County Falls

Chapter 32: As Long as You're Happy

Aidan and I spent the remainder of our spring break frolicking on the beach, walking around town, and helping Robin around the house. It was incredibly relaxing and it kept my mind off school, friends, and boys, for the most part. My mind still occasionally wandered to Jase when I was left alone but it happened so infrequently that it hurt less to think about him and all the time we spent together. It was almost comforting and I entertained the idea speaking to him again. That was, until I saw him across the hall on the first day of school. I was getting really good at avoiding him but he was there, only a few feet away from me, staring. We locked eyes, something we hadn't done in months. I held on to my locker door in fear that I would fall right there. Looking at him hurt like hell, especially when Taylor was standing right next to him, talking his ear off. He took a step forward which broke my reverie and I shut the door and ran off. If I couldn't even look at him then there was no chance of me being able to speak to him. I realized then that our friendship might be over.

Seeking an escape, I ran to Seth's room. He sat at his desk drinking his green juice and scrolling though his computer. He didn't know that I saw my photo at the gallery and that he submitted it, so I thought I'd give him a hard time.

"You'll never guess where I was this week." I placed my bag on the floor.

"Let me guess, at a club somewhere doing god knows what?" I sat across from him and crossed my hands in front. "Whats wrong?" he asked. "You're being weird."

"I was at CU."

He took another sip of his drink. He was only halfway listening to me. "How was that?"

"You never mentioned that there was an art gallery."

"I'm sure I did."

"Nope. Not one word. The manager Dominic showed me around."

"Dominic Russo? He's a good kid."

I nodded. "He showed me the competition that they had recently and I saw an interesting piece."

That seemed to grab his attention and realization set in. "I'm sorry Kai. I know I over stepped my boundaries and should have asked you first, but I saw it in the dark room and I knew you would say no—"

"Relax Seth. I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"No. I just wanted to say thank you."

His face relaxed. "You're welcome. I'm proud of you kid."

"Thanks, but next time" I paused for dramatic effect. "I'm getting first place."

When school was finished, I went to my first shift back at work. Everyone seemed happy to see me and commented on my tan that I so proudly worked on. Miranda said something bitchy, which was normal, thus bringing the conversation to an abrupt end, but what wasn't normal, was the way Aidan was suddenly acting. His responses were short and he hardly made eye contact with me. I decided it was space that he needed. After spending a week straight with me, it was understandable that he got sick of me. Hell, even I got sick of me.

Being back at home was a bit odd too. Something seemed off.

"What's that smell?" I asked my mother as I sniffed the air.

"It's lasagna. Does it smell bad?"

"No it smells great but I thought you only cook that on special occasions?"

"This is a special occasion hon. Rick is coming over."

"Rick? As in your boyfriend Rick? He's coming over."

"Yes and you better change because he'll be here any minute."

"Why didn't you warn me?" I yelled as I ran upstairs.