HER

Fourteen: burgers

Analia

Following my argument with Melanie, I muster the courage to break up with Wyatt. I've made up my mind, but now comes the hard part.

After work, I call him, and he answers on the first ring. "Hey, baby, what's up?"

Tears well up in my eyes upon hearing his voice, but I push through. This is something I need to do, not just for myself but for both of us. "Hey, not much. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright, what is it? I've missed hearing your voice. We've both been crazy busy these past few days, but I promise I'll make it up to you. We should hang out tonight, just the two of us."

The tears start to flow silently. I can't go through with this. I simply can't. Wyatt has treated me so well for such a long time, and I can't bear to break his heart. I had planned to end things before my date with Lexie on Saturday, but now I realize I just can't do it.

"Babe, are you there? What did you want to talk to me about?"

I wipe away my tears, take a deep breath, and compose myself before responding. "Yeah, I'm here. That sounds great. We should hang out tonight."

In the background, I hear his mom asking him to go to the store. "Hey, Ana, how are ya, hon?" she sweetly asks when she notices he's on the phone.

"I'm well, Cindy! How are you?"

"Just taking it one day at a time, sugar. Working on my recipes for this year's cook-off, so I've been keeping myself busy," she replies, her Southern accent as thick as ever.

Every year, our town holds a cook-off, and Wyatt's mom is always a finalist. She takes it quite seriously, but I think it's just a way for her to stay occupied since she doesn't work.

Cindy says goodbye, and now it's just Wyatt and me. "About tonight, how about we order in and watch some movies? A movie night, just like old times. We can talk about it more when I get back, but I've got to get to the store before I get an earful. I love you."

"Love you too," I say before hanging up. I lie down on my bed, gazing up at the ceiling. I need to fix this. I've messed up badly. I don't want to break Wyatt's heart, but I can't keep postponing the inevitable. He's going to be hurt, there's no avoiding that. But I'm just not ready yet.

"We're heading out now," I hear Quincy say. I sit up, and there he is, standing at the foot of my bed in his tee ball uniform.

Quincy frowns upon seeing the tears in my eyes. "What's wrong?" He climbs into bed next to me and gives me a hug. "Don't cry, we'll be back."

I chuckle, sniffle, and reply, "I messed up, and I have to tell someone something that might hurt their feelings, and I don't want to do that."

"Well, sometimes you have to hurt people's feelings, even if you don't want to," Quincy says, gently petting my head. Not bad for an eight-year-old.

Lexie

I scan the crowd, looking for any sign of Samantha's fishnet stockings. "I don't see you," I say loudly into my phone, annoyed.

"I'm literally right here, over by the doors. I'm walking towards you," Sam says, sighing heavily before hanging up.

I spin around on my heel and instantly spot her. Damn. I can't help but notice how good she looks, though. A floral black sundress hangs off her shoulders, accessorized by fishnet stockings, a tiny backpack, and pink Converse. She smells great, as always, and the sweet smell of her perfume causes my brain to fill with memories of us.