The Kissing Booth 2: Don't Kiss & Tell

Chapter 17: Flowers: Elle's POV

The next few days went by in a blur. We made an unspoken rule to not talk about the hard things or the intense things that lay ahead. We spent the last 3 days teasing one another and focusing on being in the spectacular now. We didn't talk about Rachel and we didn't mention Noah. We didn't talk about school and we didn't talk about anything that would lower the mood. Instead, we talked about the brighter parts of the future.

We made plans for future road trips and threw out ideas for our upcoming trip to our beloved Beach House. This time around, we planned on attending as many bonfires as we could. We were contemplating throwing our own. Noah told us last year that he wouldn't be going back, so I assumed that meant we would be on our own. I had a feeling that Lee would probably be romantically unattached as well, so it would be an entirely new experience. This road trip was just the first of many big things to come.

Every single night, I still got text messages from Noah. They all told me to be safe, to sleep well and that he wasn't giving up. I always thanked him, but I wasn't really sure what to say outside of that. I wasn't ready for another serious conversation with him. I wasn't ready to fall back in his arms, but I also wasn't ready to close that door either. I was in limbo, and I planned to stay there until I graduated. 

Graduation was coming up fast. We only had a few weeks of school left. My days of normalcy were numbered. My time with my family was limited. I was excited in a lot of ways, but I was sad in most. I wouldn't have Lee to drive me to school, I wouldn't have Brad to give me a hard time, and I wouldn't have dad there to pick up my back-up pants. If I got sick, I was all on my own. Nobody would be there to make me soup, take my temperature or force feed me medicine. I wouldn't have any readily available shoulders to cry on and hugs would be in short supply.

The day after I returned home I had to get back to school. I was beyond exhausted, but my attendance was necessary. Like most days, Lee picked me up. Usually, Rachel was with him, but she was noticeably absent today. I began to question it when I got in the car, but he instantly said "Not right now Elle. We will talk about her later."

I raised my eyebrow and said "alrighty then" in a sarcastic tone. I instantly knew that I was in for a dramatic day.

During my second period class, I was called down to the office. I was completely confused because I hadn't even been here long enough to get into trouble. I had been on time today and I was pretty sure my uniform was in accordance with the dress code. My trip had been cleared, nothing damning had happened in Boston and my grades were perfect. I had been nothing but respectful to everyone I came across. I always am.

My panic set in during my walk down to the office. The endless possibilities went through my head. I'm one of those law abiding citizens that fears authority; therefore I follow the rules closely. I never even toe the line. Heat flooded my system and my body began to sweat. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My legs felt heavy and I held on to the straps of my backpack as tight as I could. I kept trying to tell myself that 'I've got this' but in reality, I had no idea.

When I entered the office, I saw a giant flower arrangement. It was kind of gaudy. I couldn't decide if I envied the recipient for having someone do something so impressive for them, or pitied them for having to haul something like that home. It was full of dozens of white and red roses.

I thought about my future as I sat down. I thought about my life after college. One that involved a family and a love of my own. Somewhere out there was a guy that would love me unconditionally, fight for me, and love me enough to do something crazy like send me 60 roses. I just needed to push past this Flynn barrier to find it. I knew what I needed out of life and I was confident that Noah Flynn couldn't provide it. I just couldn't see him as a dad. I couldn't see him being tame enough to start a family and I couldn't see him being thoughtful enough to send flowers for any occasion. He handed me some last week, but that was a rare thing.