Inevitably Me

Chapter 11: Realizations and Homefronts

Alistair's heart was racing as he made his way back to the bleachers where he had left Sierra. His thoughts were a whirlwind, but one thing was clear: he couldn't keep this hidden any longer. He had to tell her—he had to tell Sierra how he really felt. The realization had hit him like a freight train, and now that he knew, there was no going back. She wasn't just his best friend. She was so much more than that.

He found her sitting in the same spot, her eyes distant as she stared out at the empty football field. Her expression was unreadable, but Alistair knew Sierra well enough to see the sadness beneath her calm exterior. He hated that she had been feeling this way, that he hadn't noticed sooner.

His heart pounded in his chest as he approached, his pulse quickening with every step. When she looked up and met his gaze, something inside him shifted. This was it. This was the moment.

"Sierra," he said softly, stepping closer, his voice a little breathless. "Can we talk?"

Sierra blinked, startled by the intensity in his voice, but she nodded, her eyes searching his. "Yeah. What's going on?"

Alistair hesitated for a split second, the weight of what he was about to do settling over him. But then he took a deep breath, pushing past the nerves. He couldn't wait any longer. This was the moment he had been building up to in his mind, the one he couldn't let slip away.

"Sierra, I've been thinking a lot lately," he began, his voice low and full of emotion. "And I realized something. I've been blind, and I didn't see it until now, but..."

He trailed off as he took another step forward, his eyes locking onto hers. Her breath hitched, and in that moment, he could feel it—an unspoken connection that had always been there but never acknowledged.

He reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against hers gently. "Sierra, I—"

But before he could finish, a voice shattered the moment.

"There you are, Alistair!"

Janice appeared out of nowhere, her voice bright and full of cheer as she came bounding toward them. Alistair froze, his hand dropping to his side as Janice slid up next to him, looping her arm through his with a smile that lit up her face.

"There you are, babe," she said, giving him a playful nudge. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You're always disappearing on me."

Alistair's heart sank, his throat tightening as the moment he had been building up to crumbled before his eyes. He glanced over at Sierra, his chest aching at the confusion and hurt that flashed across her face.

"Janice..." he began, trying to pull away, but she only tightened her grip on his arm, turning her radiant smile toward Sierra.

"Hi, Sierra!" Janice chirped, oblivious to the tension in the air. "Sorry for stealing him, but we've got plans. Don't we, Alistair?"

She turned to him with a playful pout, and Alistair felt like he was being pulled in two different directions. His heart screamed for Sierra, but there was another weight pressing on him—the weight of his parents' expectations, of the unspoken pressure to stay with Janice for the sake of keeping the peace.

His gaze flicked back to Sierra, and the devastation in her eyes nearly broke him. He opened his mouth to explain, to say something—anything—to make this right. But the words wouldn't come.

Janice beamed at him, squeezing his arm. "Isn't that right, boyfriend?"

Sierra's breath hitched, her eyes widening in shock. Boyfriend. The word hung in the air like a bomb, and Alistair could feel the weight of it crushing him.