The Summer I Was Supposed to Fall In Love

Chapter Six

I should've known better than to think Hunter would go against that fruit girl for me.

He wasn't the boy I once knew, and he proved that every day since Persimmon entered the picture.

"Ro!" Forest repeated.

I was so stuck in my thoughts, I didn't realize I never stopped when he called my name the first time.

I had to get out of there and catch my breath.

I finally slowed down and sat down in an alley that smelled like dumpsters and homeless piss.

"I hate him so much," I said as tears streamed down my face.

"He's not worth it. He's a coward," Forest said.

"No he's not!"

My reaction shocked both of us. I wasn't sure why I was defending him after the way he'd been treating me.

"Maybe you shouldn't work for my mom anymore," Forest suggested.

It made logical sense to give myself distance from him but I shook my head, trying to rid my mind from the idea of having nothing to anchor me to Hunter. If I stopped working for her, we would stop existing to one another.

A horn honked and I saw Auntie Coco waving behind the wheel of a minivan.

"You should go," I suggested.

"I'm not leaving you in an alley. At least go back inside," he demanded.

I swallowed a big gulp of air as I stood up. I knew Auntie Coco would say the same thing. I had no choice. But just as I turned the corner out of the alleyway, there he was.

We locked eyes, before that annoying voice said "Your mom is waiting."

She pulled his arm until he followed her obediently, like he was a dog on a leash. Well trained, even though he wanted to stay and sniff around.

Cara and Nellie filed out of the front door of the venue.

"Where did you disappear to?" Nellie asked.

But before I could answer, Forest walked back up to me and said, "Our moms talked. We're talking all of you to the after party."

"I'm not in the mood for an afterparty. Especially if they're going to be there," I snapped.

"What happened?" Cara asked.

"Persimmon told me that they want nothing to do with me," I said, defeated.

"And RoRo's in love with Hunter," Forest said matter of factly.

I punched him in the arm, hard. Cara and Nellie's eyes grew wide. Then, Nellie's glance softened.

"You guys grew up together right?" Nellie asked.

I nodded "yes". Then, Nellie shrugged her shoulders and said, "So you had him first."

I let out a laugh and so did Forest. It was the only ounce of levity I could find in the situation.

"I'm not going," I demanded.

"No, no. You're going to show that snobby rich girl you don't back down. Even if you never end up with Hunter, she's not allowed to make you feel unwelcome where you're clearly unwelcome. Someone needs to take her down a peg. We're going."

Nellie grabbed me under my knees and lifted me off the ground like a proper gentleman. I was so in shock by what was happening that I cracked a smile.

"Are you carrying me right now?" I giggled.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I've reached my limit."

She stumbled just in time to throw me onto the middle seat of the minivan. We laughed so obnoxiously, I could see Persimmon's eyes roll. It felt good to get under her skin. She probably thought she'd won this battle, but there I was being summoned by his mother. She wasn't going to get rid of me that quickly.

And unlike the dinner table, I had backup this time.

Hunter got in the front seat. Cara, Nellie and I squeezed into the middle. Hunter and Persimmon were all the way in the back.

"Thanks," I whispered to Nellie. She squeezed my hand.

"If you take this girl down, every teenager in Riverside will crown you queen," she whispered back.

The idea of that sounded so nice. I was never popular, just one of the girls the popular girls tolerated. Exacting revenge on a terrible person and local fame? It sounded like a win, win to me.

Auntie Coco turned up the music and the three of us sang along. Eventually Auntie Coco joined in and nudged Forest to follow.

The two stinkers in the back didn't join in but it didn't matter. I felt like the summer was turning around.

I had unknowingly hinged all my hopes on Hunter. But when I found something new to make me smile, life felt good for the first time since we had moved.

We took our cheery selves straight into the afterparty.

It was quiet, considering that it was supposed to be a party. We got to the garage and kids were mostly drinking and talking in the backyard.

"Why is the music so low?" I asked.

"We got here after the noise complaints started rolling in," Cara informed me.

I didn't drink that time. I remembered the last time I did, and how Hunter saved me from being grounded. I wouldn't be able to rely on him for that again.

People were gossiping about friends from school I hadn't met yet. Forest was the life of the party. Hunter was hugging the wall as always, charming the group that gravitated toward him.

Persimmon was nowhere to be found.

My mouth was feeling dry, so I went inside the house to find water. The house was eerily quiet.

Then I heard a thud. It startled me, so I got water from the sink and chugged it quickly. I didn't want to end up on a missing poster: girl disappears from party without a trace.

But on my way out, I heard fidgeting in the living room. The thud wasn't an intruder, it was someone up to something and clearly trying to hide their something in the dark.

I remembered that Persimmon was nowhere to be found. In my mind, I imagined catching her doing drugs or something that would make Hunter want to break up with her.

I couldn't help but investigate.

I stepped closer and, over the back of a couch, saw a girl laying on top of someone. A hand reached around the girls head and there was nail polish on the nails. The fingers were dainty, and it was clear there were two girls intertwined on that couch. But the nail polish looked familiar.

The pair were kissing, and moaning softly. I didn't recognize the girl on top and felt like I was intruding, so I started to turn my head. But then, the nail polish clicked. It was a muted orange. The color of a certain kind of fruit.

Just then, I saw a strand of blonde hair wrap itself around the girl on top.

"Persimmon?" I asked into the dark.

The couple grew still.

Then, the girl on the bottom flung the girl on top off of her and sat up.

"Ouch!" The girl groaned, rubbing the hip she landed on.

And it was her. It was Persimmon.

Rage filled her eyes, as if I was the one doing something wrong and she was the one that caught me in the act.

She stood up and marched toward me.

She got in my face and threatened, "If you tell Hunter, I'll make sure high school is miserable for you."