He Loves Me Not

Brycen Leaming

   The next day I was hanging out with some of my other friends. We had gone back to the park in the next town over again. This time while we were there, I met a guy. We talked for a while, he flirted with me a little but I didn't notice at the time. He told me his name was Brycen Leaming. We exchanged numbers and went on our way.
   Over the next few weeks, Brycen and I texted almost every day. I loved talking to him, we talked so often it had become part of my routine. We'd been talking for almost a month now but it felt like a lifetime. I was falling for this boy hard! It almost felt like we had known each other forever, but no one knew I was talking to him besides Kenzi and Zaren. I knew I couldn't tell Erin because she definitely would not approve. Brycen was 22 and I was only 13 about to turn 14.
   It was almost the end of summer and there was like a week left until Erin came home from camp. I couldn't wait to see her but I also didn't want her to find out about Brycen. At this point, I was so torn, because I missed her but I didn't want to stop seeing him... Actually, I had plans to hang out with him the day Erin is supposed to come home. Of course, her parents were throwing a "Welcome Home!" BBQ and my family was invited. My mom said I 'had' to go but I needed to find a way to get out of it. I decided to fake sick so that I could sneak out to see Brycen while my parents went to the BBQ.
   It's the day of the BBQ and my parents are about to leave. I didn't have to fake sick because somehow I had gotten sick. I must have the flu or something, I can't stop throwing up. Well, this is a crappy day, I guess I'm not going to Brycen's after all... Not to mention tomorrow is mine and Erin's birthday. Ugghh! Why did I have to get sick? So I texted Brycen and told him I couldn't make it because I was sick. He quickly replied with "That's ok, I have some errands to run anyway." I then responded "Oh, okay. Well, I'm still super sorry that I can't make it. ILY!" No reply. I waited for a few hours, then texted again. "Hey babe, how's it going? Get those errands done?" Again, no response. "ILY! Hope your day is going alright." I then get a reply "Hey, sorry I've been super busy. ILY2! Hope I can see you tomorrow." See me tomorrow? What is he talking about? "Yeah, I hope so too. But tomorrow is my birthday so I'm sure my parents will want me here, plus I doubt I'll get over this flu or whatever this is by tomorrow." Then again, no response. This wasn't like him, why wasn't he replying?