My Superhero

Chapter 24

I had never been so happy to be back in my own bed. Not even when I'd gone on a road trip with Miranda and got stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and two dead cellphones.

It's been a week since we got back from Bora Bora and the last tension filled day was still replaying itself over and over again in my head. Conversation with my mother was nothing more than brief polite goodbyes at the airport. As for Jason, it was like fate was playing a nasty joke on me. Seriously, I couldn't have possibly bumped into him that many times even if I were stalking him. And every time I did, he'd just turn around stiffly and walk away. The jerk.

On the other hand, Luca was breaking my heart with his attempts to make up with Kate. He had come over countless times, begging me to let him in, but every time, i'd end up reluctantly doing what Kate had instructed me to do: tell him she's not in and shut the door right away. Every time I saw the hurt in his eyes at my blunt lies, my heart broke all over again. I knew he didn't deserve this, but I couldn't for the life of me understand why Kate was treating him like this.

As for me, I'd condemned myself to house arrest for the past week. I spent my mornings out on the balcony, reading magazines and listening to music, and my evenings in the living room, eating and watching tv. Whenever Miranda was free, we'd spend an hour or so catching up on Skype. When I'd filled her in on what had happened with my mother, she had almost passed out.

"WHAT? Since when is your mom so mean?" she had shrieked into my ear.

"Ouch, keep it down woman! And honestly, I don't know," I'd sighed, "there's nothing I can do now anyway."

"well, at least you know the real him. I mean what kind of an idiot just gives up so easily?! If I were you I'd go out there and shove a log up his-"

"You and I both know I wouldn't do that," I'd said, cutting her off as I rolled my eyes at her exaggerated ferocity. "and I'm on house arrest, remember?"

She had taken a break from combing her unruly hair to glare at me through her webcam. "Only you would waste a week of perfect summer weather inside on house arrest." dramatic eye roll. "Go. Out. Enjoy your summer."

"there's one thing I feel guilty about though," I had confessed, gnawing on my bottom lip.

"what is it? Oh my god , you didn't sleep with him, did you?! OH MY GOD ARE YOU LATE?"

"What? Oh my god, of course not! God, only you would jump into conclusions this fast."

"Oh. Okay then what is it?"

"I had promised him long ago that if anything goes wrong I'd still help him out with his comic. I don't want to bail on him."

My words had caused Miranda to fume. "you don't want to bail on him?" she had mocked me, disbelief icing her voice. "honey, you didn't bail on him, He bailed on You! Stop being an idiot, he deserves to have you kick him where the sun doesn't shine, not help him out."

"When did my sweet, innocent Miranda turn so violent?" I had asked, faking horror and clutching at my heart.

"When Marc the idiot blew me off last night, that's when," she had confessed, her expression turning furious as she launched into a two hour recount of her adventures with her new fling.

Now as i sat on the balcony, I realized Miranda had been right. I need to go out and enjoy what's left of summer, not hide away in a corner. Besides, I was starting to get really bored of being confined in this apartment. Thats why I pulled my phone out and scrolled down my contact list until I found his name then pressed dial. Four rings later, he picked up.

"Look who finally decided to come out of her hiding!"

"Hey Steve," I said cheerfully into the phone, his booming voice automatically making me smile. Ever since he had taken me on that rollercoaster ride, I'd had a soft spot for him with his loud laugh and spontaneity.