The Powers Among Them

2. Caren (What's with Her?)

"Make sure you guys practice for regionals next week. The routine is posted on our forum online, so be sure to watch it while you practice. I'll see you guys on Monday."

The cheerleaders nodded in agreement and quickly dispersed, leaving me in the gymnasium alone. I grabbed my phone from my overloading cheerleading bag and checked the time.

"Shit."

I walk outside to the parking lot and saw Adam, patiently waiting for me by his Jeep truck. Late again.

"Hey baby," I said giving him a quick kiss, alarming him.

"Hey you," Adam said kissing me some more. Our lips intertwine and I'm lost in his world of affection and caregiving. He pulls away, which awakens my concern.

"What's wrong baby?"

He doesn't respond right away, but when he does he tells me to get in the car. Reluctantly, I oblige.

Ten minutes pass and he still hasn't said anything. Occasionally I steal a few glances from him. His piercing grey eyes catch onto mine, as I admire his short brown hair tousled over the left side of his face. Adam does a quick sigh, and finally spits it out.

"I got accepted to NYU,"

My heart did a somersault followed up with a cartwheel.

"And you didn't bother telling me this before? When did you get accepted?"

Adam hesitated before saying, "Two weeks ago."

"Unbelievable," I said scoffing. "Talk about communication. I guess we got that down pack huh?"

"Come on, Caren. Don't start this all right? We're gonna be fine, if that's what you're thinking. We're not breaking up. You know I don't believe in that shit."

Sighing, "I just wish you would've told me sooner. You know I'm going to Iowa State, and all this time I thought you were applying there too."

"I was," Adam said looking at me, while we stopped at a red light.

"Iowa just didn't have an immense engineering program that NYU does. But like I've mentioned before baby, we're going to be fine. As long as we get through this together. But you have to want this just as much as I do."

I remained silent. I just couldn't stop thinking about how our future is literally in the hands of our educational institutions. All of a sudden I felt as if my brain was on fire. All of these thoughts and voices started to ring inside of my head.

"Caren—Caren, are you okay?" Adam asked. "Do you want me to pullover?" His words became mumbled and distorted. I didn't want to freak him out, so I tried to stay calm.

"No, no. I'm fine." I said when the ringing finally ceased. What the hell was that?

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Hey," Adam said looking at me as we approached my home. "I love you, Caren."

God, he know I hate that sappy talk. It just makes me forgive him and I hate that. I couldn't help myself. It's Adam for christ sakes.

"I love you too," I said looking at him. "And congratulations."

Adam grabs my face and pulls me in for a long and lingering kiss.

"I have practice later, but when I get home I'll call you. Okay?"

I opened the door and before I shut it I gave him a nod.

When he pulled off, I went inside.

When I got inside, the house immediately smelled of peach pie and baked potatoes. Mom's a gourmet chef, and as always, seems to be obliged to bring her cooking from the restaurant into the house as well. I don't mind, skinny girls gotta' eat too.

"Caren honey, dinner will be ready soon. Go get your father for me please."

"Sure thing ma,"

I went upstairs to find Dad. There I found him indulging himself in today's paper, he was so caught up in the comic column, he didn't even notice my intrusion.

"Hey dad," Quietly I said, standing by the door. "Mom said dinner will be ready soon. She wants us downstairs in a few."

Without looking up he said, "Okay dear," Now looking at me, he noticed my attitude and asked if I was okay. Ever since I was a little girl, I've always been more of a daddy's girl than a mommy's girl. Confiding in my dad had always been natural for me because he just seems to understand more and judge less. With mom, god bless her heart, is another case.

"I'm alright dad," I said looking away. "Just some school stuff."

"School stuff..? Or Adam stuff?"

See? My dad always knows.

"For an old man, you sure are intuitive."

"Ha, for an old man having a 18 year-old daughter, you oughtta learn to be. Now tell me what's up."

I told him everything. Adam getting into NYU and not telling me. My heart feeling betrayed and how I'm starting to doubt our ongoing relationship. I told him pretty much everything, except for the part when my skull started to feel like a bass drum pummeling against my frontal lobe. I still don't know what the hell that was about.

After I told him everything, my dad let out a long sigh.

"Well Care-Bare, if you honestly believe that you don't see a future in you two's relationship, you outta tell him. You have to play the responsible card here. We don't want anyone wasting each other's valuable time. He deserves to know the truth."

Goddamnit. Why does he always have to be right?

"Damnit dad," I said exasperated. "Why do you always have to be right?"

"Oh no. I'm not always right, but I try to do the right thing. There's a difference."

There was a moment of silence between us, the comfortable kind of course. Then we heard mom yell at us to bring our butts downstairs for dinner.

After dinner, I helped mom with the dishes and went in my room. Attempting to put my hair up in a bun is always a difficult task, since my hair is super curly all over and just refuses to be tamed. My freckled cheeks and super enormous hair are the two things I hate the most about me. My friends seems to absolutely love it, I don't. Call me delusional or insecure, I don't care. I curled up in my favorite comforter and turned on Pretty Little Liars. Fifteen minutes in, my phone rang. It was Adam.

"Oh shit," I said, slapping my hand on my forehead. "Come on, just answer." I finally spoke.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yeah, practice was gruesome of course. Coach Halder is a dick as always."

"Heh, I'm sure he gets that a lot."

Do I sound like a dick? I know I'm not my regularly engaging self, but something's been off about me. About everything. Then it started. My head. I started to feel the intense pressure in my brain. I felt like someone was molding my brain to gush just to toss it out into the trash.

"ARRRRGHHHHH," I can feel the pressure getting tighter and tighter suffocating my brain inside of my skull! What the fuck is going on with me?

"Caren? Caren are you okay?!" Adam said helplessly on the receiving end of the phone.

I couldn't hear anything. Just before I saw rushed footsteps entering my room door, everything faded to black.