The Distance Between Us

Chapter 26: Park Around the Corner

Chapter 26: Park Around the Corner

As the week played on, I found myself trying to convince my parents that Axel and I weren't a thing. But no matter how much I tried, it seemed as if they weren't believing me. On Friday, when Axel didn't come home alongside us like he usually does, my mom asked where he was.

"I don't know," I answered with a shrug as I went to the fridge.

"Well, is he coming over later?" my mom asked. "Because your dad isn't going to be home until eight and I'm about to leave, and I think Dylan works at five."

"Why does it matter?" I asked, already knowing the answer. That's three hours that you guys could be alone. You know the rules, Lex, you can't be alone with him.

"You can't be alone with him, Lex," my mom responded for what seemed to be the fifth time this week.

"Well, he's not coming over," I told my mom as I closed the fridge with a Dr. Pepper in my hand. I opened the cabinet and grabbed the chips, preparing to go upstairs to my room. When I felt her gaze on me, I turned my attention to her. "Can I be alone with these chips? Or do I have to stay with them downstairs in front of everyone?"

"Watch your mouth, Lex," my mother remarked.

Why? I can just have Axel do it for me, I wanted to say. I simply walked towards the stairs, taking them two steps at a time. The tension in the house is so thick you could cut it with a knife. My anger is directed towards my brother and my parents, and my brother's anger is simply directed towards me. My parents aren't angry at either of us; they were just upset that I didn't tell them about Axel. I was mad at them for believing my brother instead of me. It made me wish that there was nothing going on between me and Axel so they could feel extremely stupid.

The car rides to and from school are tense and so is dinner. The only time I'm not on the verge of hitting something (or someone) is when I'm in my room alone. If I really wanted to be annoying, I'd tell Axel to come over after five and leave before eight but because I don't want to risk getting into trouble in the odd case that someone comes home early, I repressed the urge to do so. Instead, I planned out the event that would be taking place in three and a half weeks.

Thinking about it now, I'd rather have my event on the 22nd to simply avoid any awkwardness that might ensue but then again, I don't know what's going to happen in these next few weeks. Who knows? My parents might start to believe me once they see the completely platonic relationsionship me and Axel are planning to put on for them, and Dylan might actually stop being such a jerk and apologize for putting me in such an uncomfortable situation.

The door to my room pushed open and my brother peeked his head in. "Can I use your charger?" he asked.

"Get out," I responded as I lay on my bed with my phone in my hands.

"Come on, mine only works at a certain angle and I need to get ready for work so I can't keep checking on it," my brother responded.

"Buy a new one," I retorted. .

"Come on, just for an hour and a half," he answered.

I grabbed my charger and connected it to my phone, despite the fact that it was already on 74%. "I'm using it."

"You don't have to be such a-," he started but I looked up at him with a sharp glare. "Look, my phones on 11%. I'll bring it back when I'm done."

"No," I retorted. "Get out."

"You're being overdramatic," he answered. "All I did was confirm something that our parents were already suspicious about."

"Exactly! Now they think we're dating. He can't even come over and hang out anymore!" I retorted, sitting up.