Old Flames Die Hard

Chapter Two

I carefully peel off my screen protector in my bedroom. Mom is gone at the temple doing work and is going to lunch afterwards so she won't even know that I left early.

Looking at my screen protector makes me so mad. I quickly go into Bree, Isaak, and I's bathroom and throw it away. Bree is the only person in my house I like, well, other than my dad. But he's always at work.

I search my super messy closet for a new screen protector and find an old scrapbook Thomas made for me.

Deep in myself, I find this urge to go through it and see the old pictures of us when we were together.

I bury that urge and throw it on the floor. I find my screen protectors underneath where the book once lived. I carefully clean off the glass and put on the new screen protector.

I'm thankful I turned the big group chat off before my phone shattered, that constant buzzing would have drove me to insanity.

I check my messages and see one from Davis asking where I am and one from an unknown number.

Peter.

I go to Davis's contact and text

Me: Sorry I made you wait, I left school early and was going to tell you, but my screen protector shattered.

Shortly after, Davis responds

Davis: It's all good, Peter told me where you were. Are you still going to Meadow's house tonight?

Me: For sure

Davis: See you then ; )

I roll my eyes at the last text. He's such a dork.

I put my phone on my desk, grab my backpack, and sit on my bed. I quickly grab my trigonometry homework and pull up the answer key. She gives us the answer key so we can "correct" our homework before its graded, but I just use it to put the right answers down.

I hate not understanding what's going on. I wish I could be a normal smart kid who understands what's going on.

My mind goes to chemistry. What even is stoichiometry? How am I supposed to do a project on it?

My head starts to hurt so I decide to lay down on my bed for a couple of minutes while I allow my thoughts to become collected.

Instead of settling my thoughts, my mind goes to memory land. The worst part of memory land that my mind could have gone to. I suddenly remember a really awful/fond time of my life.

My parents were arguing worse than they ever have before. Bree was at her boyfriend Ben's house and Isaak was at his friend's house for a late night.

Thomas must have known something was up because of the way I looked and sounded while he was Facetiming me, because 5 minutes later I heard a knock at my door. He was holding a blanket and some bugspray.

He had driven me to McDonalds and got me hot cakes, my favorite thing at McDonalds, and drove us to the top of a small hill. He opened the back of his truck and we climbed inside and laid on a mattress and watched the stars while eating food.

I cried to him about everything they were arguing about and he just held me close and listened. When I was done, he had pulled me close and wrapped the blanket around us. He played with my hair and held me close until I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, he was tapping me and telling me I was home.

He had wanted to take me home, but because he's a member of our church, he decided he would respect my parent's rules and not have me sleep at his house.