Holding On (24 page)

As
I
washed
my
hands,
I
took
in
the
beauty
of
the
bathroom.
Natalie’s
ex
definitely
came
from
money.
Even
the
bathroom
was
decorated
nicer than my entire house. It was almost as big as the smallest room in
our house, and that room never felt so small until
tonight.

I
reluctantly
dried
my
hands
on
the
plush
towels
since
they
were
the only
ones
available.
I
felt
so
bad
about
using
such
a
nice
towel
to
dry my
hands
that
I
spent
the
next
several
minutes
trying
to
refold
it
just
like the one next to it so that it didn’t look disturbed. I checked my
makeup, and then just as I was about to open the door to leave, it opened, and
I screamed, jumped, and covered my eyes all at the same
time.

“What are you doing in
here?”

Crap!
That voice was too familiar. Why was he
here?

“I’m
sorry.
I
just
needed
to
use
the
bathroom,
and
all
the
others
I found
were
occupied.
What
do
you
care
anyway?”
I
was
defensive.
Had
he followed me up here? I thought I was clear earlier. He seemed to
get the message, or so I
thought.

He
took
a
step
closer
to
me,
and
I
could
see
his
eyes
perfectly
clear in
the
bathroom
lighting.
He
was
in
control
of
his
body
(and
mine
a
little if
I
was
being
honest),
so
I
knew
he
probably
hadn’t
had
much
to
drink. He took another step closer, and as I tried to take a step back, I
realized that I was already flushed against the glass shower doors. I was
trapped in
more
ways
than
one.
Before
I
knew
it,
his
hands
were
on
my
waist
and
he
was
leaning
his
forehead
against
mine.
Crap!
How
do
I
keep putting myself in these situations with him? He always seemed to
have the upper hand when it comes to things like
this.

“Where’s your date?” It sounded like he was growling.
Was
he
a little jealous? Maybe he was not as okay as he seemed this
afternoon.

“He’s
downstairs
in
the
basement
with
the
rest
of
my
friends.
I should probably get back down there. I’ve been gone a while, so
they might
be
trying
to
find
me.
I
don’t
want
to
worry
them
since
I
am
driving one
of
the
cars.”
I
was
rambling
on
about
insignificant
stuff,
and
I
knew it. I had probably only been gone for ten minutes, and no one
probably even noticed. I had to distract him and myself. I pulled away and sat
on the
toilet.
“So
are
you
stalking
me,
or
were
you
just
looking
for
an
open bathroom
too?”

He cocked his head to the right and smiled. His smile reached
his eyes, and I was caught in a trance for a minute. He said something,
but I
didn’t
hear
him.
I
couldn’t
help
but
stare.
His
shirt
was
tight
across
his chest,
and
I
could
see
his
piercing.
His
sleeves
were
shorter
than
normal, and I could see a tattoo peeking out from underneath one. I had
never noticed it before.
Was
it new? I reached up to touch it but pulled
away quickly, realizing what I was about to do just in
time.

“Becca, did you hear a word I just
said?”

“No,
sorry.
I
kind
of
spaced
out
for
a
minute.”
I
knew
I
was
blushing because I could feel the heat from my cheeks. “What did you
say?”

“I
said
I
was
looking
for
you.
I
saw
you
come
in
with
Natalie
earlier, and then you disappeared. I saw you come in here when I was
coming out
of
my
bedroom,
and
I
was
waiting
for
you.
What
were
you
doing
in here
forever?”

His words didn’t register right
away,
but when they did, it felt
like my jaw hit the floor in shock.

“You
live here?” I was screaming out
of shock, I think, but no matter what, I was definitely
screaming.

“You
didn’t know?” His eyes were wide with
shock.

I
got
up
and
walked
past
him,
and
this
time,
he
didn’t
try
to
stop
me. He let me go because he was just as shocked as I was. I had
kissed Natalie’s
ex-boyfriend
while
they
were
on
a
“break,”
and
now
they weren’t together. Crap! I thought the drama was
over.

I sent
Natalie
a
quick
text
saying
that
I
wasn’t
feeling
well
and
was leaving.
I
got
in
my
car
and
threw
it
in
Reverse
as
I
noticed
a
tall dark
figure
standing
on
the
front
porch
staring
at
me.
I
should
have known
that
he
would
be
watching
me.
I
should
have
known
that
he would
follow
me,
that
he
would
come
after
me.
I
almost
felt
bad
that
he couldn’t enjoy his party because of
me.

As
I
pulled
onto
his
street,
my
phone
alerted
me
to
a
new
text.
I didn’t
know
the
number,
so
I
ignored
it
and
turned
up
the
music.
I
knew it wasn’t Ethan or Natalie, but it was a local area code. I drove
toward my
house
with
the
music
blasting
as
loud
as
it
had
been
earlier,
but
I wasn’t
singing
this
time.
I
didn’t
even
hear
the
music
as
I
was
so
lost
in thought.

I wondered if Natalie
knew.
Was
the whole party a setup? Did
she
want
to
torture
me
because
I
had
gone
out
with
him
once?
If
I
had
known then
what
I
knew
now,
I
would
have
stayed
far
away
from
him.
I
would
have
hidden
my
feelings
from
everyone,
even
myself.
I
would
never
try to break up anyone’s relationship, and I didn’t want to break up one
of my only friendships.
Crap!

This
situation
was
feeling
all-too
-
familiar.
Brad
and
Ethan
seemed
to be the same person only in different locations. Why was this
happening again? Why was my life getting so complicated? All
I wanted was to be a normal teenage girl, without all the excess drama.

It’s
all Brads fault
.
Damn him for putting me in the middle of his relationship.
I
didn’t
want
to
be
the
reason
he
broke
up
with
Claire,
even if
it
was
the
truth.
I
wanted
to
be
with
him,
but
like
always,
I
was
fighting those
feelings
every
day
to
avoid
hurting
him
even
more
in
the
end.
And
then there’s frickin’ Ethan. He knew that I was becoming friends
with Natalie. Why didn’t he say anything? Did he assume I would put it
all together on my own? I wasn’t even living here when they broke up
or took a break or
whatever.

I
pulled
myself
out
of
my
head,
out
of
my
thoughts,
and
focused back on the road. I only had about half a beer, but I knew that if I
was
caught
for
anything,
I
would
be
in
big
trouble
since
I
was
underage.
My
body felt nothing but rage at the moment, and the alcohol was
actually the least of my
concerns.

As
I
pulled
into
my
driveway
and
turned
down
the
music,
I
realized that I was going to be home alone. It was only nine
thirty,
and it
looked like I would be spending another Friday night at home with
homework, which was fine, compared to what I had been doing thirty minutes
ago.
Hopefully,
it would be enough to distract me from what I was
feeling.

I
grabbed
my
purse
and
my
cell,
which
was
lit
up
from
another
text and
headed
inside.
I
went
straight
up
to
my
room
and
plopped
on
my bed. I opened my cell to see that I had six new texts.