Set Him Free

When I Cried

The sour lemonade ran down my throat and I coughed when it burned. Trent laughed behind me and patted my back awkwardly as I continued to choke, while laughing, on the liquid. Jessamyn's family looked at us uncomfortably while we laughed until I stopped hacking unattractively.

    Once I straightened, Trent and I gained our composure and I fixed my dress self-consciously. Everyone else in the room wouldn't stop looking at us weirdly, but I guess that's expected. It wasn't until Jess came back into the living room that conversation started again.

    "Guys!" Jessamyn Carter came skipping into the room, her floral dress flowing behind her like a wave. "You came!"

    She ran straight for us and locked us into a bear hug, which was a little uncomfortable with Trent being so much taller then us both. Her tight golden curls bounced as she laughed, pulling away and giving us each individual hugs. This girl is a teddy bear, I swear.

    "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here! I've had to socialize with old people for almost two hours. Nothing against old people, obviously, because some are super nice and all but if I have to hear one more story about how cute their dogs are..." She sighed. "Anyway. How are you both?"

    Trent laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "We're good." He looked at me and I nodded in agreement before he added, "Senior year is definitely stressful. Only a few more weeks to go. I'm sorry you'll have to start high school next year. Middle school seems to have treated you nicely." He gestures around the room at her graduation celebration.

    She sighed again, her thin lips traced in a pout. "Yeah, well... If you think this is something, come back in four years to see what my parents do for my high school graduation."

    Jessamyn's relationship with her parents had always been strained. In fact, that's why they hired me. I came over to the Carter's house on weekdays after school to help Jess with her homework. Her parents were both leading business people in our city, so they had little time to help Jess and take her to her daily cheerleader practices. It gave me a chance to earn a little extra money and an excuse not to go home early. I welcomed both wholeheartedly.

    Trent tagged along sometimes and he and Jess had formed a unique bond. They both were extremely loud and outgoing, but it was adorable. He treated her like a big brother and it was amazing to watch. We did our best to keep her occupied and make sure she didn't dwell on that fact that her parents were never around.

    "Paige?"

    I shook out of my daze, my eyes focusing on Jess and Trent. "Yeah?"

    Trent grinned, obviously not surprised I had zoned out. "I was just telling Myni here that she should come to our movie night Friday. Is that okay?"

    I blinked. "Sure, absolutely." My lips turned up into a genuine smile. "I'll always enjoy your commentary during the films, Jess."

    She blushed but laughed nevertheless. "Well, someone has to give the endings away. Trent here almost had a panic attack that one movie. It was my duty to ease his pain."

    Trent pouted. "That totally spoiled the entire movie."

    I laughed at their bickering, tuning it out when I felt my phone buzz several times. Taking it out, I unlocked it and froze when I saw the ten digits on the screen. The ID blinked back at me, taunting me.

    A hand shook my shoulder and I looked up into Trent's worried eyes. He asked, "Who was that?"

    I bit my lip, shocked. "I-I don't know."

    His eyes narrowed, and I was sure he knew I was lying. I didn't give him a chance to ask about it before I said, "Excuse me. I should probably go call him back."

    Both of their eyebrows shot up at the word "him" but I ran out of there, realizing my mistake. I didn't stop pushing past people until I was outside on the Carter's porch, where I sat on a cold, stone bench to listen to the voicemail he most likely left.

    My hands shook as I opened my phone once again, tapping on the missed call before bringing the phone up to my ear anxiously.

"Hey Paige, it's me. I don't know why I thought you'd answer... I just found your phone number again and thought I'd try. So... Yeah. How are you? I hope you're doing well. Senior year, right? I definitely can say it isn't as easy as we said it would be." He laughed softly. "I miss you. I wish I could've brought you with me. But I feel like my life is complete here. It's amazing in New York! You should visit sometime."

    I scoffed. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

"Anyway, call me back anytime. I'd like to hear from you again. Bye, Paige."

    My phone remained over my ear for a few moments after the message ended. He wanted me to visit him? In that whole message, he never once said sorry for what he'd done to me.

    Disgust filled my throat and I choked on a sob, suddenly overwhelmed with annoyance and neglect. How dare he? My life was finally put back together and he decided to call now, after four years? Did he have an inside motive, because he seemed perfectly happy with not talking to me for years?

    Hearing his voice opened a whole new floodgate. What was his life like without me? Had he suffered as much as I had? Did he find a new girlfriend right after moving in? His pathetic voicemail left nothing but a "Hey, I'm great. Call me!" Old, fourteen year old feelings arose. How dare he? I deserved more than this. He was supposed to leave me alone. Never again did I want to hear his innocent, unsympathetic voice talk to me.

    I don't know how long I sat there, crying quietly to myself, until Trent and Jess found me. It was all blurry. It seemed like only minutes until I was in my bed, Trent tucking me in.

    The last thing I heard was a sigh and, "Sweet girl, I wish you'd realize how beautiful you are. You deserve so much more than him." His lips touched my forehead them the door closed softly.

I wish I could believe you, Trent.

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A/N

A long chapter, once again. I feel like my plan for this book is going to work out smoothly. Comment what you think so far!

-Tessa :)