I Almost Killed My Crush's Mom

Chapter 3:: The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 3// The Truth Comes Out

I stare anxiously at the house in front of me, my lips raw from my habitual biting.

It’s the day after the car accident, and according to the hospital when I rang earlier this morning- Jennifer has been sent home. She’s recovered from the main effects of her concussion, and her leg is casted up: she’s just been told to take it easy for the next few days and get lots of rest. Now is the perfect time to introduce myself and apologise, right? My hands shake as they grip the bunch of flowers- a feeble apology present against what I did to her. The house is a clear white colour and about the same size as ours, but that doesn’t make it any less intimidating. Every instinct in my body is screaming at me to run away screaming, and it’s almost impossible not to, but I need to do the right thing. The right thing is admitting my wrong, apologising and trying to make up for it.

The flowers are a baby step, don’t worry.

I exhale deeply and force my rigid muscles to walk me towards the door. Jesse lives on the same road as Everett and I: a modern and sophisticated estate, with a small alleyway leading to the beach. The house stood in front of me is a pure white, with wide bay windows and navy detailing. According to Everett, who has visited Jesse’s house before, there’s a pool in the back garden too so Mr and Mrs Dales must be pretty rich. I reach the door, take a nervous dry gulp and knock as hard as I dare on the misty glass. Oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m doing this. There’s no going back now.

It takes a second, but soon I hear the distant thud of footsteps and a figure approaches behind the clouded glass of the door. My hands clutch into fists, my heart beating slightly faster. These people are going to hate me, and rightly so. What am I going to do? In front of me, the door opens swiftly, revealing Jesse. His hair is tousled and curly in the most adorable bedhead and he’s squinting at me confusedly. My eyes run over him quickly, and I can’t help but quirk a smile at the sight of his bare feet on the doormat. “Hi,” I look up, feeling more than a little awkward at the introduction, “I’m here to see your mom?”

“Oh um, okay,” Jesse frowns confusedly, taking a cautious step away from the door. Have I come too early? It’s obvious he’s recently got out of bed. What if Jennifer’s sleeping and I’m disturbing her? “You’re the girl who served me at the café,” He realises aloud, eyeing me doubtfully. “What are you doing here? How did you know what happened to my mom?”

“Can I please explain inside?” I ask weakly, feeling a blush burning my cheeks. Is it bad that I’m trying to prolong this as long as possible? I don’t want my crush to hate me just yet. “I really do need to speak to your mom. Is she awake?”

“Yeah she’s up,” Jesse nods, running a hand through his hair and stepping back enough to allow me to step indoors. I subconsciously begin to play with my fingers as I step inside, the sudden weight of the situation dawning on me. In about five minutes, the whole Dales family is going to hate my guts and I’ll probably have a huge medical bill to pay. What am I going to do? “This way,” Jesse interrupts my anxiety, gesturing for me to head up the stairs. The interior decoration of this house is about as modern as the exterior, and every single item in this hallway seems to scream expense. Without thinking twice, I slide off my shoes. I’m not going to be the person who got Jennifer’s cream carpet dirty as well as breaking her leg.

I jog up the stairs after Jesse, admiring the décor as I do, and he leads us onto a wide landing carpeted with beige. It honestly feels like I’m walking on clouds. “It’s that one right there.” He points towards the door on the left, and nodding determinedly to try and disguise my fear, I walk towards it. Reaching up, I knock tentatively on the door. By this point I’m shaking, and I can sense the bitter metallic taste of blood faintly in my mouth, leaking from my bitten lip. I wish Everett had come with me, but he’s taking Tammy to her friend’s house and she lives a little while away. Besides, mom thinks I need to do this on my own. I can only hope that Jennifer won’t scream and shout when I tell her the bad news.