind me, I hear my phone going off again. Jake. It soon goes to voicemail. Unlocking my phone, I notice I have 47 missed calls. They're all from Jake, but I find it funny that he didn't leave a single voicemail. If he wanted to talk that much, you'd think he would leave a voicemail.