8 people. Regan, a fiery rising theatrical star, gets caught in a forbidden romance, not unlike the one she's in onstage. Elena, the sassy eldest child, tries to deal with problems at home and the problem sitting next to her in class. Andy never wan...
My dad speared a piece of potato, waving it at me as he spoke. "I, for one, am glad that boy is thousands of miles away. Maybe this time apart will cause one of you come to your senses."
My mom gave him a look. "What your dad is trying to say is that we're worried about you and this man."
"This man happens to be my boyfriend still. We're still technically together, we're just taking a break while he's in Italy," I stated, moving my pieces of chicken around on my plate. "My feelings haven't changed because he's on another continent."
"But, separation makes the heart grow fonder, or, in other cases, makes the heart realize things that it was too blind to notice. Like the fact that Tony," my father said like a contagious disease, "is too old for you. That you should be focusing on school and scholarships and college applications and-"
"You've got to admit, sweetheart, that it does make one wonder what Tony's intentions are. I mean, he's a grown man, he's got a career, all of those things mean he should have the pick of the crop. Why should he choose-"
"Yeah, Mom," I smiled acidly. "Why would a handsome, successful man choose me? Thanks."
Ignoring my parent's excuses, I tried to block out the memory of Tony's voice coming over the line. "Yeah, I agree 100%." What does that even mean? That he's been trying to break this up for a while, that he was just waiting for some reason to let me down easy? The only reason I initiated it was the hope that it would make dinner with my parents less awkward. Hope crushed.
I missed him. His quiet humor, his dry sarcasm after I would do something stupid, the way his eyes followed me whenever I left his side. I missed the smell of his cologne, even though I'd been sleeping in his hoodie. I missed the way he held me during movies or let me lean on him while in line at restaurants. Who invented boyfriends? This sucked.
I could hear my parents arguing from my room, my mom's voice raising, my father's soothing. Soon, if she didn't calm down, he'd get out her plates. Every so often, my dad bought plates at GoodWill for my mother to break. Afterwards, she'd go to her room and cry and he'd be left with all of the broken glass. More than once, he sliced his foot open trying to sweep every shard up. My father hated sweeping, but he did it for her. They cared about each other.
And me. That's the only reason they were so adamant about my breaking up with Tony. I had no idea what was going to happen with him, but they were trying to shield me from possible damage. And I was grateful for them. But, I wanted them to understand that this isn't me being impulsive or rebellious. I cared about Tony a lot. I might even-
Shaking my head from that train of thought, I pulled on Tony's sweater and picked up my phone to text Elena that I was on my way to her house when I noticed text messages from her.
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Sighing, I tossed my phone onto the pile of clothes at the foot of my bed and flopped down on the mattress. Since the accident, we'd had absolutely no time to hang out. Returning to school after being gone so long had been hard, but at least I got to see Elena when she wasn't with Hudson. With a smile, I thought of her adamant hatred of him at the beginning of the year. Hate him, my ass, girl.
Turning off my light, I crept underneath my covers, put cream on my face and hands, and tried to fall asleep without crying.
