Daydream Dating

Chapter 12 - Passenger Seats

Song of the chapter - Hearts Don't Break Around Here by Ed Sheeran

"So, why did your family end up moving this way?" I asked what I thought was an innocent question. TJ was still sitting next to me out on Mitch's back patio. The party was raging behind us, every high school teen film cliche in the world present and accounted for. But when I saw the look on his face, I realized the question hadn't been so simple. He almost looked sick to his stomach.

Whoa. I needed damage control, and fast!

"Or we could talk about something else..." I began to stammer, "soccer. You could tell me about soccer. Yeah, I don't really know anything, so teach me about it." My nerves were on high alert. I grabbed the hem of my skater skirt, pulling it against my thighs with anxiety. It had already been an awkward situation for me, just sitting out there with a guy, the guy. And then I went and shoved my foot in my mouth making things twice as awkward as before.

Hey, wait a minute! I thought to myself, all I did was ask why he moved. That's a totally normal thing to wonder. I should just stop freaking out because he had a weird reaction to a normal question. So I sat quietly, waiting for him to calm down. I smoothed the sides of my new Soul Honey shirt, (what can I say Jess and Gabe are goals) trying to look casual.  Seemed like the tables had turned...

"Um..."TJ cleared his throat, "no, that's ok. I can answer your question. Sorry, it's just, the reason brings up a whole other thing, but yeah. I should tell you anyway."

He was still all green-looking, but continued to talk about whatever it was. "My dad is in the military, and they transferred him to a different position temporarily. So rather than make a two hour drive every day, we moved to be closer to the recruiting office he's working in right now." He explained.

Well, that didn't seem like a reason to be about to vomit. "Oh. Well, yeah that makes total sense." I replied. I was seriously confused by the dude.

"But, um, they aren't my real parents." He tacked on at the end, quietly. His eyes were no longer making contact with mine, now focused on the ground instead. I guess that could be a reason for the sudden nerves he had. He was adopted?

"Oh?" I wasn't sure how to respond. I didn't know if I should change the subject or encourage him to continue, so I waited for him to decide.

"Yeah. My parents were friends of theirs. My dad was also in the army, and he got deployed to Iraq. He was gone for about six months when he was killed. My mom kind of flipped out and got hooked on some pain killers. She couldn't handle life anymore I guess. So my parents," he said emphasizing the last word, "which is how I think of them, took me in."

Sheesh, I was really bad in these types of confession situations. We had just come out to escape the craziness of the party, and now we were in this heavy conversation. I didn't know how to react. I was shaking a bit too, because he was really hot.

"Well, I'm so glad there was a great family for you." I finally said, proud of my lack of awkward reply. I mean, it could have come out something like, sucks to be you, but thankfully my tongue cooperated.

TJ looked back at me, finally. Which of course made my blood pressure skyrocket. My heart also replied with a bit of extra hammering in my chest.

"Yeah, me too." He smiled slightly, causing me to have a minor heart attack. "I have a bunch of little siblings now, which is fun. They're a great family."

I smiled back at him, despite the fact that my nerves were running amuck. "That's great! I have a younger brother, but he's more of a menace than a bunch of fun."