Dilemma

Chapter 1

Charlotte's POV

"What did you get for number sixteen?" My boy friend/best friend, Caleb, asked me from across the table.

"Sometimes I think you're only dating me because I help you with your homework." I replied jokingly.

"I would never!" Caleb gasped in mock horror. I rolled my eyes at him.

"The answer is negative two." I said.

"Thanks Charlie." He leaned over to my side of the table and kissed my cheek; I felt my face heat up. Caleb smiled at me. "You're blushing."

"No I'm not." I countered, trying to hide my face by looking down at my calculus homework.

"Aww, my baby's blushing." He said.

"No I'm-" I said as I looked up from my homework, he cut me off with a kiss. It was nice, not too rough and not too soft. Our lips were connected for a while, both of our eyes closed.

"Okay kiddos, that's enough." My mom warned as she walked into the dining room with a bowl of salad in her hands. She placed it on the table and raised her eyebrows at us.

"Sorry Mrs.Winston, were done." Caleb smiled at my mother. She smiled back. My mother had always been fond of Caleb.

"Dinner will be out in a minute." She explained.

"Where's Chance?" Caleb inquired when my mother had returned to the kitchen.

"Football practice." I answered. "With Andrew."

"Ah, Andrew Hoover." Caleb said dramatically, grabbing a spoon off of the table and using it as a microphone. "Star running back, lady killer, and all around asshole." Then he wiggled his eyebrows at me and I giggled.

Andrew acted like he was a saint or something but he'd been bullying me since the eighth grade, about four years. I had never told my older brother, Chance, because Andrew was his best friend and I didn't want to ruin their friendship... plus, Andrew threatened to rape me. I doubted he would do something like that but there was no telling what he could do.

"Why don't you just tell someone what he's doing to you." Caleb asked, his tone instantly changed to seriousness. I bit my lip. I had thought about telling my mom or the principal but it was too risky, I didn't want rumors floating around that would instantly label me as a slut.

"Okie-Dokie, dinner is served." My mom inturuppted. She was carrying a large bowl of...

"Mac and cheese!" Caleb and I shouted simultaneously.

"Jinx!" We both said as we swung around to face each other. I counted to ten as quickly as I could but Caleb reached the number a split second before me. He wrapped his arms around me playfully.

"I win." He said with a smile. He kissed my cheek and made a 'mwah' sound. "Charlotte Winston, you owe me a soda."

*******

About halfway through dinner we heard the door open and I instantly knew who it was. Judging by the sound of a football contacting skin, I could tell that Chance and Andrew were tossing a football back and forth.

"Chance Winston!" My mother yelled when she realized what they were doing. "Stop throwing that football around before you break something!"

"We aren't gonna break anything, Mom. Chill." We heard them laughing in the entry room. Then we heard glass shattering.

"Oh shit!" Chance exclaimed. Caleb, my mother, and I all got up from our seats at the table to see what they had broken. We burst through the door that connected the entry room to the dining room and saw my mom's favorite vase on the floor, shattered. The flowers that had been inside of it were on the floor as well, and so was all of the water.