Dare

Fourteen

EDITED: December 2020

The next few weeks went by quickly and before I knew it, it was the last week of school before Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We have a weird curriculum compared to most other schools. We get two months off between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then go back mid-January and then graduate in June.

Ever since that night at Organic, Theo and I have become really close. I mean, we haven't made out again or anything, but we've been texting a lot more and our tutoring sessions have been going really well.

When I had arrived home from school this afternoon, something didn't make sense to me. There were two large trucks in the driveway parked around the fountain and two men exited my house carrying the large and expensive ugly painting my dad had bought from an art gallery in Paris two years ago.

Slipping past them, I entered the house to see a bunch more other people covering stuff up with bubble wrap. In the sunroom sat my sister who was staring at the people disapprovingly.

"Kenny? What the hell is going on?" I asked her.

Getting closer to her, I realised that her eyes were all red and puffy and her eyeliner was slightly smudged, an obvious indication that she had been crying.

"They signed the papers this morning," She told me.

"What? What are you..." Then suddenly I understood.

My parent's divorce settlement had been decided upon and their assets had finally been divided.

"So it's...it's done?" I asked, a lump in my throat starting to form.

"Yeah," She sighed.

"And daddy's moving to New York soon?" I asked, feeling the tears start to sting in my eyes.

"He's gone already. He left you a note. It's on your desk," She told me, her eyes starting to water again.

Dad told Kendall and I that as soon as the divorce had been settled that he's moving to New York. He had already bought his penthouse and everything. It was just a matter of moving there.

Saying no more, I ran upstairs and dropped my bag on the floor before dashing over to my desk where there was a yellow envelope addressed to me. Opening it, the first thing that came out was a credit card.

'For emergencies only ;)' Read the small note read, causing me to roll my eyes. Opening the larger note, I almost burst into tears just seeing my father's smooth print writing.

'Gabriella.
I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, my princess. Beverly Hills just isn't the place for me anymore. Too many memories, I guess. But just because I'm in New York now doesn't mean that I won't be seeing you and Kenny often, okay?'

Reading the rest of the note, I let the tears fall. How could he leave without saying goodbye? Does he think that's okay? What did mom have to say about all of this? God, how is she feeling? I may still be irritated with her but that doesn't mean I don't care about my mother's feelings.

Putting the note down, I then headed downstairs past Kendall and all the other people and got into my car before pressing the ignition and driving off the estate.

Fifteen minutes later I had pulled up at Glider's park. A basically deserted park that almost nobody came to because it wasn't very child-appropriate, not donning a jungle gym or a swing set. Sitting on a bench, I had to remind myself to breath properly and stop crying.

Unlocking my phone, I went to my contacts and scrolled down to the only person I felt like I could actually talk to. After three rings he answered.

"Ella, hi."

"Hey, Theo," I said.

"What's wrong? You sound off."

"I just uh," I stopped, choking back tears.

"I'm coming over. Are you home?"

"No. I'm a Glider's Park," I hiccuped.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thanks," I said quietly before the call was disconnected.

The time spent waiting for Theo was spent wondering why people actually get married if they're just going to get divorced? I would never want that. When I get married, I want it to be a lifetime commitment.

"Ella. Hey," Theo's voice said as he sat down next to me on the bench.

"Hey," I said quietly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Everything just sucks at the moment," I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Why? What's going on?" He questioned.

"My dad moved to New York today, and I had no idea until like twenty minutes ago," I told him.

"What? Why?"

I then began to explain to him about my parent's divorce being finalised and how the sight that I came home to wasn't very amusing, all resulting in me crying again.

"Ella, I'm so sorry," He mumbled, holding me tight and kissing my temple and wiping away any tears that I hadn't. "But some things happen for a reason. Nothing last's forever."

"Then one day I want someone to be my nothing," I sighed.

"Someday you're gonna find someone who'll love you so much that they'll never leave you, ever," He whispered in my ear.

"You think?" I asked, looking up at his stunning dark blue eyes.

"I know," He said.

For a moment it was just his blue eyes looking into my grey ones before his lips gently brushed against mine.

As short as the kiss was, it was still enough to get the butterflies in my stomach going crazy.

"You're amazing, Ella Slater," He whispered while still holding me, causing me to smile.

Two hours later, my mom finally messaged me asking me to come home.

"Ella, uh, do you wanna come over this weekend? You know, to like hang out and stuff?" Theo asked me sheepishly as we walked to our cars.

"Yeah, I'd like that," I nodded with a small smile as I reached up onto my toes to hug him and kiss his cheek. "I'll see you on Saturday, alright?"

"You not coming to school tomorrow?" He asked.

"Probably not. I might just spend the day with Kendall or something," I told him.

"Oh, okay," He nodded and then kissed my forehead (which made me melt on the inside because guys that kiss a girl's forehead just stay winning in my books).

After last goodbyes, we headed our separate ways.