They Are There For Me (book 3 of Running Towards Home series)

CHAPTER 22

JOHNNY'S POV:

Arlene and Sam come in. I was worried like crazy about Arlene. She didn't walk home with us, and I was worried she was in trouble, until she called Sam. When she walks in, and I go to hug her, but she shies away. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. "Is it true?" She whispers. "Is what true?" I ask her. "Did you cheat on me with someone from the Sheperd gang?" She asks. I frown. How could she think that? I would never cheat on her. "No, who told you that?" I ask.

"It was all over school! Everyone was talking about how you cheated on me!" She yells at me. A tear escapes her eye. "I would never cheat on you!" I tell her. "How do I know I can trust you?" She shouts. "Because I love you!" I shout back. Sam and Pony have backed off, giving us the living room. "How do I know? Ricky told me about the rumour!" She yells at me. My eyes narrow. Ricky. Of course.

"You're going to believe Ricky over me?" I yell. "I don't know who to believe anymore!" She shouts. She's crying freely now. I don't know if I've ever yelled at anyone like this before. "I didn't cheat on you!" I yell. "Sure! You say that to cover your own ass!" She shouts. I knew it would end like this, her choosing Ricky over me. "Non posso crederci! Dico che ti amo e tu stai dalla parte di quell'idiota! Fottiti! Siamo finiti!" I yell. She gives me a confused look, and I realize I've started speaking Italian. "What the hell does that even mean?" She asks, still shouting. "Significa che ci stiamo lasciando!" I yell. "It means we're breaking up!" I translate. She goes silent.

Her face falls. "Fine." She spits out. She walks out the front door, and I collapse on the couch, my head in my hands. I can feel the tears on my hands, but I don't even care. Sam runs after Arlene, and Pony comes over to me. He rubs my back. "We just broke up." I say, and I look up to face him. "It's okay. You two will figure this out." Pony says, trying to comfort me. "No, no we won't. This is final." I tell him. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds.

"What did you yell at her in italian?" He asks me. I look at him. "I told her 'I can't believe you. I say I love you and you're on the side of that idiot. Fuck you. We're finished.'" I tell him. He frowns a bit. "She'll come around." He says. I don't think she will.

ARLENE'S POV:

Sam comes chasing after me. I let her catch up to me. "We broke up." I told her. She rubs my shoulder. "It's going to be okay." she whispers to me. I turn towards her. "No it's not! I just lost the love of my life over some stupid rumour!" I shout. Sam smiles sadly. "You need to talk to him." She says. I shake my head. He won't want to talk to me. He won't forgive me, not after the horrible things I said. I wouldn't forgive me if I was him.

"I'm going home." I say, and I turn away. Sam walks me home, not saying anything. She can tell I need to be alone with my thoughts. I wave goodbye to her and walk to my room. I cry quietly, making sure that Two-Bit can't hear me in case he's here. Everything is screwed up. I love Johnny. I shouldn't have believed that rumour. I don't know what to do. I love him, but I fucked it up. I fucked it all up.

Two-Bit must hear me, because he come in. He sits on the bed next to me. "Arlene, what happened?" He asks me. I turn to him. "I heard a rumour that Johnny cheated on me, we argued, and then we broke up." I sob. He pulls me into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes." He tells me. "But I don't think he'll forgive me for this one." I say. "He will. He loves you. You two are strong. You guys will figure it out." He whispers. I want to agree, but I don't think we can.

SAM'S POV:

I head back home, and gesture to Pony. He gets up, leaving Johnny on the couch. We meet outside. "Arlene feels terrible. She loves him, she said so." I tell him. Pony looks at me sadly. "I don't know if Johnny will forgive her. He looks more broken than I've ever seen him." He says. "I don't want to be in the middle of this." I say quietly. Pony pulls me into a hug. "Me neither, but we'll help them out. We'll find a way." he says. I can only hope he's right.