The Color Blue

Chapter Four - I thought that he was different

"Yes, she's still in her room." I heard my mother say into the phone, "I've tried to get her to eat something, but she won't."

For two whole days after Robin stood me up I locked myself in my room and refused to talk to anyone. I shouldn't have been so upset over him. He was just some stupid guy who thought that he could lead me on and then leave me in the dust. But, I was crushed. He had successfully wooed me with his magnetic charm and his velvety voice and then hook, line, and sinker-I was done for. I thought that he was different, and I was wrong.

Maybe Spencer was right; maybe there was no such thing as a "good" guy. Maybe my aunt was right; maybe there was no one who could love me.

The sudden sound of a raging cannon ball interrupted my thoughts. I slowly got up from my bed were I was lying and cracked my door open. "Dad," I called, "Please turn the T.V. down. You nearly scared me half to death."

Another roaring boom sounded from the living room. "I'll only turn it down if you come out of your room and converse with me and your mother." He practically yelled over the television.

I sighed loudly, aggravated, and then opened my bedroom door a little more so that I could slip through. I traced my fingers along the cold wall as I made my way into the living room.

"She's alive!" my dad cheered.

"Rah, rah, hip and ring the bells." I said sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper, London." My mom said. I heard her get up from the leather couch. She grabbed my hands and led me back to the couch to sit next to her.

"Yeah, London, don't be such a party pooper." Spencer teased. I heard the microwave ding and smelled the delicious buttery sent of popcorn. The smell got stronger as Spencer walked into the living room and took a seat on the opposite side of me.

"Hold on one second," I said cautiously, "The whole family, all four of us, are in the same room." I paused, "Are you staging an intervention?"

My mom laughed. "No, sweety, we just thought that it would be nice if we all spent time together instead of you being in your room alone all day."

"I appreciate the thought, mom, I really do. It's sweet but, I would much rather just lie on my bed and sleep all day then sit here and listen to The Battle of Whatever." I started to get up but my mother grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down.

"Now listen here, young lady. For the past eight months I have watched you sulk, wallow, and mope about your last boyfriend. I painted on a smile and I let you do it, I thought that you would heal with time, but you never made any progress. Finally, you met this Robin character and it was the first time that I saw you really smile in a very, very long time. Sure, he stood you up. Sure, you have every right to be sad, but I will not let you be in a huff about this for the next year. Now, you are going to sit here listening to The Battle of Whatever and talking with your family and you are going to enjoy it. Do you understand?"

My mom was right. My last boyfriend had really hurt me. In the beginning, he cheated on me with his ex, but I forgave him and we continued to date. But, you know what they say about "once a cheater, always a cheater"? They aren't lying. We dated for three more years before I found out that he had another girlfriend and that they got together shortly after we started dating.

I felt crushed, betrayed, and alone. For three months, I didn't do anything. I didn't talk to anyone, I didn't go anywhere, and I almost got kicked out of school because I wasn't doing any work. That was when I was introduced to Annie's Café. That was when I was introduced to Ariel, and I started functioning again. I still wasn't normal, I still wasn't the same, but I was better.