Only, Always, and Forever You

39 - Caught

Amara's POV:

I wake up in a flurry of anxiety. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in his arms after the day took a very sharp turn...

I get up and practically sprint to the kitchen to check the time. The clock reads 8:30 AM.

Shit! My mom is going to kill me!

My mom should be home any second now, and she is not going to like that I have a boy in the apartment with me.

I'm dead. Might as well bury me now.

I run back into the living room, and I jump onto the couch. I shake Cole as hard as I can, and I feel bad because he was peacefully asleep, but if he wants to see me alive tomorrow, he needs to leave now.

My mother is very strict when it comes to boys. Not only is she a die-hard catholic, but her sister also got pregnant when she was 15, and after she saw how that went, she's terrified of me being around any boys.

Cole finally stirs awake, on-guard and incredibly confused.

"What?" he says, somewhat grumpily.

"Get up," I whisper yell, not having time to care about his attitude, "My mom is going to be here soon, you need to go. Like, now."

"Oh, shit," Cole says, scrambling to get up and collect his things.

Cole looks around aimlessly in search of his shirt. He had put his pants back on after last night, but he kept his shirt off. I help him look around for it; it would be even worse if my mom walked in while Cole was shirtless, let alone here at all.

But of course, I jinxed myself, as per usual.

The front door creaks open, and Cole and I freeze, "¡Hola mi querida!" (Translation: Hello my dear) my mom hollers from the door. The living room is around the corner so she can't see us yet.

"Shit," I curse under my breath, "Um, hi mamá!" I yell back.

"Hi? That's all I get?" she asks, and her voice gets closer, "What happened to your usual hug?"

Now Cole and I are really scrambling, and I even contemplate hiding him in a closet for a second, but before we know it, it's too late...

There is an audible gasp before my mother starts spewing remarks at me in rapid fire Spanish. She's staring at Cole and I from across the room, and we are just standing there frozen— keep in mind that Cole is shirtless.

My mom is speaking so fast that I can't even understand some of the things she is saying, but I can tell you that 'male prostitute', 'teenage pregnancy', and 'God is disappointed' all made it into her speech.

"Mamá, por favor, let me explain!" I plead, and she pauses momentarily.

"Es mejor que tienes una buena explicación para esto, niña, or God help me, I'll teach you a lesson myself," (Translation: You better have a good explanation for this, child) she scolds.

"It's not what it looks like—" I begin to say, but Cole cuts me off.

"Hello, Ms. Fadel, I'm Cole Anderson, your daughter's friend from school," he says confidently, holding his hand out for hers. Thankfully, sometime between my mom arriving and now, he managed to find his shirt and put it on.

My mom is shocked by Cole's manners, and gives him her hand. He takes it gently and places a quick kiss on the back of her hand, slightly bowing in front of her to show his respect. My mom is even more surprised at this gesture, and is finally silent.

It's quiet for an awkward moment, since none of us know what else to say, until my mom finally talks again:

"I— I'm sorry, but" she says to Cole before turning to me, "What is this boy doing in my house?"

"I— um.." I stutter, struggling to come up with an explanation that wouldn't get me murdered.

"I've been needing some help with school lately, and your daughter offered to help me out. She's incredibly gifted and smart, so it was a no-brainer to accept her help. Last night we studied for a little too long, and I ended up crashing on the couch, that's all," Cole assures her with a smile. I don't know whether to feel complimented, impressed by his quick response, or concerned by how easily he just lied.

Oh well, we're both still alive, and that's all that matters right now.

"Oh," my mother says, even more confused than she has been so far today, and I can see her struggling in her mind to figure out what's really happening.

Cole awkwardly clears his throat and grabs his things, "Well it was lovely to meet you, but I should really be going. My mom takes us to church on Sunday mornings, so I can't be late."

He nods with a smile and then quickly walks out, leaving my mother and I standing there. I never knew he went to church! Or maybe that was just another lie to impress my mom. Well, either way, it definitely did impress my mom, considering the look on her face right now.

"Amara Rosa Fadel," she begins in a stern tone, "If you ever have that boy over again, I need to know about it ahead of time. ¿Me entiendes?" (Translation: Do you understand me?).

I'm taken aback by her briefness. I was expecting an hour long lecture followed by the worst punishment known to man, but all I got was... a warning? And she insinuated that I could have him over again? Wow... Cole must have really had an effect on the woman...

"Entiendo, mamá," (Translation: I understand, mom) I say, before finally going over to her and giving her a big hug.

As tense as the air in this room is right now, I still haven't seen my mom for a while. A hug is very much needed.

Eventually, we break the hug and then catch up about things that are going on, but we don't talk about Cole again. It actually impresses me how quickly she let go of the situation. We sit there talking about her work and my school, but nothing about this morning... Odd...

After a while, she leaves to go take a shower, so I take out my phone and open up my text messages.

Me: i don't know what you did, but you're magic. my mom barely even said a word about this morning— do you have this effect on all of the older women you meet???

Cole: I guess I just have a way with people ;)

I let out a laugh at his text. Yeah, right. Cole is totally a people person. (Note the sarcasm)

Me: sureee... whatever makes you feel good about yourself 😂

Cole: Oh princess, someday i'll teach you my ways

Me: i can only dream

Cole: I like that

Me: like what?

Cole: The thought of me being in your dreams

Me: oh, really?

Cole: It would only be fair since you're in all of mine

Me: sounds a little creepy to me ;)

Cole: Who, me?... Yeah, maybe a little...

I laugh again at his words, and I find myself beaming at my phone. I love that Cole can always make me smile, even over text. I mean, we're literally just messing around and sharing flirty banter, and he has me grinning from ear to ear just from his few words...

Suddenly, I get an idea.