Forbitten

Chapter 15

Bryin picked me up from school that afternoon. During the drive home, he asked about my day, and I gave him simple answers about what we were learning in class. As soon as we arrived at home and Bryin unbuckled me, I soared into my room. I flipped my Religious Studies notebook open to the page with my apology on it. I read over the words I scrawled messily with a pencil to make sure it was perfect. It was.

My heart began to beat erratically at what came next, but I courageously took out my phone and dialed Terry's number. The line rang a few times, and I held my breath the whole time. Finally, it stopped.

The caller you've reached is unavailable...

My stomach churned. He ignored my call. He didn't even hang up, he simply ignored it. I felt my throat swell as my vision blurred with tears. It was a matter of seconds before I was sobbing, hot tears falling from my eyes to the paper in front of me. The words I took so much time to draft became smudged by the large droplets of water. With shaky hands I searched for Dior's contact and sent him a message, asking to talk. Only moments later, he called.

"Mos?"

"Dior... I think I ruined my friendship with Terry." I wailed into the receiver. It was embarrassing but I simply couldn't hold it in anymore. "I've been such a bad friend, and now I don't think he'll ever forgive me."

"Mos, angel, listen to me. You haven't ruined anything. Is it possible he could be busy right now?"

I shrugged, then realized Dior could not see me. "I don't know... maybe. He sometimes takes care of his brothers after school. But even then he spends a lot of time on the phone. He doesn't want to possibly miss the news that One Direction is getting back together."

There was a pause. "Maybe you could go to his house. That way he can't hang up on you or ignore your call," Dior suggested inquisitively.

I considered this and decided to ignore that one occurrence when Cole opened the door only to slam it in my face. "That's a good idea." I sniffled, wiping my eyes. "Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. I just don't want him to turn me away. I don't think I could handle that." My voice cracked as I spoke.

"It's the first day of break tomorrow, how about I pick you up? We can get lunch, and then go to Terry's. I'll wait in the car for a bit just in case he asks you to leave," he offered. My heart swelled with love like the knot John Cook's comic talked about at how my boyfriend always considered and prioritized my feelings.

"I would like that a lot." A smile spread across my face as I felt myself relax a bit.

"Good. Then I'll pick you up tomorrow at noon. You should get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay, I will. Make sure you rest, too. I don't want you to oversleep and miss our date."

Dior laughed, and a wide smile broke across my face. His laugh was such a beautiful sound, like the jingle of Christmas bells. We repeated our goodbyes, him assuring me one last time before I heard the click that indicated the conclusion of the call.

I felt a lot better after talking to Dior. And now because I was excited for our lunch date, I had something to look forward to, instead of only feeling the dread tomorrow would bring. I decided to snuggle under my covers and sleep despite how early it was, if only to get closer to seeing him again.

Before I drifted off, I opened my phone one last time. I found Terry's contact and sent him a text: Two are better than one.

The next morning, I woke up to the sunlight peeking through the curtains. Bryin must've come in last night to close them. The blankets were so warm I didn't want to get up, but then, I remembered my date with Dior. I practically leaped out of bed.

The alarm clock by my bed told me it was 10AM, the sight of which made me gasp at how late I had slept in.

I rushed through my morning routine and began by taking a quick shower. I picked a simple outfit, skinny jeans, a beige cable knit sweater Katherine had sewn for me, and brown booties. I briefly humored the thought of how I would look with messy brown hair with golden highlights, tied in a bun atop my small head. Checking my phone again, I saw it was already 11:30. Before I could panic, I saw Dior's name flash across my screen. I answered the call nervously.

"Morning, Bright Eyes! I just wanted to make sure you still want to go out today."

"Yes. I'm excited to see you again."

"Me too," he hummed. "How do you feel about seeing Terry?"

My smile faltered. "Oh, right. Well, I guess I'm a little nervous. I hope he hears me out, at least," I responded as I twirled around on top of Katherine's handheld mirror to judge my appearance.

"I'm sure he will. I don't think you two can be apart for long." His voice was warm and a little husky from him waking up recently, which did help to calm the pounding of my nervous heart.

I grinned again, grateful to have Dior, who was always supportive and considerate, by my side. "I wrote out an apology. Would you mind taking a look at it?"

"Of course not," he replied. "I'd love to. I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon," I giggled. We hung up the phone and I took a deep breath. As long as I had Dior, everything would be alright. With that reassuring thought, I left the house to make my way to the bus stop, our designated meeting spot.