The New Boy

Chapter 42

"Girls, can you guys go to the mall and get me the following things." My mother gave us a list, money and car keys.

"Sure Aunt Rebecca." Maddison replied.

She took the keys. She'd be the one to drive because she had a driver's license and I did not. I should go for the test soon.

She jumped into the driver's seat and I got into the passenger's. She started mom's car.

"How come you haven't bought a car?" I asked her.

"Daddy said that he's waiting for me to turn twenty, so... next year I'll probably be driving."

"Great." I said and focused on the road. She sped through the highway and I turned up the music and we sang along.

She parked the car when we got to the mall, then we got off and got into the big building. We went from store to store, getting my mom's baking ingredients. We did that quicker than I had expected, then we went to McDonald's, ordered burgers and sat down to eat.

We ate in silence then Maddison decided to break it with, "Are you okay?"

"Yea I'm okay, where's that coming from?"

"Okay you're okay. What's happening between Kylie and Henry?" I choked on my burger, then quickly downed my soda.

"Uh, they're, they're friends with benefits." I swallowed the huge lump created down my throat. I knew she noticed the reaction I had earlier on when they were cosy on the couch. I was just hoping that she would not ask about it. I avoided eye contact, I kept my eyes on the table and moved them around but never fixed them on Maddy.

"Oh, why'd you just choke on my question?" She asked as though she knew the answer to the question that she was asking.

"I don't know, I wasn't choking on your question, I guess I did not swallow right." I still shifted my gaze around.

"I know you Elle, what's going on? Oh no, I know."

"You do?" I widened my eyes in surprise.

"Yes. You like Henry." She said.

"No, that was, that was the alcohol speaking."

"People tend to speak truths when they are drunk and also, I saw how embarrassed you were when he brought it up this morning."

"I don't like Henry." I denied it.

"Actually, no, you are in love with Henry." She said with certainty and I swallowed hard.

"What? How? Huh?"

"I saw the way you look at him, like he is the centre of your universe. Like you enjoy staring at the picture portrayed in front of you. You are freaking nervous around him that you stutter every time he's too close to you. You struggle to regulate your breathing when he touches you somehow. And you have this perfect grin whenever you get to hang out with him. Your eyes glisten and sparkle with excitement whenever you look at Henry, you look like you're at peace, like he makes you happy and that reaction is the opposite of the reaction you get when you are staring at Henry and Kylie, I saw how unsettled it made you earlier. Oh yea and your cheeks flush at the mention of his name."

I had forgotten how observant Maddison could be, I hoped that she was the only one who noticed all those things that she had just mentioned.

"I like Henry." I confessed.

"I said, you're in love with him."

"I'm not, I can't be." How was it that I was never aware of such things. Didn't you always know when you were falling for someone?