Across the Bridge

Across the Bridge - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I woke up to the sun brightening the room, with Winston's arms around me. Yawning, I knew I hadn't gotten enough sleep. But I was with him, so I was good. Now, I felt like I could stay in his arms for hours and I would be just fine. Nothing else would matter.

HEY, HOW WAS THE DANCE? DID YOU GET HOME SAFE? I texted Asa while I laid in bed, not wanting to wake Winston yet.

Buzz. IT WAS FUN. I GOT HOME ON TIME BUT MOM WASN'T HERE. SHE STILL ISN'T.

Immediately I felt my stomach drop.

I'LL BE HOME WHEN I CAN. ARE YOU OKAY FOR NOW? I asked him, panicking already.

YEAH, IM FINE. HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT?

IT WAS GREAT, THANKS.

I pulled myself out from under Winston, but he stirred and blinked his eyes open. His lips curled up at the edges right away. His eyes remained half closed and his hair was everywhere, but my heart swelled, just by how he looked at me.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Morning," I replied, smiling back.

He saw my phone in my hand. "Everything okay?"

"Oh, uh, I guess my mom didn't go home again last night. Asa just told me," I admitted.

"Again?"

I shrugged. "She's got a new boyfriend."

"Oh. Do you need to get home?" he asked.

I made a face. "Asa said he's fine. But..."

Winston kissed my cheek. "Can I just shower and then we will go?"

I nodded, feeling grateful for him more than then ever.

Upstairs, half an hour later, Winston held my hand as we walked through the kitchen. We hadn't talked about it, but I hoped he would stay at my house for awhile. The intense desire to just have him nearby surprised me. I didn't want to think about the rest of the weekend without him.

"Winston," a voice called from behind us.

His mother appeared, making my whole body feel frozen. Something about her scared me, and knowing she wasn't my biggest fan didn't help.

"We're leaving," Winston told her, over his shoulder.

"I told you I'm not comfortable with her sleeping here, Winston. I don't know her family. I don't need any bad publicity-"

"Her family is fine. There won't be any problems," Winston spit out. He was mad.

"I need to talk to your mother, at least." She was talking to me, now. "Just call her up, I'll just say hello, you know, introduce myself -"

"No, Mom," Winston interrupted.

"Winston, you know how it goes. You're my son, so you have to follow certain rules. You've dated in the past, but never brought girls here to sleep over." She paused. "I can't have any trouble with her parents."

"There's no trouble, I swear," I said quietly.

She sighed dramatically. "Have your mother call me, yes? Winston can give you my number."

I nodded, terrified. "Yes."

Outside, Winston was still fuming. "I'm sorry, Penelope."  He slammed his door shut. "She has no right... she only cares about her stupid public persona.."

I sighed. "My mom is not going to call her. I haven't even talked to her in a while."

"Pen, I'm sorry," he said again, this time his tone more calm. "It's okay. We will just avoid my house. Okay?"

I nodded, but something didn't feel right. I wanted to believe things would be okay, but my track record of things turning out well wasn't great. I had no reason to believe things would be better this time.

On Monday, we still hadn't heard from my mom. I was worried all day at school and got out of hanging out with Lex after school because I had to work. I didn't want to have to tell Lex that my mom was MIA. I didn't want him to have any more reasons to feel sorry for me. And I really didn't want to make small talk about the dance that I hadn't gone to, either.

"I just miss you," Lex told me, right after school. His voice was low.

We were outside when he asked me to go get a coffee with him. I zipped my coat and shoved my hands into my pockets. It was so cold outside.

"Where's Lydia?" I asked him.

"Pen, it's not about her. It's about you and me... I don't want us to fall apart." He was so serious, it almost didn't sound like him.

Finally, I smiled at him. "You've always been there for me, Lex. You're awesome. I just have a lot going on... work, school... Asa."

"Okay. Well, soon then?" he asked, nodding at me.

"Okay, yes. I'm going to be late for work," I finished and spun around in the direction of the library.

I missed Lex, too. For years, he was the only one who cared about me at all. Of course he was important to me. But as much as I'd confided in him in the past, he still didn't get it. He had two loving parents. He had this great, normal life that I just wasn't that big a part of. And - even though he hadn't told me yet - I knew he was likely going away to college. We would grow apart, it was just a fact.

"How was work?" Winston asked me that evening, after I got into his car beside him. I'd been looking forward to seeing him for hours.

He seemed on edge, not quite as relaxed as he usually was. I reached over to touch his hand.

"Good, quiet," I replied, smiling at him. "Thanks for coming to meet me."

"Of course. It's the only place I want to be," he said, finally grinning.

He was quiet for the whole drive to Williamsburg, and I was just thinking about how this had all happened. How we had become whatever we were now. How we had "met" so randomly and now he was my favourite place, too.

In my driveway, I knew he noticed that my mom's car was not there. He glanced at me to see my reaction. I looked away, so he didn't see my face.

"She's not answering her phone," I said, before he could say anything about it. "She's done it before. Taken off, without telling me. But with Asa home again... I thought..."

"I can stay tonight," Winston interrupted me. "We would have to leave early in the morning-"

"Really?" I wanted to know.

"I would love to," he whispered.

That night, things really changed, in a lot of ways. Winston had been there for me, with me, before then - but that night, he was different. He needed me, too. I could tell how he held me closer. I was glad when he finally relaxed as we cuddled, watching a movie. He ignored his phone when it buzzed, a bunch of times. We fell asleep wrapped around each other, and it felt exactly like I thought it was supposed to be. At least for one night.