When Lies Become Reality (On Hold)

Chapter 7

~ Stephanie's P.O.V.~

 I go downstairs to eat dinner with everyone, still in a daze from the kiss. I'm afraid it's going to be awkward with Josh but, when I get to the kitchen he isn't there.

“Hey!” I say as I enter the room. My voice cracking a little because it hasn't been used in a while.

“Hey look your face isn't attach to someone else!” Nick exclaimed when I was in the same room as him. I could feel my cheeks heat up as Jen and John turned to stare at me.

“Shut up!” I say glaring at Nick which only succeeds in making him laugh more and making me go redder.

As we all sit down I notice once again that Josh isn't in the room.

“You don't know where Josh is, do you?” Jen says it was more of a statement than a question. I guess the look of worry was clear on my face. I didn't want to talk so I just shook my head slowly.

“Did you two have a fight?” Jen asks.

“Didn't look like they were fighting to me.” Nick says under his breath earning glares from the three of us. Pretending I didn’t hear Nick I say “Sort of, I mean, I guess.”

Not like I was able to tell her that it was a kiss. It was total opposite what she would expect. I couldn’t say that because she thinks we're dating. How crazy would I sound if I just looked up and said “oh my boyfriend kissed me and I don’t know what to think about it I'm afraid he might regret it” yeah, not crazy at all...

“He looked happy as anything when he came running down those stairs to go to the restaurant and meet with Eric.” John said in a low voice that sounded like he was thinking “I swear I will kill him” I laughed at the thought of John chasing Josh around the house, with a baseball bat, screaming at him.

“Well, at least he was happy.” I say under my breath and more to myself than anyone else. Maybe, he doesn’t regret what happened. My hand instinctively went up to my lips just thinking about the kiss. I can't believe that I Stephanie Smith shared a kiss with Josh Williams.

“You okay? You look kind of pale.” Nick says “and you're touching your lips again, it's weird, and it's the second time I’ve seen you like that tonight.” he adds the last part with a teasing glint in his voice.

“Yeah, fine.” I say my words slightly muffled by the hand I kept pressed to my lips. I remove my and, clear my throat, and try again.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask thinking it's kind of odd that Nick's starting to sound like a protective brother.

“You don't look fine, what's up?” Nick asks and Jen and John both tilt their heads in my direction making me blush from the attention. Weird, I know, head cheerleader blushes because of attention from her brother and foster parents.

"I'll be fine.” I say figuring that thats a little better. I didn’t say I was fine but, I did say I will be fine. I guess they agreed because they let it go after that. We ate dinner in an uncomfortable silence.

After dinner we all went to the couch to watch some TV. There was a marathon of 'Family Guy' on and we’ve been watching it for hours laughing together like a family. I liked it. Maybe, Josh was right, this is my family now. I felt my throat tighten at the thought of Josh and my family.

“As long as you want me, I'll be here.” he says and gets off my bed to walk out of my room. I want to stop him but, I can't move.

“Hey, I'm back!” A voice yells from the hallway. An all to familiar voice.