First Time, Worst Time, Best Time

Endings and Lies

I did try as soon as I woke up the next morning, but Brad was still asleep. I assumed he didn't make it home until late. I couldn't go to school tomorrow with everything so up in the air. It would be too hard if. Mom woke up shortly after I did and we made plans to go see a movie. We saw a comedy and both enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards we went to eat at our favorite Mexican place and then stopped at the mall for some window-shopping. She ended up buying a new pair of jeans and a shirt for me.

When we got home, I hung them up and decided I would wear them to see Brad tonight. It was almost seven o'clock before he finally called. I knew by the tone in his voice that something was not right. He asked if I could come by his house to talk and I explained he was the one with a car.

He said his mom wasn't home and he wanted us to be alone. I called Amber and she said she could come by in an hour, then called Brad back to tell him I would be there soon. I tried to convince myself it wasn't as bad as I thought, but deep down, I knew better. I took pains with my appearance hoping maybe if I looked good enough, he would forget all about being mad at me. I put on the new outfit and fixed my hair. 

When Amber arrived, she immediately quizzed me as soon as we left.

"Okay, what's going on?" she asked.

"I'm really not sure. Brad said we needed to talk."

I looked at her and saw that she immediately came to the same conclusion that I had.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No, but I have to know the truth. If he wants to break up with me, then he can do it to my face. I'm not going to let him off that easy."

"Maybe we're both being paranoid. Maybe he just wants to see you because you haven't talked since your fight on Friday. Maybe he wants to apologize," she said mildly convincingly.

"Nice try. But I have to be prepared for the worst. I just hope I can keep it together."

"I'll be right here if you need me," she replied giving my hand a quick squeeze.

"Thanks," I said and we fell into silence for the rest of the trip.

We pulled into the drive and I sat for a moment after we came to a complete stop.

"Do you want me to go with you?" asked Amber.

"No, that's okay. I'll be right back," I answered opening the door to let myself out.

When I turned away from the car to head towards Brad's house, I stopped in my tracks. He must have been watching for me and had exited the house to meet me. We both began slowly walking towards one another and met halfway.

"Hi there," I said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Hey," he said and smiled at me.

I began to relax a little and smiled back at him.

"That's good to see."

"What?" he asked.

"Your smile. I really missed it," I said.

He chuckled slightly and took one of my hands in his.

"I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for being such a jerk Friday."

"Brad, you don't have to apologize. I'm the one that sent out totally mixed signals," I offered.

"That's no excuse. You know I would never purposely scare you or do anything to hurt you, right?"

"Of course. It was just a huge misunderstanding. I just want to forget it ever happened."

"I'd like that," he said.