Runaway

Chapter 3

Briana's POV

        "So, did you see anyone you knew at the mall tonight?" My dad asks, with a grey that matched mine, and a gaze that pierced right through you, making any person tell the truth.

        "No, I don't think so." I say hesitantly, but I already know he can see right through my lie.

        "Are you sure? You didn't see anybody at all from school? Not any boys?" my stomach twists. I was torn between Julian and my dad. If I lied to my dad, then I could get in serious trouble, but if I confessed everything I knew from tonight, the chance of ever seeing Julian again, never mind loving him, was very slim.

        "Well, now that I think of it, I think I saw a few of my classmates." I say, trying to ignore the knot tying in my stomach.

        "Which ones?"  he pokes.

        "Ummmm..." I try to play dumb, but my dad knows better than that. I inherited his sharp observation skills and photographic memory.

        "Is there any chance two of them were Julian Matthews and Logan O'Brien?" we both knew the answer to this question, so I don't know why he went and asked it anyway. It was obviously uncomfortable for both of us, because Mrs. Matthews and my mother were friends and coworkers, so our family knew theirs well enough. Mrs. Matthews believed her son was an angel sent from heaven, so it might surprise her when her perfect child is sent to jail fro shoplifting.

        "That seems familiar." I say, but I only get a cold stare from my dad in return. He hates it when I play dumb.

        "Go to bed Briana." He says to me, even though it was only nearly nine-thirty. I obey him anyways, because now he had to get to work on this case, and I couldn't feel more horrible about myself. I walk upstairs to my room, passing my mother on the way. Her expression was grim, so she must've heard the news already.

        "How was the mall with Crystal?" she asks, evidently because she feels as if she has to.

        "Good." I respond, and just walk past her. I notice her grip the coffee mug tighter as I leave. I feel bad for my mother. She knew that Julian was a troublemaker all along, and never told his mother because of her tendency to avoid conflict at all cost. The thought of having to face Mrs. Matthews on Monday must seem terrifying to her, though it isn't really her fault. I walk into my room and take a deep breath to try and start to comprehend what just happened. Should I have told my dad about him being there? Or should I have lied about it, though I would've gotten into tons of trouble. I like Julian a lot, I have for a while, and don't want anything bad to ever happen to him, no matter how annoying he may be at times. The thoughts in my head are calling for attention, like a million people are calling your name at once to scream or hurt you. I can't think of anything else to do then to call Crystal. I get these types of mental breakdowns often, and Crystal always helps me sort out my problems calmly, without ever interupting or disagreeing with me. She was such a nice friend, and I couldn't even tell her about my feelings for Julian. I pick up my cellphone, but hesitate before dialing her number. Would she even pick up? I left her at the mall really quickly, without an explanation, and if it was the other way around, I would be pretty mad. But I needed to talk to her, or else I would just explode. I take a chance and press on her contact while closing my eyes. After five seconds, I hear her bubbly voice on the other line. Except it lost some of it's happiness and sounded worried and a little mad. Not that I balmed her, I was a total jerk.

        "What is your problem?" She asks, "I was worried sick. The cops come, and you then insist on running off without me are you insane? Do you know what could've happened to you?"

        "I'm so sorry, ok? Just when I saw my dad's name on the card, I freaked out, I had to be alone for a while."

        "Why? It's no big deal, they're annoying anyway. I mean yeah, they'll be missed or whatever but they should've thought about this before they stole all that stuff-"

        "Crys," I say, and the urgency in my voice stops her mid-sentence.

        "What?" she says.

        "I like Julian." I admit, another knot forming right next to the massive one that formed before.

        "And you didn't tell me?" she responds, more hurt than angry.

        "No, it's just that you didn't like him at all, and were always talking about how you hated him so it didn't seem like the right thing to do, you know."

        "You didn't think I'd support you?" she says, even more hurt than before.

        "No it's not that its-"

        "Briana, you make some pretty stupid decisions sometimes, but I hope you know that I'd support you any time, no matter how idiotic you are."

        "That's not important right now," I explain picking up my mothers conflict avoiding habit. "The reason why I called you is I may have told my dad about us seeing Julian and his friends at the mall."

        "But didn't they know it was them anyways?" she says, completely forgetting the problem we faced a few moments before.

        "They had their suspicions, but I confirmed them and god I feel horrible." I say, the voices already starting to calm down after I start confessing. "I mean it's bad enough that I told on a classmate, but someone that I had feelings for? He could get sent to jail, and hate me forever."

        "Briana, you did what you had to; you couldn't lie to the sheriff. Especailly your dad, that would be twice as bad." I was about to respond, but my mother burst through the door.

        "Briana.." She says, out of breath from running up the stairs so quickly. "Mrs. Matthews just called me and she saw the news story about him and his friends shoplifting. They can't find him."

        "I gotta go." I say quickly to Crystal on the other line, and hang up. "What do you mean?"  I ask my mother.

        "Julian ran away."

A/N: Hi everybody! I'm sorry for the bit of the delay on the chapter, but I've been busy getting back in the full swing of things (I know, it took me a while) anyways if you still havent given Emily and my account a follow; then what are you waiting for??? Please vote and comment your opinions as both of us would love some feedback/praise/constructive criticism/more praise. XD Anyways...se ya in Chapter 5!!

Isabel