It Started At Camp

20 | Ex's and Oh's

Lena

I stared at the phone screen.  Somehow the hang-up felt abrupt.  You said too much.  Best friend?  What are you twelve?  I clenched my teeth, mad at myself for letting my thoughts affect me this much, but not having the strength to tell myself otherwise.  

Nate.  Right.  I flipped my phone over, my way of coming to a resolution, and marched down the hall, ready to end this quickly.  Laughter skipped up the stairs as I made my way down and to the living room.  

"And she always wore those beat-up sneakers with a tutu because she swore that it made her a ballerina!"  Leave it to my mom to tell my business with such a passion.

When Nate saw me, his expression shifted.  "She's always been so headstrong.  It's what I love about her..."  His words, so smooth, so simple, so sharp, so sick.

I took a sharp breath and crossed my arms.  "If you want to talk, we can tomorrow."

He raised his eyebrows, surprised almost as much as me that I was putting my foot down.  No matter how good he made it look, it was still manipulation.  Being in my house so I can't turn him down, making nice with my mom so I'd look like the bad guy when I inevitably had to do this.

"I just want to go to bed right now.  I can't deal with...this."  I threw out a word.  As I turned away, surely glances were being exchanged.  My mom to Nate, my dad to Nate, my parents to each other...in the end, Nate would leave and that's all I really cared for.

/ September 4 /

I sludged forward and slinked under my covers, my stomach freshly emptied this fine, Wednesday morning.  The sun reached over my shoulders but failed at finding the strength to turn me over.  A knock at my door.

"Lena, baby, are you up?"

I grumbled something incoherent, enough for her to grant me five more minutes of peace.  The events of the evening returned to mind.  Nate, he was here.  Derek.  I confessed he was my best friend.  I shut my eyes as if it could reset the last twenty-four hours.  

My phone buzzed, revealing a text from Tiana.

Hey, I just got a last-minute meeting today!!  So I won't be at school today.

I shut my eyes again.  The idea of facing classes without her was enough to make me want to heave.  

"Lena!" I heard my mom screech from downstairs.

My presence before her fifteen minutes later acted as my response to her pleas.  "Thank you.  I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of bed."  She set down a plate of fruits in front of me.  My eyes moved upwards, finding hers.  "I know you can't really do breakfast anymore, but at least get something in you.  This is for lunch." 

She slipped a ten-dollar bill in my hand before marching around the kitchen, gathering coffee mugs and keys and briefcases.  I found the bowl of fruit and poked at the mangos.  At this hour, what was Derek doing? 

no ride today, but mom doesn't know...maybe i could skip, I contemplated texting him.  As quick as the thought occurred, so did another.  Last night, he seemed upset with me.  But why would he be upset with me?

"Yeah, okay, I should be at the office in, thirty depending on how traffic treats me."  I glanced up at my mom, abandoning any idea I had of texting Derek.  A knock at the front door blessed me with the chance to stand firm in my decision.  I pulled it open, my lips pulling into a tight smile.  Hopefully, it didn't look like too much of a grimace.  

"I heard you didn't have a ride."

I was past surprise when it came to his last-minute appearances.