Long Distance

Twelve-Austin

(A/N hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading! I'm at 87 reads now, and I know it's not much, but to me it's amazing! Thank you so so much. Also, please vote when you finish a chapter! It's just a simple press of a button but it means a lot to me. I appreciate comments and feedback as well! I hope you all are enjoying Long-Distace! I am sorry to say that after the next chapter I post (chapter 13), updates will not be as frequent. I am almost caught up with my writing! As of right now, I am only halfway through writing chapter 14. I will try my best to write and update as often as I can. I have a plan for what will happen in the rest of the story, but it anyone has any ideas, I would be happy to consider them! Wattpad is amazing, and thanks to all my readers. And now, I present to you, chapter twelve of Long Distance:) )


I LAUGH AT Sam's joke, but really my eyes are on the girl in the corner. The beautiful girl, smiling her gorgeous smile and talking with her new girlfriends. I notice that Jake Mayfield is nowhere to be seen. I try to cover up my feelings for Taylor with my feelings for Lexi, but I can't. What I feel for Taylor is simply growing, no matter what I do to prevent it. I've already let her so far in, I can't grow towards her any more, and then turn away and break her heart. The simple truth is, I still do love Lexi. But we're so far apart now, and we haven't even talked in several days. My relationship with her is diminishing, though I don't want it too...but what if she doesn't feel the same way? I can't break her heart as well.

And then there's the looming terror of the truth. When do I tell each girl about the other, and how? I can't keep lying to both of them. I'm already cheating on Lexi behind her back. Should I tell Taylor the truth, and have her heart be broken? Or should I end it with Lexi, and have only Taylor?

The things going on inside my head are extremely complicated. But I can't seem to put distance between Taylor and myself. Things are growing with her, and during the past few days, I've seen a lot of her.

My phone rings in my pocket, and I exit the party to answer it. It's much quieter outside.

"Hello?"

"Can I talk to your mother, please?"

I shut my eyes. I've heard that voice, a few days ago. It's my father again.

Shaking with rage, I quickly hang up and run to my car, jumping inside and speeding off. I've been trying to decide whether or not I should tell Mom that my dad called. But now that he has called twice, I feel that she needs to know.

I find her laying in her bed, drinking tea, when I get home. I go inside her room and sit next to her.

"Hey Austin," she says. "I thought you were at a party."

"I was. But Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

She raises her eyebrows, and though I hate to put this weight on her, I need to tell her.

"A few days ago I got a call from Dad."

Her expression goes blank, and she doesn't say a word. Perhaps all the pain is going on inside her head.

"And he called again...just now. That's why I left the party. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want you to have to deal with this but...now he's called twice, and I just thought you should know."

"How...how did he get your number, Austin?"

Her voice is shaking, yet her face is still expressionless.

"I don't know," I say. I begin to tell her about what he said while he was on the phone the last time, and explained to her my reaction. Her silence is deafening, as she stares at the wall instead of the television. It is apparent she's not planning on responding, so I kiss her cheek and back out of her bedroom, closing the door behind me.

Fuming still, I head to my room, and I hear a knock on the front door. I wrench it open and see Taylor standing there, looking as beautiful as ever. My mood immediately softens at the sight of her.

"Hey," I say, leaning on the door.

"Hi," she says, and runs a hand through her hair. "I noticed you left the party...I was wondering where you went."

I shrug. "Here."

I step outside and shut the door, taking her hand and sitting on the bench on my porch.

"Is everything okay?" Taylor asks.

"Yes," I lie.

"You seem upset."

"I'm fine," I snap. She quickly removes her hand from mine and sits it in her lap.

"Sorry," I say. "I didn't mean to be rude."

Her angry expression softens and she looks at me.

"You can tell me anything, you know. I'm not going to go off telling people your secrets."

Giving in, I take her hand again. "It's just that, my dad somehow found my number, and he's been calling me."

"Really? What did he say?"

"That he's sorry, that he's changed. I doubt it, though. I can't let him near my mom and break her any more than she already is."

"But what if he's reaching out to you, Austin? What if he really has changed, and he wants to get to know his own son?"

"I can't take any chances. And even if so, I don't want anything to do with him."

Taylor leans her head on my shoulder. "I'm sure that whatever happens, everything will be fine. I'll be here for you, okay?"

Suddenly a cell phone begins to ring, and I grab for mine before realizing that it's Taylor's. Holding out a finger to me, she stands up and answers it.

"Hello? Oh, hi Daddy. Okay. I'm at a friend's house, I just left the party. No, I'm fine. Alright, well...you guys have fun. Call me when you land, okay? I'll see you when you get back. Tell Mom I said bye. I'll be okay, Dad. Love you, bye."

Taylor sits back down and closes her eyes. "Okay, now I'm officially alone."

"Where are your parents going?" I ask.

She smiles. "They're going to Sydney for a week for their anniversary...which I think is stupid, since we just moved to New Zealand. But I guess it'll be fun, having the house to myself."

I frown. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

She nods. "I'm eighteen, Austin. I think I can manage."

Grinning, I say, "Just checking."

Taylor stands again and says, "I should probably get home. I don't like driving in the middle of the night."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, that's okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

She begins to walk away, but I grab her wrist and pull her back, spinning her around. Our eyes meet and I'm struck by an urge to kiss her...

So I do. And it's bliss.

Finally, I pull away and stare into her beautiful green eyes.

"Goodnight, love," I whisper.

She bites her bottom lip, grinning, looking up at me. "Goodnight, Austin."

And I stand on my porch watching her, until she drives away.

•••

On Saturday, I wake in up the morning and call Lexi for the first time in what seems like forever. It's nice to talk to her, and we chat for a long time, but...something is off. Something isn't like it used to be. Of course, I never mention Taylor, which causes me to feel guilty, but now isn't the time. And the strange things is, I get the feeling that Lexi is hiding something from me, too. She's not telling me something. And when I ask if anything else ever happened with the guy that frightened her that one evening, when she was leaving her friend's party, she responds too quick, in a high-pitched voice, a single word: "No." But I know her well enough to know that voice; it's her lying voice.

And when we hang up the call, we do so with no exchanged "I love you"s.

I walk to the kitchen and grab a granola bar, then exit the house and drive to Sam's. His parents allowed him to move out when he turned eighteen, so he lives alone in his flat, and I am over there so often that I could practically call it my own. I stand up on my tip-toes and remove the spare key from the top of the door frame, where I know he hides it, and open the door to find Sam watching TV on his couch...which is odd, because on Saturday mornings, Sam usually sleeps until after lunch. I had been expecting to walk in and rudely wake him, like pushing him off the bed or pouring water on his face.

Sam doesn't even look at me as I walk closer to him. He is wrapped in a large comforter, his golden hair messy and gray eyes red and bloodshot.

"Sam," I say, trying to get his attention. "Sam, snap out of it."

He still doesn't look at me, so I resort to slapping him on the back of his head.

He jerks to life with a start and his eyes snap to me. "Oh," he says, looking crestfallen. "Hey, Austin."

"What's up with you? Did something happen?"

He takes a breath, turning his attention back to the television. "Jenny and I broke up last night."

I frown. Sam and Jenny had been dating for over two years, and their relationship was strong; Sam thought the world of her.

"What happened?" I ask, plopping down on the sofa next to my friend.

"Dropped her off at her house after the party last night, realized she left her phone in my car. Four o'clock in the morning, drove it back to her...caught her and Mayfield on her front porch."

I groan. "Jake Mayfield?"

Sam nods and says, "Making out by her front door. She was mad when she realized I was there, told me off for 'spying' on her. Then when I told her off for cheating, Mayfield started defending her...things led to one another and I punched him, broke his nose. But Jenny was mad, wouldn't apologize, and we got in a fight, and now...we're over."

Sam falls into a depressing silence, looking down at the floor with no expression. I clap him on the back.

"Sorry, man. That sucks. I've had my fair share of Jake Mayfield, too."

When Sam says nothing, I decide I can't bear to see him so down. He and Blake were there for me when I was this way after Lexi's move, so I should be here for him now. I force Sam to take a shower and call Blake, telling him what happened and to meet us at the ice cream parlor.

About thirty minutes later, I am practically dragging Sam through the doors and to Blake, sitting at a table in the corner.

Blake smirks. "You look terrible," he tells Sam.

"Thanks," retorts Sam. I order our ice cream and return to the table, handing Sam his. He looks almost in tears, and I feel sorry for him. But I feel even more sorry for him when the doors to the parlor open, revealing a giggling Jenny and a smirking Jake. Sam starts to tear up, and Blake and I decide that it is best to get out fast before something bad happens.

•••

My two best friends and I sit on the sand with our feet in the lapping ocean water. Blake, of course, is checking out all of the bikini-wearing teenage girls in sight, but Sam is being unresponsive, staring at the ground.

I whack him on the back of the head, and he quickly turns to look at me. "Snap out of it," I say. "I know it hurts, but you can't keep on acting like this. You can have a life without her."

He scoffs. "Like you were any better when Lexi moved."

I shrug. "My point exactly. I'm back to being myself now, right? I'm over it. Almost."

Blake then nudges me on the arm. "Hey-look at that blonde over there, in the pink bikini. She's hot, right? I should go introduce myself."

It's hard, but even from a distance, I can distinguish that long, beach-blonde hair, fixed straight. And as I look at her, I can almost feel those bright green eyes pierce mine.

"No, I don't think so, dude. That one's mine."

Blake's face falls, and he says, "Oh. That's Taylor, isn't it? I couldn't tell."

Taylor notices me sitting there finally, and her face lights up. Saying a quick goodbye to her friends, she runs in my direction. Blake was right...she does look amazing in that bikini.

"Oh great, here she comes," he murmurs. I push his shoulder.

"Hey, beautiful," I call to her. Standing up, I open my arms for her, and she runs into them. I lift her up and spin her around.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Trying to get Sam to be more social," I respond, earning a hateful glare from Sam.

Taylor looks at him sympathetically. "Yeah, I saw Jenny-"

I cover her mouth with my hand before she can cause Sam to burst into tears.

"Sorry," she whispers to me, then grabs my shades off of my face and puts them on herself. Then she flashes a peace sign and makes a ridiculous "duck face," as the girls call it.

I laugh and shake my head. "Wow."

She giggles and replaces them on my head.

"Want to go for a walk?" I ask.

She nods and smiles; I bend down to Sam and Blake, telling them what I'm doing. Then I turn back to Taylor, seeing that she has slipped on a sundress over her swimsuit. I take her hand and begin walking away from the beach.

"Have you heard anything else from your dad?" she asks. I shake my head.

As we walk and talk, I can't help but think of what an awful person I am being. I just talked to Lexi this morning, and now I am with another girl. I'm not a cheater, I have never done such a thing. But this...what is this? Taylor and I aren't dating, not yet. We're in the strange limbo phase between friendship and going out. I still have feelings for Lexi, of course. But what I'm starting to realize is...if I ever truly loved Lexi, I wouldn't be where I am now. I would still be heartbroken, I would be doing everything to try to see her again. But instead, I am slowly falling for someone else. So whatever Lexi and I had...it must not have been true love.

I shouldn't be with Taylor. It's wrong, oh so wrong. But yet, it feels meant to be. I just can't...if Lexi knew about this, she would be heartbroken, right? Then again, I haven't seen Lexi for a long time. I don't know what she's doing where she is now. Maybe she's met someone else, too. The thought makes me jealous, even angry, but isn't that what I have done? Met someone else, who, though I hate to admit it, I may have more feelings for at this point?

Lexi and I haven't called off our relationship. I think we're still together, so what I am doing really is cheating.

I drop Taylor's hand suddenly and stop walking. She looks at me questioningly.

"What's wrong, Austin?"

I shake my head, sitting down on a nearby bench. I must do what is right. I knew I'd have to choose eventually, so why did I let things get so out of control? Why did I let Taylor's relationship with me progress so far?

"I-I-"

The words are too difficult to spit out.

"Are you alright?"

I look at Taylor, and seeing her beautiful eyes so concerned melts my heart. I can't do this to her...but still, I have to do what's right. And this is the right thing.

"Taylor, I-I'm sorry."

Her expression changes from worried to confused. "About what?"

"This shouldn't be happening. You are so amazing, truly, and it breaks my heart to tell you this. But I don't know why I ever let you and me get this way."

Taylor's eyes close, and then she says the words. "There's another girl, isn't there?"

She says it more like a statement than a question. Was I that obvious? Or is she just that smart?

"I-I am so sorry, Taylor. Really, I am. I really like you, but...you're right. I-I have a girlfriend. She moved away just a few days before you got here."

Hurt registers on her features and I want more than anything to comfort her, to hold her.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Taylor's voice isn't angry, it is calm.

"Because I couldn't. I wanted to, but-"

Taylor stands up from beside me, staring down into my eyes.

"I really trusted you," she says, tears forming in her green eyes. "I thought-I thought we..."

She trails off, covering her face with her hands.

"Taylor, please, I'm so sorry-"

I reach out to touch her but she pushes me away. With one last glance, she runs.