Adrian Gonzalez knows the painful truth about liking someone you have no chance with-they never like you back and you're left heartbroken. Ever wonder why it's called a 'crush?'
But when the hopeless crush he has is on Parker Thompson-nonbinary scho...
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“Sam, talk to me.” My head lolled towards her, and I pretended to wipe a tear from my eye. “Please.”
We were in the parking lot of Northwood High, and even though we’d been in close proximity the entire car ride, she’d still not said a word. Well, not to me at least. She’d been interacting with Jamie until we had dropped him off at his school, but that was where it ended.
A thick tension hung in the air when it was just us, and I hated that she was still mute whenever I was in the equation.
She hadn’t even replied to my text when I asked whether she could drive me to school on Monday, over the weekend.
The doctor recommended a two-week stay before I could resume school, but I’d had enough of the same mundane routine of staring at walls and screens. So I channeled my energy into making a dent in the pile of undone assignments. I was more than ready to get out of the house, even if it was only to go to school. But I couldn’t possibly drive when one leg was bound in a cast, so I texted Sam asking if I could tag along with her and Jamie. She’d left it on read.
Surprisingly, Sam had sent Jamie to tell me to get ready, and I was more than happy to comply. I was hoping she’d talk to me herself on the ride over, but she’d not so much as grunted in my direction.
But now, her eyes met mine in the mirror and she let out a breath, flipping the sun visor shut before she turned to me. Her steely gaze was more pronounced, because of the dark liquid that lined her eyes, which rose into a flawless cat eye flick at the corners. I gave my best pout and saw her stare soften a bit.
Eventually, Sam said, “Catch a ride back home. I won’t be around to come pick you up.”
To say that was expected would be an outright lie. I didn’t know how to react, and I definitely couldn’t tell if the squeezing in my chest was from my heart lurching for joy that she’d broken her silence, or that it was breaking apart from the words she’d spoken. Maybe it was both.
“What? Why?” I gawked at her, but she didn’t seem fazed.
“I’m going back to campus.”
“You don’t reopen for another three weeks. Why are you leaving? Where are you even going to stay, because I don’t think you can even live in the dorms at this time?” I didn’t like how pathetic I sounded, but I didn’t have the energy to disguise my voice with decorum either.
Considering how she stared at me, I wasn’t sure she’d give me an answer. “At Tanner’s.”
Ah, yes, I’d forgotten about Tanner. Which wasn’t really a surprise, because we hardly spoke about him. Sam had told me his name, and how he was in some band named Recalled Ramen Noodles. And that was it. I think she’d told our parents even less about him.
I’d searched up the band ironically—because who could take a name like that seriously—and I was shocked to see the massive following and influence they had. I’d even taken a liking to their music. Tanner had come up as the drummer. He was tall, with sinewy muscles, dreadlocks that reached his shoulders, and a penchant for using eyeliner. He was basically the dark-skinned, tattooed version of Rodrick from Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
“Isn’t he still on tour?” I asked. Yes, I was a Seasoning—what they called their fans. I wasn’t a proud one, though. Not with a name like that.
“Ugh, Parker, you’re giving me a headache,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Listen, it’s better for everyone when I’m not at home.”
“No, it isn’t. Jamie doesn’t think so, and neither do I.”
“Well, I do! And our lovely parents do too. In fact, they’d be thrilled if they never saw me again. At least Tanner’s parents know I exist.” Because he told them about you. Unlike how you’ve shut up about it.
“Sam, you can’t leave. It was just one stupid dinner,” I argued. “Mom and Dad didn’t even—“
“It’s not the dinner, okay? Dinner together is always awful, anyway. It’s a lot of things, and I’m overwhelmed right now.” She rested her head against the steering wheel, voice falling. “I’m trying to get it together, but I can’t do that under their roof. Not when they’re treating me like shit.”
“I know, and it doesn’t make sense. They should be mad at me, not you.”
She sat back up, biting on the inside of her cheeks. “Like I said, it’s a lot of things. First off, they expected an heir to inherit their budding wealth. They got me, and they weren’t crazy about that. So they tried again and got what they always wanted; a son. You.”
“But I’m not--“
“I know that, Parker. I know. And deep down they know it too, which is the only reason they adopted Jamie, why he had to join this shit show of a family.” Now her voice had completely lost its edge, and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears. We never talked about Jamie being adopted; there was some unspoken rule. Besides, he felt more like our family than our parents did. Yet, we knew what the implication of them bringing a baby home meant; long before we’d ever have to face it—both times the Thompsons conceived, the kids were subpar, so they just got someone else’s to fix things.
But the paid-off adoption centre wouldn’t admit that. And neither would we. The rest of the world didn’t need to know Jamie wasn’t our biological sibling.
Sam’s curt, bitter laugh brought me out of my thoughts. “They don’t want to accept that you’re just, you know, you. So the only explanation with was that I, Samantha freaking Thompson, the first mistake they ever made, brainwashed and molded you into another mistake. There. That simple.”
“We’re not mistakes. You can’t say that.”
“You’re not. Not fully, anyway. The difference between us is that you’re not dry yet, and they can still do something about you before you harden.” The look she gave me was a sad one, almost pitying.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I must have yelled, because a girl who walked past turned and mirrored my concerned look. I looked away, ashamed. “Are they gonna put me through conversion therapy or something? Sam, if that’s what they plan, then I’m coming with you too.”
“They won’t go to those lengths. They don’t have the balls to. But them being nice to you is probably a strategy. Just be careful, sib.” She reached out to rub my cheek once, and her hands fell away. It was the first time she’d touched me in a long time, and it felt so much like a goodbye we both didn’t want to say.
“And if they can’t change you, well, there’s always Jamie.” My sister gave me a small smile, plucking dark shades from the cup holder and putting them on, so I wouldn’t see the tears well up in her eyes, so she could pretend they weren’t there. She grabbed my crutches from the back seat and handed them over, the sound of them slapping my hand hiding the crack in her voice when she said her goodbye. “Now get out of my car.”
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~~ Looks like Parker just can't a break :,(
I wanna know your thoughts on this chapter. don’t hold back because I might have cried while writing it😭
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