Without Your Love

"You need to come home,"

I looked around the room cautiously, searching desperately for my mother's voice. I glanced down at my cell phone, praying that the voice was coming from that tiny little speaker inserted in the pink phone. But, it wasn't. That voice was closer. It was right outside that window.

"Hallie, you need to come home now. I don't know who's in there with you, but I know you can hear me. Your car is parked out front."

I walked slowly, carefully, over to the window across the room. I lifted the window, pushing the blue curtains back in the process. I peeked over the window sill, Sure enough, there was my mom.

"Mom, did you follow me here?"

"Um, no?"

"You didn't trust me for one night?"

"Who's up there with you?"

The door opened behind me, and I turned around. There was the only guy in the world that loved me as more than a friend, or family. He loved me with all of his heart. He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Whatcha looking at, babe?"

I looked back down at my mom, terrified of what was about to happen when he looked over the window sill to find my mom staring back up at him, in her pajama pants and an old, ripped up t-shirt.

"Don't come--" But he was already walking towards me, now in clear view, "--over here."

"You're with a boy?"

"He's just a friend," I mumbled quickly, "He calls everyone babe."

He stepped back carefully, out of view.

"What's his name?"

"Mace, help me." I whispered to him before turning back to my mom, "Um, uh, Mason."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"No, it isn't nice. Hallie, you need to come home. We'll discuss this in the car."

"I'll be right out," I groaned, closing the window and grabbing my bag from the bed, "I'm so sorry Mason."

"It isn't your fault. I'll call you later?"

"Yeah," I smiled, and he kissed my cheek. There were two loud, long beeps, and I ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door, turning to wave to Mason--who was waiting on the top of the stairs--before closing the door and walking down the front steps.

"Hallie, you said you were going to a friend's, not a boyfriend's."

"If I did, you wouldn't have let me go!"  I closed the door and buckled in my seat belt. I could see Mason watching me from the upstairs window, "Mason is a friend, it wasn't technically lying."

"But, it wasn't technically the truth either, Hallie, and you know that."

I looked out the window, staring up at Mason as my mom backed her car out of the driveway. He waved at me, but I was too scared to wave back, and then I saw him lift his phone to his ear. And, mine started vibrating. I shot him a glare, and quickly denied the call. Was he trying to make it worse?

Mason wasn't a bad kid. Sure, he was one of those popular players when I met him. The one who had a bad reputation, who cut class on a regular basis, who was arrested once or twice for rediculous crimes, whether it was getting into a fight in an old parking lot over something completely stupid, or ditching school only to be found later at the mall, brought in by the truency officer.