(RIVALS) The Upside of Falling ✔️

Chapter 19: Study Date

The photo above is how I envision the perfect Brett Wells, as model Nick Bateman. What do you guys think? He's so....ah. No words.

Becca

"We're just studying, Mom," I groaned, completely annoyed. I've been repeating this for the past five minutes, but she has yet to believe me.

"No one actually studies on study dates, Becca!" Cassie called out from the bathroom, her voice muffled through the closed door.

"No one asked you!" I yelled back, rolling my eyes. I could hear her laughter from down the hallway.

This entire conversation was completely ridiculous. For the past half hour, my mother, Cassie and I have been talking about mine and Brett's "date" tonight. No matter what I said, they were convinced it was more than just studying. But it wasn't. Brett and I had drawn a a clear line, and I wasn't ready to cross it just yet.

Someday, I thought, but not yet.

My mother was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking her tea while she watched me closely. She got home from work early tonight for the first time in weeks. Figures, the day Brett is coming to pick me up, my mother happens to be home. I was beginning to think Cassie called her and they planned this. Scratch that, I knew they planned this.

The sound of the toilet flushing and water running broke the silence. Cassie walked into the kitchen and took a seat beside my mother, they were both watching me expectingly. I crossed my arms, staring them down while I leaned on the counter.

"Fine!" I threw my hands up in surrender, they weren't going to let this go. "Maybe Brett thinks it is a date..." My voice trailed off as I nervously chewed on my lip.

They exchanged knowing glances, smiling triumphantly.

"What?" I groaned, walking towards the table and taking a seat opposite them.

"Why are you so unwilling to admit that you actually like him?" Cassie asked, her eyebrows raised while I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

She was right. I did like Brett, more than I care to admit to myself. He made me feel special. He made me feel wanted. And that was something I had never felt before. So what was I so afraid of? I shook my head, the thoughts slowly disintegrating in my mind.

"I don't want to talk about this," I grumbled, giving her a pointed look. My mother stared at me with sadness in her eyes and I knew she understood exactly why I was so against the idea of giving myself to Brett.

I hastily pushed my chair back, standing up on planting both my palms on the table in front of me.

"He's failing so I'm helping him study. That's it. Stop making a big deal over nothing," I snapped, my voice harsher than I intended. I turned away from their startled expressions, retreating back into my room and shutting the door behind me to block out the hushed whispers.

I sat on my bed and let my head fall into my hands. What I felt for Brett was terrifying, it was new territory I had never navigating before. Everything was so strong, so quick that my initial instinct was to run away; to push the thoughts and the feelings to the back of my head, to the back of my heart. Just like I had seen my mother do so many years before.

She loved my father more than anything. She looked at him with stars in her eyes, and he looked at her like she was his entire world. And I looked up to them, to their love and their beauty that transcended so much further than the eye could see.