Quandary

Your Reality

"Don! Come back here!" Shouted my mother from upstairs.

I ignored her, not moving a single inch.

"Ye- yeah. Sounds great." I said to Hailey.

"Don, what are you doing?!" Bellowed my father.

I walked out of the house and shut the door behind me. I'd probably get a talking to from them later. But I didn't care. If it meant spending the little time of the day I had left with Hailey, then it was worth it. We walked along the same sidewalk again. I watched as she twiddled her thumbs back and forth, trotting along with my strides.

"Anything new with you?" She asked.

"Not much," I uttered.

So she didn't know about me and Braxton's study session. Maybe he just hasn't had the chance to tell her yet...

"What about you?" I asked.

We rounded the same street corner as last time.

"Nothing much either."

We walked onward, traversing under the warm rays of sunshine. She looked like she belonged out here in the beautiful scenery. Her happy and child-like mood fit perfectly with the abundant flowers and nature around her. The houses were full of life and vivacious feelings. Her smile penetrated my heart. The sun swept through the sky in a flash as we talked on and on. For some reason, we found comfort in each other's words. It was as if the company we gave each other was exactly what we needed to be satisfied with our time. I could tell. I could tell from the smile she kept putting on, from her friendly body movement, from the information we shared. I loved this. I loved being with her. My steps casually loosened as we walked on.

"I- I helped Braxton study a little."

My gosh, I must be an idiot. Why did I say that? Why the hell did I say that? Was it because I wanted her to be thankful for me? Now she's probably going to ask how it went or some other crap!

"Oh that's good. How'd it go?"

I could feel my heart cramp in it's urgent state of panic. How do I tell her? How do I tell her what happened? She'll think poorly of me. She'll think worse of me.

"We had a little hiccup, but it was productive," I muttered.

"Hiccup...? Dang it, did he say something rude? Sorry, he has some anger problems."

Anger problems? If anything it looked like I was the one with the anger problems back there. What was she talking about?

"Well, actually-"

"Braxton really should control himself more..."

We walked onto the dirt path that led into the park. I kept silent as we continued forward. It sounded like she was talking of disliking.

"It's probably about time I broke up with him."

We came out into the clearing of the park. I stopped in my tracks. Break up? That would solve everything! That would give me a chance to be with Hailey! This was too good to be true! I was overjoyed with sudden happiness. But there was this dreaded feeling in the bottom of my heart. I could feel the doubts pulsating up from within me. It really was too good to be true... I stumbled back a little at her remark and took a step away from her. She would never say that.

"You're the fake one, aren't you?"

A grin crept across her face. She rubbed her hands together menacingly.

"What gave it away?"

I slammed my hands against my forehead.

"Goddammit! Do you know how much of an idiot I probably looked in front of my parents?! I was talking to the air!"