- Taylor's POV -
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I sat back down, a little nervous. Okay, very nervous, I admitted. “Sorry about that,” I said a little too enthusiastically.
Henry looked at me strangely. “What was that?”
“Oh, it was just a classmate.” I didn’t stutter! “He missed Calculus, and I told him I’d send him a picture of my notes. Except we forgot to exchange information at school.” Please don’t think I’m a player, please don’t think I’m a player, please--
“Ahh.” Henry nodded knowingly. “You’re a good friend to do that for him. I know what a help someone’s notes can be when you’ve missed class.”
Relief flooded my stomach, erasing the butterflies. He believes me! Whew, that was close.
“So…” I nodded for no reason.
“Sooooooo.” Henry nodded too. We laughed.
“What’s your favorite color?”
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After what felt like minutes, I looked at my watch. “Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. “It’s 5:30!”
“What?” Henry asked incredulously. “Impossible. We’ve only been here for a half an hour, at most!”
“No, look!” I showed him my watch. He twisted his head, moving his hand so it lightly rested on my wrist. Heat radiated from his skin. The cursed butterflies came back with renewed vigor.
Henry smiled at me. Some part of my brain registered that it was a very soft smile. “Hey, you should probably go,” he said, his voice just as soft. “You’ve got to get back to your siblings. And help your mom. And such.”
“Yeah.” It came out in more of a whisper. I was still trying to process the fact that he had his hand on my wrist. If I was smooth, maybe I’d hold his hand, I thought, then shoved the thought away. Nah. You can’t comfortably hold hands with someone sitting across from you. Unless you take your hands off the table, and then you’d end up arm wrestling. I couldn’t contain my giggle.
Henry looked confused. “What’s funny?”
“Nothing,” I assured him. “Just a train of thought.”
I didn’t move. Neither did he. He had nice eyes, like the color of the ocean. What am I, a poet? I really haven’t been myself lately.
“You’re stalling.”
“I know.” I looked down. “Alright, I’m gonna go now. Maybe we can hang out again sometime soon?” My heart beat fast. Why did I say that? I’m so stupid, I’m so clumsy. What if he says no? He probably already has a girlfriend--no, he wouldn’t, not having just taken me out--what if he says no? I--
“Sure!” Henry stood up. “I’ll call you, okay?”
“Awesome.” I smiled awkwardly. “I guess I’ll see you around, then.”
“See ya!”
Get out the door, Taylor, I told myself. Don’t make a fool of yourself already. Chill. It went well.
My hands shook as I shoved my bag into my car. Stay. Calm.
Key. In. Ignition.
Turn. On.
Surprisingly, I made it out of the parking lot without hitting anything. I waited till I got to a stoplight, then let it all out.
“Yesssss!” I exhaled. “First date, down! It was a success! I didn’t screw things up! And Henry wasn’t even suspicious about Brandon! Yessss!” I bounced in my seat, then quickly looked to both sides to see if anyone had seen me. A soccer mom in the minivan beside me raised her eyebrows. Her kids were laughing. I quickly put my eyes on the road, feeling my neck heat up.
Thankfully, the light turned green, and I speeded home. I knew I was going too fast, but I didn’t care. I let myself be excited about the possibility of maybe a boyfriend.
It was around 5:45 when I walked in the door. Still unable to wipe the smile off my face, I practically danced into the kitchen. “Hey Mom!” I said cheerily. “What’s for dinner?”
“Meatloaf,” Mom said slowly. “Any particular reason why you’re so happy?”
“I’ll tell you tonight,” I promised. “There’s too much to tell. But there was a guy involved.”
She smiled knowingly. “I see. I’ll look forward to it.”
After relieving myself of my bag, I returned to the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe. “Need any help?” I asked Mom.
“I’m good.” She busied herself with chopping veggies for a salad. “Emilie’s happy, the boys are at the neighbor’s house, and your father isn’t home yet.” She sighed. “I’ve gotten to where I enjoy being alone more than I do having him here.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Mom exhaled slowly. “You know, if this goes on for much longer, I’m going to seriously consider a divorce.”
“Good.”
She opened the oven and pulled out the meatloaf. “I’m just not sure how it’ll affect the kids. You too, but especially the younger ones.”
“Look, Mom,” I said, “it’s going to damage them--us--even more growing up in a home where our parents yell at each other. Truly. After dinner, I promise I’ll do some job research.” I felt a little guilty for not looking like I told her I would. I convinced myself it was because of school.
“Can you go run over to the neighbors’ house and grab the boys?” Mom asked. At first she looked as though she hadn’t heard what I’d said, but then she flashed a smile my way and I knew she was listening. “It’s time to eat.”
“Absolutely.” Dad was pulling in the driveway just as I walked out the door. I purposefully gave him the coldest shoulder I could possibly manage. Head down, eyes averted, I walked next door and knocked. A middle aged woman with a bright smile and a baby on her hip answered.
“Hi, can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m Taylor, I live next door.” I pointed. “I think my brothers are here…?”
“Oh, so you’re the older sister!” She laughed cheerily. “They keep telling Russell how cool you are. I think he might even be wanting his own older sister, now.”
“Oh boy,” I laughed. They think I’m cool? That’s awesome. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“I’m Marie Shelley.” The woman balanced her baby on one hip and shook my hand with the other. “Nice to meet you. Boys!” she yelled inside. “Come on out, your sister is here to pick you up!”
The boys stampeded downstairs and rushed out the door. Isaac and Elijah begged for Russell come over for dinner, but I reminded them that it was Sunday night and they had school tomorrow. They complained, of course. hustled them out the door anyway.
Dinner was a noisy affair. The twins talked--loudly--about a new video game they had played at the neighbors’ house. They kept shooting looks Mom’s way as they raved about it. I could tell she had picked up the hint, but was pretending to be ignorant. I smiled and handed Emilie a piece of meatloaf.
Dad coughed. I raised an eyebrow. He always coughed when he had something to say. He had been scrolling his phone the whole meal, and now focused his attention on me. Oh, crap.
“So, Taylor.” He took a bite of meatloaf. “How’s life?”
What does he think he’s doing? I thought bitterly. It’s too late to win me over. “Fine,” I said shortly.
“School going well?”
“Yeah.”
“Have a boyfriend yet?”
“Why do you care?” I exploded. “Does it even matter? Why do you care about that? There are much more important things to care about than if I have a fricking boyfriend!”
“Alright!” Dad raised his hands in surrender. “I was just wondering.”
I shook my head. “If you want to engage with someone in this family,” I practically spat, “talk to your wife!”
My mom shot me a reproving look, but left it at that. I huffed.
The rest of the meal was silent.
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(woah, has it really been over a month since i posted?? i'm so sorry oh my gosh)
(it wasn't intentional i promise)
(school is killing me, wow)
(i hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving <33)
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