Forbidden

Not Again

"Why are you talking to Liam? You two are over, right?" Naomi asked curiously as all five of us (Me, Danise, Naomi, Felisha, and Onika) walked home together.

I exchanged a quick glance with Felisha, silently telling her not to say anything. She nodded.

"Yeah," I replied. "It's complicated. We're just...trying to figure things out."

Naomi didn't look satisfied with that, and neither was Onika.

Onika spoke up. "What split you two up anyway? I thought you both were, like, inseparable."

I was thankful that Danise and Felisha were keeping quiet this whole time, though Danise didn't know anymore than Onika and Naomi did.

I sighed. "Yeah...we were."

"So? No more details?" Naomi persisted.

Just then, thank god, we arrived at Naomi's house. She groaned. "Okay, I guess you can tell me tomorrow. Bye!"

"Bye!" we all called after her.

"Well?" Yup. That was Onika.

Felisha broke in. "Naomi would kill us if we knew something she didn't. We can wait 'til tomorrow."

I gave my best friend a grateful look.

As soon as all my friends got home, I was left walking alone. Liam was on the other side of the street just a little farther ahead of me. I crossed the street without looking for cars, and thankfully didn't get ran over before meeting him.

"You have to tell me about yesterday. What did you overhear our parents saying?"

"And hello to you too," he joked. "Why does it matter so much?"

"Because my dad shouldn't have been over at your place in the first place! Now tell me, smart one," I returned.

He put his hands up in a surrendering position. "Okay, okay, chill. All I heard was that they were planning on meeting up again tomorrow night."

"See? That IS a big deal!" I said, astonished.

He smiled, without looking at me. "Yeah, okay, but did you have to pester me about it?"

"Yes! We have to find out why they're meeting up!"

He stopped in his tracks.

"What?" I asked, irritated.

"Would you have liked it if our parents were spying on US?"

"Yes, actually I would have because they would've stopped us from making the huge mistake we did."

Liam looked so disappointed that all I wanted right then was to take it back.

"So you think it was a mistake?"

Closing my eyes, I answered, "I don't know."

There was a long pause and I didn't dare open my eyes in case I saw that he wasn't there. Maybe he walked away.

"Well I do know. And I think that maybe we should let our parents work it out on their own. We did."

I clenched my teeth, eyes still closed. "Yeah and look how we turned out; heart-broken and deceived."

He sighed and once again pulled me into his trap by wrapping me in a hug. At first I gave in, but as soon as I felt the tears begin to come up, I pushed him away without once looking at his face. And then? Then I ran home.

***

"Why are you pressuring me with questions? I told you everything I know!" I told the man.

"Listen, Miss Hester, we still have unanswered questions that need to be resolved."

"Why?" I returned in a hostile voice. "What's the point? Why is my life so important to all of you? Can't you just leave me alone? I don't want to spend the last days of my short life being investigated."

His eyes widened.

I smiled. I knew something he didn't know I knew. "I am dying, aren't I?"

No answer.

"Aren't I? Just tell me! I've been lied to enough. Come on, I can take it! Just tell me the truth!" I yelled angrily.

He looked back down at his papers. Still no answer.

***

I barged into the house to find a startled Mom. I couldn't see my dad, which was a good thing right now. He must either be with LeAnn or some other woman he's cheating on my mom with.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

My mom was crying on the couch. She sniffed a few times, wiping away the tears. "I don't know."

This was ridiculous. "You know he's meeting with LeAnn, don't you?"

My anger was so fueled right now.

She nodded. "I've known for some time."

"And why haven't you done anything about it?" I asked with annoyance.

She didn't answer for a long time. I didn't want to make her anymore upset by yelling at her so I forced myself to calm down and sit next to her. Then she answered.

"I'm leaving. I can't stay when your father isn't happy with me anymore. So I'm leaving."

For the first time, I noticed that there wasn't a ring on her finger anymore.

"Mom, no..." I begged, my voice losing its harshness. "Please don't go. Dad still loves you."

Now it was her turn to be angry.

"Really? It shows! He tells me he's still in love with LeAnn, he sneaks off to her house every week and HE LOVES ME? If that's love, it's sick," my mom began crying again.

I sat with her for an hour in silence before she told me she was going off to bed. This couldn't be happening to me. Not now. Not ever.