Just the Beginning [Complete ✓]

Chapter 24

The bus ride is not fun without Adrian. In fact, it's twice as nerve wrecking. Not to mention the message that pops up on my phone from Monique to say she won't be in today. Of course the day Adrian's out sick my only other friend can't make it either. Just my luck. The first two periods are a drag because Sawyer's not here either which sucks. It's the first time since I've gotten here that I find myself wishing I'd been able to make more friends.

I don't let it affect me entirely, however and when break rolls around, I can't be more relieved.

Out of habit, I walk onto the field and take a seat under the bleachers. I pull out a book and lean against one of the legs of the bleachers. The calm and silence around me differs greatly to the noisy halls and classes and while I miss the soccer players practicing, I don't mind the sudden peace.

Somehow I think I manifested this in a way because as soon as the thought crosses my mind, the silence is interrupted as Sawyer plops down beside me, a wide grin eating away at his face. Maybe it's just me, but as I acknowledge it, I can't help but think how I really prefer his smile to his smirk.

"Do you always hide away like this, Cal?" He tilts his head back, eyes analyzing me in amusement. "I almost couldn't find you."

"You were actually looking for me?"

"Surprised?"

"Not the slightest bit," I say with a smile, looking back down at my book.

"So where's Adrian?"

"Off sick," I tell him. He opens his mouth, ready to speak, but I stop him as I add on, "Monique had an appointment."

"So you're sitting alone."

"When you weren't in class, I assumed you weren't coming," I say. "And, well, I'm not alone. You're here."

When he doesn't respond, I have to try my utmost not to look over at him. I didn't want to seem too inquisitive despite the fact that it was ticking away at me; the curiosity gnawing at my stomach. He shifts, looking over at me in question. I quirk a brow, watching quietly as he rests his head on my leg. He looks to me for any protest and when I seem to have none, he smiles, eyes shifting to look up at the sky.

"My dad and I went to the airport this morning," he tells me. I look at him. "Dropped mom off."

I dropped mom off at the airport. She's going to New York for a bit.

"Did she visit you often?" I ask, my voice coming out so small that I hardly recognise it. It was toward the end, a year before he died, that Miss Sullivan suddenly took an interest in New York. She started going more and more often which ended up leaving Cooper alone. My mom and I always let him stay over when she was away; she didn't like the thought of a mother leaving their child alone for so long. Thinking back to then, and knowing what I know now, I wonder if she wasn't visiting Sawyer in preparation to arrange a meeting between them.

"She showed up one day, out of the blue. Dad was surprised too, but he said if she ever wanted to come by and see me again, she was free to. That was when she started showing up more frequently." He laughs like he's just told a joke and then, just as quickly, the laugh fades and the smile is gone. His expression is neutral. "I never always disliked her, you know. When I first met her, I was nervous. This was my mother, right in front of me. The woman who gave birth to me, that dad never spoke about. The more often she came around, the more I grew close to her. She was the sweetest and I mean, she was here. I didn't think anything about it."

I watch him, the way his tone changes as he speaks. I don't know why he's telling me this, though I suspect it's after my question the other day. I don't mind him telling me this. Closing my book, my eyes never leave him as I wait for it; for the moment in his story where he started to dislike her because I sense it's coming next.