BOOTH BOY

The Lowest Point...

I wake up that morning and there are butterflies in my stomach and a nervous smile on my face.

He will call me. I know it. He just has to.

And yet, I don't have the nerve to look at my phone.

I turn over in my bed and close my eyes, remember his blue ones and then turn and squeal into my pillow.

A knock sounds at my door.

"Lee? Can I come in?"

I sit up and try to school my expression. Deep breathes. In. Out.

"Yes, Mom."

She creeps around the door and watches me from the threshold for a long second before closing the door behind her and stepping into the room I share with my older sister, Alina. I cross my arms over the blanket and try to keep my smile down.

It's turning out to be harder than I thought it would be.

"Good morning."

"That's really sarcastic of you."

She raises one thin arched eyebrow at me and sits on the edge of my bed, placing her hand on my foot. "Well it's not really morning anymore is it?"

"What do you mean?"

The second eyebrow joins the first. "Look at the time, Aileen. It's two in the afternoon."

My jaw drops before I jump out of bed and run over to my window. The sun is low in the sky and burning straight through my hot pink curtains. Unwillingly, my eyes drift over to the Bengsston's front yard. The driveway is empty and quiet. Not that they usually hang out in their front yard.

My skin crawls and I shut the curtain and walk back to my bed, wrapping my arms around my mother and hugging her side. "I didn't know I overslept."

She reluctantly allows herself to be hugged but her shoulders remain tense. I back up and look her in the eye. Everyone always says I look just like her and I suppose I do. We both have the same heart shaped face and button nose combination but I have my Dad's eyes, dark like an abyss. Mom's are a light brown like melted chocolate.

You can always tell exactly what she's thinking from the look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

I sit down again and fold my arms, sobering up instantly. Something is amiss with my mother. She lacks the bubbly energy that usually overflows from her mere presence. She is like sunshine and rainbows and all that happy stuff. She's a kindergarten teacher for crying out loud.

"Where were you last night?"

My eyes widen. "Last night?", I parrot back to her.

"Yes, Aileen. Last night."

I avert my gaze. How did she possibly find out? I had snuck out and been careful about it. Alina had been asleep or her eyes were closed at the very least and her ear pods had been blasting some pop song. She hadn't seen me climb out the window. Had someone else seen me and told my Mom? Was it Martha? Ezekiel Kent? Someone else that saw me that I hadn't seen?

"Prom", I answer simply, picking at my nails. I have to test her out, see how much she knows and how much she doesn't.

She nods but her brows are still furrowed. "Oh yes. I almost forgot."

My heart slows in my chest. Alina hadn't ratted me out. She hadn't told Mom I'd gone missing for three hours in the morning. Just as I came down from the panic, my mother reaches over and grabs my hand.