Chapter 21
*Victoria*
I picked at my breakfast, not feeling so hungry after finding out that Aaron had left. I don't exactly want to be around him right now, but how could he leave without saying anything? Did I screw things up that much? Will he even give me a chance to fix this?
"You're here alone?" my mom asked. I looked up as she began to take a seat.
"Yeah, Aaron uh... he left early."
"Why did something happen? Is everything okay?"
"I'd really rather not talk about it." I can't help but replay what Aaron said over and over again. I can't figure out what I did wrong which means I don't know how to fix it.
"Well, I'll drive you back home when you're ready. I actually have a few more things to do here in the city. I won't be back in until tomorrow morning."
"No mom, I can take the train or a bus. You don't have to drive me all the way back to town and then drive all the way back."
"I will not have my daughter take a train or a bus on her own in this dangerous city."
"Mom, I'll be fine."
"No, I'm driving you home, that's the end of it."
After breakfast I headed back up to the room and started packing. After occasionally checking my phone for a text from Aaron, but still nothing. I can't believe he won't contact me. I hate not knowing where this leaves us. Are we broken up, do we have a chance to fix this, or am I just wasting my time?
I tried calling Aaron and the phone rang a couple of times before being forwarded to voicemail. It's a bad sign that he's avoiding my call. It means we're not in a good place.
"Ready?" my mom asked as she walked into the room.
"Yeah." I said glumly. "Mom, when you and dad would get into arguments, how did you guys fix things?"
"Well sweetie, your father and I didn't really do well with socialization, but I'm sure the few arguments we had we just laid everything out in the open and came up with a solution. They usually work themselves out eventually." She stared at me for a moment without speaking. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"I'm fine mom." I reassured her. "Let's go."
*Aaron*
I straddled Sophie on my hip as I rang Connor's doorbell. My palms are getting sweaty, but this has to happen if I want them to accept Sophie. The door swung open and Connor stood before me.
"Hey." I said.
"Come in." he said, moving aside. All of my friends were here. Fawn, Brittney, Jacob, Kyle, and John. They sat around the living room with expectant looks on their faces.
"So, start talking." Brittney said, folding her arms across her chest. "We want to know everything, from the beginning."
"Well you guys know how I used to sleep around, especially at parties. Sophie was made at a party during a one night stand."
"And you kept her hidden for nine months?" Kyle asked.
"No. I didn't know her mother was pregnant until I found Sophie on my doorstep with a note attached. I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to see me any differently."
"But we did." Connor said. "You've been different for a while now. You get very good grades instead of decent ones like you used to. You only go to parties if we beg, trick, or force you. And now you're actually dating girls rather than sleeping with them. You've completely changed and we were all in the dark as to why."
Sophie clung on to my shirt and rest her head against my shoulder. She was going into her shell around all the unfamiliar faces just like I thought she would.
"Look, I get that you're all mad. But you can't blame Sophie. Just say hi to her and be nice, she's shy and this atmosphere is just making it worse."
I put Sophie down and she clung to my pant leg, hiding her face. I sighed and knelt to her level.
"Sweetie, it's okay to say hi. They're nice, they won't hurt you. I promise." I placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Hi cutie." Fawn said to Sophie, giving a smile and a small wave. "My name is Fawn, what's your name?"
Sophie stared at Fawn for a moment before finally responding. "My name is Sophia."
"That's such a pretty name." Brittney chimed in. "I'm Brittney."
I sighed with relief and smiled. They can be mad at me for as long as they'd like, as long as they don't take their anger out on Sophie.
My phone began to vibrate and I pulled it from my pocket to see yet another call from Victoria. My thumb hovered over the green accept button for a few seconds before I declined it. I know I can't avoid her forever, but I'm not ready to face her just yet.
*Victoria*
Declined again. If he's avoiding my call this much, that means we're definitely not in a good place. Maybe we're broken up, but I'm too inexperienced to realize. I'm probably just annoying him even more than before.
I dialed Charlie and she picked up right away. At least someone is answering my call and wants to talk to me.
"Hey." She said excitedly. "It's been a while since you've actually called me. What's up?"
"I uh, just need someone to talk to. Are you doing anything today?"
"I'm free all day. Want to meet somewhere?"
"Yeah, I'm in the mood for some fro-yo, how about you?"
"Fro-yo sounds great. Meet you in ten."
***
I met Charlie at the fro-yo place downtown. After standing in line and getting our fro-yo we found a seat. Charlie took a bite of her fro-yo before turning her attention to me.
"So what's up?" she asked. "Trouble in paradise?"
"More like a hurricane." I sighed. "Aaron and I had an argument last night. I asked him why he keeps things from me, and after denying that, he said that his issues are none of my business and that I should leave the life he had before us alone. It was as if he'd had all of that bottled up for a while and it just came out all at once. I guess I've always been a nuisance to him."
"There's no way you're a nuisance. He's just being a guy, and even worse, he's being a jerk. He loves you, don't worry. Every relationship has its tough spots, but you'll work it out in the end."
"But what if we don't? I've been calling him and texting him, but I've gotten nothing."
"He's just avoiding you, but he can't do that forever. He'll have to respond eventually. You're thinking too much into this. Don't stress yourself out over it."
"I'm just worried that I've made a mistake that I can't fix."
"I promise everything will work itself out. Just give it a little bit of time."
***
The next day I walked to my locker alone, feeling slightly bare without Aaron by my side. I wonder if he's going to avoid me in the halls today. How awful does he want me to feel before he finally speaks to me?
A tall figure leaned against my locker and a smile spread across my face as I realized it was Aaron. He wore black jeans and his red OBEY sweatshirt. His dark hair was perfectly tousled as usual, making me want to run my fingers through it.
When he spotted me, he stood up straight and a small, barely noticeable smile crossed his face. Is that good or bad?
"Hey." He greeted me in a low voice.
"Really?" I asked, raising my brows. "After blowing me off for 24 hours, that's all you have to say? How about explaining what I did to deserve this torture. I've been sitting by my phone waiting for you to return my calls or texts. I was beginning to think the worse."
"Let's talk after school. Is that okay with you?"
"No, I have work. Why can't we talk about it now?" The bell rang, answering my question.
"I'll call you, I guess." He placed a gentle kiss on my cheek before walking off.
"Please don't break my heart, Aaron." I whispered to myself before heading off to class.
*Aaron*
I know I'm hurting her, and it's killing me. The look on her face was filled with hope and I crushed it in that instant. I'm used to breaking girl's hearts, but I've never actually broken one I've cared about. Who would have guessed it hurts both ways.
"Did you fix everything?" Caleb asked, catching up to me in the hall. I'd spilled everything to him in hopes my best friend could help, only he didn't.
"No. If anything, I've made it worse."
"Why can't you just kiss and make up?"
"Because I'm not sure if I want to."
"What are you talking about? I thought you loved her? Why wouldn't you want to fix things?"
"I don't know, there's just a lot of things running through my head right now." Like, why can I talk to Grace easier than Victoria? And why do I find it cute when Grace makes the same faces as Sophie? "I'll talk to you later."
***
During lunch I sat with my normal group of friends. They're slowly beginning to accept me back into the group after meeting Sophie. She's won them over just as I thought she would. Now I have to somehow win them over again.
"Incoming." Caleb whispered to me from across the table. He jerked his head towards something behind me. I turned and came face to face with Victoria. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she bit her lip.
"Can I talk to for a minute Aaron?" She asked. She looked at each of my friends, who she'd gained the attention of.
"Now?"
"Yes now. Please?"
My friends looked at me expectantly. I heaved a sigh before getting up from my seat. I followed her through the cafeteria, people watched as we passed. I should have known everyone would notice Victoria and I were having issues. Perks of being popular I guess. We stopped in an empty hallway.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked, leaning against the wall and avoiding eye contact.
"What do you think? I want to talk about us. If there is still an us." She frowned.
"Of course there's still an us. I just need some time to figure things out."
"Figure what things out? Do you love me anymore, or not?" She's growing angry. I can see it in her eyes. I don't blame her. I've been blowing her off for almost two days and now I'm avoiding speaking to her.
"Let's call this thing we're doing, a break. We're just taking a break. We're not broken up, but we're not together. And if we happen to drift towards other people, then so be it."
"So you want to date other people? Is that what you're telling me?"
"You're putting words in my mouth. All I'm saying is, if it happens, it happens. I still love you Victoria, I'll always love you, but I could use some time to myself."
"Am I clingy, because I don't mean to be?" Her face turned apologetic.
"I just need time to think, okay?" I leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before walking back into the cafeteria. I sat in my seat and my friends stared at me as if waiting for a reaction. "What?"
"Did you guys break up?" Fawn asked.
"You'd like that wouldn't you?" She scowled. "We're taking a break."
"What did she do?" Brittney asked.
"She didn't do anything. This is all me."
"What did you do?" Connor asked.
"Nothing, just forget about it." The moment that I tell my friends that I'm starting to have feelings for someone else, the secret will get out and it'll be something else to add to my reputation.
***
After school, I skipped practice and headed home to pick up Sophie. She greeted me at the door with a hug.
"I miss you." She said, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"I missed you too." I responded, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm heading to work early since you're home early. Hopefully I can get some overtime and still come home early."
"Okay, see you later."
My mom slipped on her coat and placed a kiss on Sophie's head before walking out the door. I put Sophie down and pulled out my phone and texted Grace, asking if she wanted to meet up somewhere with Sophie and me. She replied almost immediately.
I'll come 2 U. U make the long drive far 2 much.
I told Sophie that Grace was coming over and she began to dance, swinging her hips as she sang a short little tune.
"I missed mommy." She said,
"You did." I asked her with a smile. "I'm sure she misses you too."
"Yeah. Do you know who else I miss?" She asked with a slight frown.
"Who?"
"Vicky."
My stomach clenched. Of course she'd miss Victoria. Sophie has grown attached to her now. It'll be while to get her unattached.
"Vicky misses you too."
"Why she no come over?"
"Um, she's been really busy lately." I hate lying to Sophie, but sometimes you have to lie to your kids when they won't understand.
When Grace arrived, Sophie greeted her with a hug. Grace placed a kiss on her cheek as she wrapped her tightly in her arms.
"Guess what mommy brought you."
"What, what?" Sophie asked excitedly, jumping up and down. Grace pulled a small doll from her bag. It resembled Sophie. It had the same dark brown hair, large green eyes, and chubby cheeks. "She's so pretty!"
"Like you."
"Can I play with her?" Her eyes hopeful.
"Of course you can. Go ahead."
Sophie ran upstairs to her room. No doubt she's going to play with her doll in the dollhouse that's in her room. Grace came to sit beside me on the couch.
"How was your day today?" She asked me. "Did you fix things with Victoria?" She raised her brow at me and I smiled at her adorableness.
"I did. We're taking a break." Grace's mouth dropped.
"A break? Why the hell are you two taking a break? I thought you loved her, what happened? You really know how to screw up a relationship, you know that? How does a girl like Victoria even put up with you? It's nearly impossible."
"Wow, tell me how you really feel." I mocked hurt.
She grinned. "I'm just confused as to what happened. One minute you were head over heels. The next you wanted to call things off as if you never really cared about her. Explain it to me."
I would love to explain it to her. I would love to explain that I still love Victoria, but it's not fair to her if I'm exploring my feelings for someone else. Grace is Sophie's mother and I can't help wondering what it would be like if we could be a happy family. What if Sophie could get excited like this every time Grace walks through the door? What if I could openly tell Grace that when she smiles, my whole world gets a little bit brighter?
There's so much that I want to tell her, but if I try to put it into words, I don't think anything would come out right and she'd probably think I'm and even bigger jerk.
"I'm still nowhere closer to understanding this." She teased. "Are you going to tell me or not?
I opened my mouth to attempt to explain everything, but quickly closed it when I came up with a better idea.
"How about I show you instead?" I asked before leaning in and meeting my lips with hers.
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Not my best update, but you all deserve something after such a long wait. Tell me your thoughts!
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