Summer Letters

Chapter 18

Lena told Jensen everything that happened when they talked that night. Jensen felt bad because Lena had predicted it over the summer. Alfonso proved everything Lena had been afraid of. Jensen took Lena's hands, he helped her stand up, and he hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is my fault. What can I do to fix it?"

Lena shook her head, "Don't blame yourself for this."

"But I did start this."

"No you didn't," Lena told him. "I'm the one that convinced you to keep this a secret. We've been deceiving them all semester. It was only a matter of time until they figured it out. I didn't let Alfonso or Sebastian see how I was changing. I told Marlene and Luna and we're still good. We agreed to ease them into the idea of us, but we didn't prepare that maybe not everyone would be okay with it."

"What do we do?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I wish I did, but if we confess now they'll only think worse of us. Alfonso will get angrier and he will feel betrayed."

Jensen pulled away from their hug and Lena rested her hands against his chest. "Let's see what happens in the next few days," he told her. "If things improve we'll continue easing them into the idea of us. If things get worse, we'll have to confess everything to them."

Lena nodded, "That sounds okay."

Lena still worried. She couldn't help it. She first felt herself changing over the summer, but now she felt herself changing even faster than before. She wanted to be that person Alfonso remembers, but she didn't hate the person she was becoming either. Jensen made her feel like change was good. He made her feel like herself. He made her feel safe. Even now with his arms around her, she felt her stress levels decreasing as he massaged her back.

"Can I take your mind off it for a while?" he asked.

She smiled, "That depends on what you have in mind."

He chuckled, "That's the Lena I know. How about we have a date night right now."

"Now?" she laughed. "How? What will we do?"

"We can watch a movie, eat some snacks, and we can forget the rest of the world exists for the night."

"Before we do," Lena said, "Do you think I'm still a good person? Do you think I've been slacking on my school work?"

"I think you've had a lot on your mind. I've had a lot on my mind too, but we can work on that. If it'll help, we can meet every day after our classes and spent a few hours studying and getting ahead in our classes."

Lena smiled, "Thank you. Date night now?"

Jensen nodded, "You pick a movie. I'll get changed and grab some snacks from my room. I'll meet you back here in ten."

"Perfect."

Lena went to her dresser first to change into more comfortable clothes while Jensen went to his room. After she changed she heard a strange noise outside. She went to the window and saw that some of the students were rushing inside. She didn't see many of them because it was dark, but the street lamps were light enough to show some of them running across the quad. What was happening out there? Jensen came in while she was at the window.

"Is everything okay?" Jensen asked, catching Lena by surprise.

"Look outside," she told him instead of answering.

He stood next to her at the window. "I don't see anything," he said.

"Exactly," Lena said. "They all ran inside."