A Tangled Web We Weave (Completed)

28. Tear Me to Pieces, Skin and Bone

Sabrina

My mom sat at the kitchen table with a bottle of wine. I would say that her glass was never empty, but that would mean she had a glass. She didn't. She blew her nose into one of the many tissues she had around, but other than that, she was silent. Her hair looked like she hadn't washed it in a week or so. Her eyes were very red and puffy. Bonnie Raitt, who had only played when my parent's divorced, crooned from the stereo, singing, "I'll close my eyes, then I won't see the love you don't feel when you're holding me". Every so often, she would stand up, shuffle over to the fridge, and pull out something else to eat, like leftover pie or yesterday's casserole. She probably hadn't moved in about 3 days.

My mother was in full break up mode.

Did I feel sorta bad? Of course.

Did it make me wish that I hadn't done my Parent Trap thing? Absolutely not.

Pulling on my sneakers and putting my hair into a ponytail, I walked over to her and gave her a hug. "How are you doing, Mom?"

She smiled and sniffled. "Oh, just ducky. Where you going?"

"Um, I'm going over to, uh, Israel's house. Is that ok?" I shifted from foot to foot.

"Of course, darling," she breezily said, like I hadn't just seen her visibly wince. "I think I'm gonna go watch Matlock reruns and probably fall asleep. I trust you to be home in time for curfew." She grabbed the wine bottle, winked at me and strolled out the kitchen, while her and I both knew that she was gonna go upstairs, turn on the TV, and pass out. 

Which meant I had all the time in the world to talk to Israel.

Which meant we would get everything out in the open.

Which meant I was emotionally screwed.

I hopped into my fixed car, turned up my angry music (thank you, Hayley Williams), and tried to block all thought out of my mind. My mind conveniently ignored me.

I liked him. As strictly a friend, of course. And I know that sounds so cliche, but I really enjoyed hanging out with him. 

But, the past few weeks, I'd changed. Infinitesimally, but I was different. And I was so confused. None of my friends cared enough to ask. They just wanted to talk about who they'd been with last weekend or the football game this Friday or how Amber Vaske might be pregnant. I was tired of the same old drama. And I couldn't tell you why.

Knocking on his door, I wasn't thinking about how his hand followed me, whether on the small of my back or on my leg when we were sitting. I wasn't thinking about how when we were alone, he kissed the top of my head. And I definitely wasn't thinking about the feeling of his lips on mine when we were in front of people, how his beautiful lips moved with mine, how he knew that I liked neck kisses, how his hands wove themselves through my hair.

By the time Israel opened the door, I couldn't breath correctly. 

"Hey, " he smirked and suddenly, I didn't know what I was doing. I leaned forward and kissed him on his chin, because, like it or not, he was freakin' tall.

Blushing furiously and scolding myself, I backed up. "Whoa, sorry, I don't even know-" 

He kissed me. Full on the mouth. Looking at me deep in the eyes, he grabbed my hand and, practically dragging me, ran through the kitchen where his father was sitting with a glass of amber liquid (how dare he assume to be classier than my mother), down the stairs, and into his basement, where he stopped. 

I ran into his back, still holding his hand. He faced away from me, breathing heavily. "Israel," I whispered, placing my other hand on his arm. 

He lurched away from me, dropping his hold. "What the hell was that, Bri?"

I flinched. "What do you mean?"

He turned around, his deep eyes angry. "What do I mean? What game are you playing? Our parents aren't together. This is the part where we fake a break-up, remember? We go our separate ways. Princess goes back to her perfect life and I stay where I am."

"What game?" I hugged myself, bizarrely hurt. "Is that what you thinking I'm doing? Playing with you? I can't believe you would say that to me. I thought we were at the very least friends. Princess," I spat, stifling my rambling. My mouth was running. Shrugging my shirt back up onto my shoulder, I took a deep breath. I was going to hyperventilate. Right here, if I didn't breathe. "My life isn't perfect, you-you-" I unclenched my hands, where I could feel the little half-moons forming on my palms. "I need to leave." 

He stepped forward. "No, stop, I'm sorry. Stay, please."

I moved away from him. "Don't touch me."

He made a sound, somewhere between a frustrated laugh and a sigh, and sat on the couch. "I'm so confused. What do you want from me?"

I played with the edge of my shirt. "What do you want?"

He chuckled. "God, Sabrina. If you even have to ask-"

"Spell. It. Out. I'm not mind-reader. Jes-"

"I want you," he whispered.

I froze. "What did you just say?"

"Dammit, Bri, I want you." He stood up and walked away from me.

"That's what I thought you said," I muttered. What am I going to do?

Luckily enough for me, he didn't give me time to figure it out, because he whipped around, closed the space between us, and grabbed my jaw. "Yes or no?" He murmured against my lips.

Throwing all pride out the window, I grabbed his arms so my knees wouldn't give out.

"Yes."

That was all he needed. His mouth covered mine, so softly and slowly I thought I was dreaming. The contact was seductive, his touch roaming my skin, fingers dragging up and down my arm. When his lips moved down my chin and onto my neck, my head lolled and I couldn't hold back the tiniest whimper. He froze and I was mortified. His hands, which had landed on the small of back, suddenly jerked me upward as he kissed me without any of the restraint he had apparently been showing every time we kissed before. His lips possessed mine and when his tongue swept out across mine, I met it with my own. Our mouths danced, rapidly accelerating towards a destination I don't know if I was prepared for. One of his hands traced down the curve of me until it reached my knee, hitching it on his waist. Following his lead, I wrapped my other leg up around him. We stayed like this, my body grinding against his, until I couldn't take it anymore.

Dropping my legs down, I slowly pulled away from him, placing little kisses on his mouth, until there was an inch between us. "Israel, are you ok with, uh-"

"We can't here," he said, one hand using the front of his shirt to fan his face. 

"And not my house. But, I really want to-"

He leaned forward and kissed my nose. "Field trip, bud," he smirked, playing with my shirt.