The Girl With the Cross

Chapter 16: Sarah

  After dropping Tyler off and doing our weekly charity work, my family and I head home. When we get there, I run upstairs to put on my good shoes and ask my parents if I can go to Daniella's house before lunch. They allow me to, so I take the quick walk two houses down, to Danie's house. I knock on the door only twice, and she opens the door as if expecting me to have come just now.

  "Hey Sarah! How was church and charity?" She asks.

  "Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." I say. She opens the door wider, signaling for me to come in, and I do. We head to her room down in the basement (she gets the whole basement to herself) and she shuts the door excitedly. She knows what this is about.

  "Alright tell me." She smiles, launching herself into her beanbag chair, embracing the fluffiness.
  I do the same with her other purple one, and I begin talking, "So, Tyler came with us to church today," I start. 

 She smiles a little, "Continue . . ."

  "But he wasn't paying attention hardly at all, and now I don't know what to do. Our deal was that I would go on three dates with him, and he would go to church with me three times, but if we do it like this the next two times, his life won't be going anywhere, and I don't know if I'll want to date him all that much anymore. I really, really like him Danie but if nothing can come from any of this but my broken heart then I don't know what I'm going to do." I say, speaking rapidly and  starting to really freak out.
  "Sarah, calm down. Why are you panicking so much? Just dump him, right?" She says, as if it's obvious.
  "I can't just dump him." I say, simply.
  "But why not?" She asks. This gives me pause. Why don't I just dump him? It's what dad would want me to do. It's what I should do, even if I might still like him. Why not just do it?
  "I--I'm not sure." I say, sinking myself in her giant bean bag. For a second, I feel like I could drown in it: slowly drift away and  not have to worry about anything happening right now.
  "Well, you might want to figure that out. I have to eat lunch. You can come over later if you need to talk." She says, smiling and giving me her hands, pulling me out of her bean bag. I remember that lunch is probably waiting at home for me too, so I hurry back to my house.
  When I get home, I smell fresh food from the stove. I spot steaming hot chicken and mashed potatoes, and I smile. My mom read my mind; this is exactly what I was in the mood for today.
  I sit down by my dad where I always sit, and my mom comes down the stairs, wearing a simpler outfit than her church one. She smiles at me and sits across from my dad, like always. We say a simple prayer and begin eating.
  "So Daniella is your new best friend, huh? How was it at her house today?" Mom asks, taking a bite of the white, buttery mashed potatoes.
  "It was great. We didn't have time to do much because I just went over for some friendly advice, but we had a good conversation, I guess. I just can't figure out why my heart won't let me dump Tyler. He's a bad boy." I say, playing around with the chicken on my fork, my appetite fading away.
  "Well, whatever your heart tells you is probably right. Just trust in yourself hun." She says, smiling at me.
  "God will light the way, eventually." My dad adds. I smile at both of them and eat my lunch without another word about Tyler.