Letters to Audrine

27- I Have To Go

"Mom, Dad, what are you guys doing here?" I ask them in sheer panic. I just talked to my mom yesterday on the phone and she didn't mention coming to France. Although, I guess that's fair considering I've been keeping just the same amount of information from her.

"Maisie!" my mom cheers as she barrels toward me, hopping around the fallen vegetables to get to me. She quickly wraps her thin arms around me, squeezing me tighter than I've ever been squeezed. Slowly, I hug her back as the stench of her acidic perfume fills my nostrils. "Oh, honey, I've missed you so much."

Soon, I'm being swarmed by my dad and little brother too, still with no explanation as to what's going on.

"Brennan told me he was coming to France, so I assumed that was to help you with your project," my dad finally begins to explain to me why they're here as the hug ends and I can finally breathe again. "So we decided to surprise you, so that I can be here to make sure the deal is legit and then we felt like we should make it a family vacation."

"You're staying all week?" I ask them, my eyes still wide as I start to pick up the vegetables from the ground. Silas is still standing beside me, his expression unreadable.

"Yes, I thought it was a great idea. I'm dying to see where you've been staying all summer. You can show us around," my mom explains to me, still beaming with a giant smile on her face. She only falters a little bit when she glances over at Silas and asks, "Who's this?"

"This is Silas," I say quickly. Despite the air conditioning in the lobby, I start to sweat again as the panic continues to rise in my body. I hadn't told my mom that I'd decided to stay, and I hadn't told Silas that I hadn't told her. They're both bound to figure out the truth now.

"Hello, ma'am," Silas responds to her politely.

"It's nice you made friends here," she seems pleased.

"That's a first for you," Trevor teases me with a maniacal laugh.

"Be nice to your sister," my father scolds him, but Trevor continues to laugh. If I wasn't so mortified about the situation I've found myself in, I would tease him back. "We brought you an extra duffel bag. Just in case you have more stuff to bring home than you packed with you."

"To bring home?" Silas repeats, sounding confused. I flinch.

"Maisie has been sending us so many pictures of the new outfits she's bought," my mom explains. "I'm so glad you have a new wardrobe ready for Brown in a few weeks."

"Wow, you're going to Brown?" Silas asks, sounding shocked and impressed, as if this is the first time that he's even hearing the name of the university. I want to explain to him that it's not what it sounds like, but this lobby isn't the best place to tell my mom the truth.

"She didn't tell you?" my mom grasps onto the opportunity to brag. "She's studying Econ there in the fall. We're all so proud of her."

"Yeah, that's news to me," he gives me a hard look and then starts taking the produce bags out of my hands. "I have to go."

"Silas, wait," I try to get him to stay, thinking I can get him alone and explain to him that I really am staying. I need to apologize for lying to him about telling my mom, but he needs to know I'm serious about being here, and I'm serious about him.

"No, I'm leaving," he insists, his words coming out like solid bricks of ice. "Good luck at Brown."

He walks away too quickly for me to think of anything else I can say. He takes all of the produce and takes a few steps until he's out the door.

"Well, let's go see your room," my mom pays no attention to Silas's exit. "Our room won't be ready for another few hours."

I want to chase after Silas, but he looked so upset and he wasn't letting me speak. I'll just give him some time to cool off and message him in an hour or so. Hesitantly, I lead my family up to my hotel room. It's messy, since I've been living here for so long, but I just kick my dirty clothes toward the dresser so that it doesn't look as bad.