After Midnight

Chapter 4

Thursday went by faster than I expected it to. It rained again and after school, no one was inside.

I loved seeing everyone outside and enjoying themselves and the rain. I went outside and sat one porch, this time with jeans, a jacket and rain boots on.

I looked across the street from me and saw Dalton sitting on his porch again. I waited a few seconds until he looked up to wave at him. He smiled back at me as a response. I motioned him over to me and he shook his head. I nodded and waved him over to me again. He rolled his eyes and stood up. He took a deep breath and walked out into the rain. I stood up and met him at the end of the street next to my house.

"Is there a reason you made me walk out into the rain for you?"

"Because why not?", I put my hands on my hips and looked up at him. He was a lot taller than me, so I took a step back onto the curb so I was a little taller.

"That's not a reasonable answer"

"Fine", I stood up straighter."Because I am amazing"

Someone bumped into him, causing him to fall forward into me. He grabbed my arms as an instinct and held them until I caught my balance.

"Thanks", I smiled. He nodded and let me go.

"Arin!", My dad's girlfriend Ellie shouted. I looked back at her."What are you doing out there?"

"Talking to my friend", I said, pointing to Dalton. He waved slightly and awkwardly.

"Come inside!", She said. I turned to Dalton.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow though", I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. He nodded and walked back towards his house. I smiled to myself and when back inside.

"You must be freezing", Ellie rubbed arms and pushed me towards the stairs.

"Actually, not really", I said."I like the rain"

"Go take a warm shower and change into some dry clothes"

I turned to her after I was up three stairs.

"And then we'll talk about this boy", She smiled and giggled.

"There's nothing to talk about", I shrugged."He's just a friend"

"And what about the red haired boy?", She crossed her arms. I felt my cheeks heat up."Exactly. Get up there"

I ran upstairs, took a shower and changed into clean clothes. When I walked back into my room, Ellie was sitting on my bed, reading a book and rubbing her stomach. Though it was flat, there was still a human being growing inside of her, and I could only imagine what that must be like.

She smiled up at me and I smiled back, wrapping my hair in the towel I was using.

"Sit", She said, patting the spot next to her. I walked over to the bed and sat next to her. She looked a little bit like my mother. My mother had long blonde hair, but Ellie's was shoulder length and she had bangs. My mothers eyes were blue, and Ellie's are green. My mother was wrinkled and she looked old, Ellie did not. She couldn't be older than twenty four, while my mom was fifty two. I saw my mom walking out the door every time I looked at her. I saw my ten year old self screaming and crying, holding onto her for dear life, begging her not to go. I saw the one letter that she'd ever sent me on my eleventh birthday that said "Sorry I couldn't be there. Maybe next year, Champ :( -mom" with three dollars inside of it.

I shook the thought.

"You thinking about her again?", Ellie asked. I felt my eyes water. She pulled me into a tight hug, which I gratuitously returned.