Life After Claire

Families Stick Together

Shane          

   "It's fine, we'll just have to wait." She says with a smile and picks my belt up off the floor and hands it to me. I nod and put it back on.

"Shane?"

"Yeah?"

I say focused on my belt instead of my girlfriend. "I think I'm in love with you." What did she just say?

How do I respond to that? I don't know if I love her yet. She said think didn't she? Does that mean I can say I think too? I really don't know how to handle this, the only other girl I told that I actually loved him was Mia. Sure I've told girlfriends that I've had for like two weeks that I love them but it wasn't ever real, like what I have with Hannah. I really don't want to mess this up but I have a feeling I already have. The look on Hannah's face is almost too sad to look at, and I feel like dick for causing it. I can't lie to her though.

"Hannah, this is moving too fast for me." I start off "I shouldn't have said that, it's fine." She starts to sniffle.

"Babe, don't do that. We aren't breaking up. I just think it a little early to say that." I bite my bottom lip because I'm nervous. "Unless you want to break up."

"I don't know what I want Shane." "So you are thinking about breaking up with me?" I question.

"Did I say that?" She stands up from the counter she was sitting on.

"You didn't have to." I say and I open the door and close it behind me, Hannah doesn't follow.  I don’t want to have to explain what happened to the rest of the people in the house so I just walk into the kitchen without saying anything. I probably look like a total mess but at this point I really don't care.

"You okay?" I jump and my heart starts racing a million miles per second.

Jezze Cole! Don't scare me like that! I snap while taking in a breath. I think I hear him mumble a sorry or something like that.

"Are you okay?" He asks me again, i don't think he needs to know what happened between me and Hannah so I don't answer him.

"Um..." I grab water from the fridge

. "Shane, what's the matter? Where's Hannah?" I squeeze my eyes shut tight, I don't want to think about Hannah right now, I know I hurt her and it just isn't right to make her unhappy. She didn't do anything wrong.

"I'm fine, my head hurts a little," Maybe he won’t be able to tell I'm lying.

"Have you and Hannah ever had an actually date?" He says switching the topic; I really wish we don’t have to talk about Hannah right now.

"Every Thursday is date night. Why?" I'm getting irritated that I have to talk about this with him.

"I haven't taken Noah on like a real date, is that wrong?"

What is wrong with my brother?

"YES! How could you have not done that?" I try to fight back a smile.

"We usually just hang out at home and watch movies or do other stuff."

Stuff? I know what stuff is and my little brother shouldn't be doing stuff. I narrow my eyes at Cole, "Other stuff?" my smile fades.

"Not like that! Actually we are hardly ever alone with each other; there isn't any time for that." Cole rolls his eyes at me.

"Good." I say with a smile," But you should probably take her out." I reach in my back pocket and pull out whatever is in it already, it happens to be sixty bucks," Heres sixty, take her to dinner or something."