Hours later, everyone was assembled in the school auditorium for the graduation ceremony. The graduates were up on stage while the guests took up the rest of the room. It was mostly silent as the names were called out, then a short round of applause as the student got up to go and pick up their diploma.Since we were arranged alphabetically by surname, I wasn’t sitting with Liam or any of my friends. I only vaguely knew the people I sat with, but none of it mattered because very few of us even bothered with talking. We all had the same objective, after all; to get through graduation as quickly as possible. Even for those that hadn't exactly hated high school, we were all relieved to have it over with.Finally, it came to my name. I got up from my seat nervously and made my way to the stage and to the podium. It was a pretty short walk, but the whole room was quiet at that time, and I was the center of attention, so I worried.All sorts of things went through my mind, then. I could hav
The days that passed after graduation were normal. It was completely expected, and still a disappointment considering how hyped up the whole graduation thing was. Now that we were done with school, we could spend time doing whatever we wanted. Including, planning for our future.I had Liam with me in my room trying to help me come up with thoughts, but it had been hours, and we hadn't come up with anything in all that time. I was pretty much just at my table randomly surfing the net at that point while Liam lazed around on my bed. The only reason I didn’t join him there for some real fun, was because Mom had stepped out and could come back home at any time, so we were careful.“Are you hungry?” I asked, glancing over at Liam, breaking the silence in nearly half an hour.Liam was laying back with his legs crossed, knees slightly raised, and his arms under his head. At my question, he turned a little and squinted an eye open to look at me.“Hmm? Hungry… I’m fine for now. It’ll be lunch
Once again, it was Liam and me alone in a room, only this time, it was his. I’d called and told him I was coming over when Mom let me know that his dad would be coming over to our place. While I wasn’t about to interfere with my mom’s relationships, it was still so strange for me to have the two of them dating. So, I left the house the moment she told me he was coming over, and I carried an outfit with me.Even though it was more than a week later, we were finally going to have a graduation party. I didn’t know all the people who were throwing the party, but nearly everyone would be there. I didn’t bother letting Mom know, I just told her I’d be at some friends’ places. Besides, she was planning a romantic dinner or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if she took advantage of the fact that I was out to get a little fun.I pushed those thoughts out of my mind quickly as I shoved open Liam’s door.“Hey,” he said, looking up.He was seated at his desk, playing on his phone, but he put it
I was home alone when the doorbell rang. I perked up because I was bored by myself. I did have a thought that it might be Liam there, and it was enough to have me rushing to the door. Only, when I opened it, someone unexpected was standing on the other side.“Rita?” I said, confused.She gave a wry smile. “You could at least pretend to be glad to see me, you know? Now I feel bad for coming all the way here.”“No!” I said immediately, fluttering my hands in the air between us. “I’m sorry about that; I just wasn’t expecting…”She rolled her eyes at me. “Let me guess. You thought it would be your boyfriend, come here to pull you out of your boredom.”I couldn’t exactly say no, so all I did was give her a sheepish smile. She just snorted at me as she rolled her eyes. I stepped to the side, and she let herself into the house. She’d been around to my place a few times, so she didn’t even wait for me as she headed straight for the stairs, and once I’d closed the door, I followed close behind
Rita left for a while. Neither of us wanted to speculate too much about what happened. It bothered me, but there was nothing I could do about this knowledge now. I had to think about what I was going to do with it.On the one hand, it was entirely Liam’s business, so of fucking course, he deserved to hear it. But…it would only hurt him, for one thing. For another, it would confuse him, and the last thing I needed was to have him withdraw from me.I couldn’t just keep it to myself, though. I was practically bursting to let it out, and I picked up my phone to message him.Hey, did you hear? Someone’s throwing a party! I’ll meet you there, okay?My heart was in my throat as I sent a second text with the address, then put my phone back down on the desk.I hadn't wanted to go to the party, but the crowded atmosphere would take my mind off things. I would just not drink anything the whole time.I jumped out of my chair and headed for the bathroom to have a shower. I’d been lazing around the
I was alone at home and bored. I’d been looking at college options—local ones—but there was only so long I could keep it up. At least, when I did it at Adele’s place, I could look up and see her sitting not too far away from me.She was the whole reason I was going through with this, after all. Having my motivation right there was usually enough to keep me going.Of course, I wasn’t doing it just for her. I was doing it for us, for our future. For the baby. I was still keeping it under wraps while trying to find the best time to tell Adele this good piece of news. That I might be going to the same college she would, so we wouldn’t have to be separated. At least, not for too long if she ended up waiting until after she had the baby to go. And then, we could raise him or her together.She’d been going to the doctors. Lately, I thought to myself. Is it still too early for an ultrasound? Then we could find out if the baby is a boy or a girl…I wasn’t sure that was something she’d want to
I stepped outside so they wouldn’t know I’d been there to overhear their conversation. I didn’t even want her to know I’d been there, so I was extra careful as I opened the door and stepped outside. Rita had gone to Adele with the information, and I wanted Adele to be the one to tell me herself.When Rita walked out, I was right across the street from Adele’s house, because I didn’t feel like going too far. My legs felt like jelly, like they would give up on me if I tried to walk all the way back home, so I was leaning back against a tree when I saw Rita leave.Not long after that, my phone vibrated in my pocket, twice. I figured they were texts, and I even guessed who from. Sure enough, when I pulled my phone out to check, it was Adele’s number that I saw. I unlocked the screen, opening the texts. They were invitations to some party and the address to where it would take place.A party…Was that something I could put up with, in the state I was in? I glanced down at myself. I was dre
I figured Dad would be sitting at the dinner table when I finally made my way to the kitchen. I’d been dragging my feet, practically crawling, so by the time I did walk in there; it had probably been a whole minute when it was only a few steps away. Instead, he was at the stove.My eyebrows arched, and I just stood there awkwardly, until Dad glanced at me. “Are you going to sit down, or what? I was already making lunch before you came back, so don’t think this is just for you.”I nodded in understanding. Even though it was a little late for lunch, Dad and Laurie looked like they’d been arguing for a while before we arrived, and that was probably when he’d started making the food, then forgotten it and just left it on the table. No, he was just gazing at it.“Will that be safe to eat?” I asked tentatively.“It’s fine,” he said, waving a hand at me. “I was worried it would take a while, when… Laurie said she wanted to talk. So I turned the stove off. It’s not like I would have left it