Truth be Told ✔️

Chapter 20

*Oops, another long chapter that I'm already splitting into two parts. Well, enjoy!*

Blake had the right to storm off. My mom had totally severed our relationship by telling the story of Graham trying to make my bathing suit cover more of me because he disapproved of how much it would show on the beach. From afar, I get it, it looked bad. But that was way before I even met Blake.

Maybe he just didn't think he had a chance anymore, or maybe he didn't think I was being honest with him about who Graham was to me.

And he could keep wondering that and thinking that all he wanted. He was allowed to do that.

But here's where that would end. I was not going to be the girlfriend that cried in her room and yelled at everyone she saw and had her best friends bring her ice cream. I was still mad at my girl best friends and obviously it couldn't be Graham, so that option was out. And I also wouldn't be calling his phone ten times an hour and leaving sob story messages that he would hold over my head when we got back together. 

I just wanted to see Graham.

I wanted my mom to go back to San Diego and I wanted that night to never have happened. But, my mom's still here, yelling at the waffle maker, and I still have claw marks on my legs from the sheer frustration of last night. It was painfully obvious that there was no going back.

So now all I wanted was to see Graham.

I had dressed in a simple day dress for a Saturday morning outing. I had plans for it to be a normal day where me and my best friend walked through downtown and had breakfast at some small cafe of our rock-paper-scissors choosing. Now only I had to text him and let him know what he would be doing today.

After shooting him the usual 'Saturday?' I went back to my bathroom to continue to switch between straightening my hair and shooting anxious looks at my phone. I knew Blake wouldn't call. He had that quarterback pride that wouldn't let him. But that didn't stop me from thinking he might, or hoping he would.

When I had finished with my hair, I checked my phone one last time. My heart was beating fast, because a part of me didn't think either cared anymore, and by not choosing, I had just ruined everything. Seriously. My breathing was fast as I wondered what had I gotten myself into?

But then I saw 'I'm outside' flash across the screen, and my heart lifted. Okay. At least I still had him on my side.

I grabbed my phone and a clutch to end my routine and declare myself ready. I walked out of my room and then down the dreaded stairs because I knew my whole family would be sitting in the kitchen, eating their burnt waffles in silence.

Could I avoid them? Probably not. The kitchen was the point to the side door or the front door. A strategic move indeed, mother.

When I entered the kitchen, everything I thought I knew was...correct. My mother was checking her emails in one hand and forcing strawberries down her mouth with the other. This was a new level of multitasking for her, but one that I was unsurprised by. Then there was my father, who was trying to not let his tired head fall into his one waffle drowned in syrup.

My brother was there, flipping through his phone. That was fine. It was almost the usual Saturday morning before my mom was promoted, but my usual chair next to him was occupied. The only other chair at the table was being sat in by a very familiar senior.

"Oh, hey," I smiled. "How long ago did you get here, Taylor?"

She turned around at my voice. A smile spread across her face at the sight of me. "Alexa," she beamed. "I hoped I'd see you this morning."