"Charlie...I..." Catalina said between kisses.
"What...you...what?" Charlie asked, still kissing her.
Catalina turned away. "I...I..." She felt a tear run down her cheek. Charlie quickly wiped it away. "I have...a boyfriend..." She said sadly.
"W-why didn't you tell me?" He asked, sounding hurt.
"Because, I love you." She wrapped her arms around him.
"Cat...I love you too, you know that. But, if you have a boyfriend..." He trailed off.
"I'm planning to break up with him when school starts." She said bluntly.
"Oh...but that's only in a few days." He said.
"I know. That's the point, I want to be with you." They hugged each other.
"Let me take you home." Charlie said, leading her to his car.
Cat smiled and kissed him lightly on his cheek. "I really do love you, Charlie, I've never loved anyone like this." She looked up at him.
Charlie was taken by surprise, he was breathless. The look that she gave him, it was beyond love. He could tell she really meant it. "I-I love you more than anything, Catalina, I couldn't live without you." He pulled her into a long, passionate kiss as he pulled up to her house.
Cat pulled away from the kiss. "I'm breaking up with him tonight. I can't lead him on like this any longer." She breathed. "He deserves to know the truth." She smiled and hopped out of his car before he could get the door for her. "Bye, Charlie. See you tomorrow?" She asked.
"Of course. I can't go a day without seeing you. I love you." He smiled.
"Love you, too." She bit her lip, smiling, and shut the door. Once he drove away and was out of view, Cat grinned and hugged herself tightly. "I really think he's the one..." She whispered up to the sky. She ran inside and said hello to her Grandma, Peg, who was reading on the couch in the living room.
"Did you have a nice night, sweetie?" She asked in her tiny voice.
"It was everything and more." Cat smiled.
"That's wonderful, dear. Now go on and get some sleep." Peg smiled.
"Goodnight, Nana." Cat smiled, and lightly hugged her grandma.
"Sweet dreams." Peg smiled.
Cat walked up to her room and flipped on the light. There, standing in the middle of her room, was Tommy Jones, her boyfriend.
"Um, hey?" Cat questioned. Why is he standing in my room? At 11:30pm, in the dark? She thought to herself.
"Cat, why? How could you do something like this?" He sounded sad. Cat walked slowly over to him and stopped about a foot away. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Charlie.
"I-I'm so sorry, Tommy. I know, I should have told you earlier, right when I got home from camp. No, I should have called you while I was at camp. You didn't deserve to know this way, I'm so sorry." She lightly closed her eyes and felt a tear run down her face.
He gulped, and his breathing stuttered. "I just, I thought you really loved me, Cat, I really love you." He said quietly.
"W-what I did, it was inexcusable. Tommy, I'm sorry. I know nothing I say will ever...will ever be enough of an apology." She looked down at the ground.
"I'm a little confused. Look, I saw you in the park with him a few hours ago. I saw you making out...to my knowledge that's all you have done with him. Am I wrong? Please, just tell me the truth." He looked her directly in the eyes.
She turned away, she couldn't stand to look at him. She waited for a moment before she spoke. Her voice quivered. "I-I..." Cat stopped. It was so hard to tell him.
"Did you sleep with him?" He asked, more serious than ever.
Tears spilled from her eyes. Everything was blurry. "Yes." She answered meekly. More tears came, harder, faster, pouring down her face.
"I knew it. I just didn't want to believe it." He shook his head. Cat looked up, he looked as if he was crying, though, she couldn't be sure, everything was watery.
"I'm so sor-." She was cut off.
"I should go." He turned and began to crawl through the open window.
"You can use the door. I'm sure my Nana's in bed by now." Cat said, still sobbing.
He stepped back into the room and shut the window. He placed both his hands on his face and made a growling noise. "God, I'm the one you cheated on and some how, I feel bad for you." He grumbled.
"No." She said sharply. Before she knew it, she felt arms wrapping around her.
"Don't cry, please. Cat, I can't stand to see you cry like this. It's just too much. It hurts me." He whispered in her ear. She turned around, facing him now, and hugged him.
"T-Tommy, I, I can't do this...Not after what I've done." She shook loose of his tight hug and looked at him.
"W-what do you mean? Are we breaking up?" He asked.
She sighed and closed her eyes. "I think it's best. I'm sorry. I still love you, and will always love you, I'm just not in love with you." She looked up at him.
"I love you, Cat. And, I think if I try hard enough, we can be great friends. I'll always love you." He hugged her, and she pulled him closer to her. She kissed him lightly.
"I think I should go." He tried to smile at her.
"Okay. But remember, we're best friends, got it?" She giggled a little.
"Best friends. I got it. I love you." He said and lightly closed her door as he left.
She couldn't help shouting, "I love you!" She heard him laughing.
Cat collapsed on her bed, chucking a little to herself. Now, she had a best friend and a boyfriend. Life was good. For now.
She heard the buzz noise of her vibrating cell phone. She turned and grabbed it off her bedside table.
"Hello?" She asked, expecting it to be Charlie.
"Catalina? It's Adrienne. Um, can I come over?" She sounded like she had been crying.
"Um, come to the right side yard. You can climb through my window, just step on the air conditioning box." Cat wondered why Adrienne would be asking to stay at her house, but if she needed a place to stay it was fine. And, if she had been crying maybe they could talk about it.
"Okay, thanks so much, Catalina!" She exhaled in relief. "I'll see you soon." She hung up.
About 20 minutes later she heard a knock on her window. She jumped up and opened it for Adrienne. She climbed in and hugged Catalina.
Adrienne's face was streaked red with tear marks. "Adrienne, are you alright?" Cat asked nervously.
"N-no, but I'm dealing with it." She whimpered.
"You can tell me, I promise, I won't tell anyone, it's not like I have any real girl friends. I mean Winnie, but I wouldn't tell her, I don't tell anyone much." Cat promised.
Adrienne sighed. "Thanks, I've been wanting to let this out for a while..." She paused. "I've never known who my dad was. Basically, it could be anyone my mom slept with, which is basically half the US mens population. So, she still sleeps around. There's been this one guy, he's been staying at our apartment for about three weeks now. Every time my mom's gone, or out of the house for any reason at all, he hits me. Or, worse, he takes advantage of me. He told me if I told anyone he would make sure to kill me and all the ones I loved." She began sobbing.
"Adrienne...You really need to tell someone, an adult, police man, anyone." Cat hugged her reassuringly.
"I-I know, it's just so hard!" She covered her face with her hands.
"You can stay here as long as you need." Cat smiled.
"Thanks so much!" Adrienne hugged her again.
"No problem." Cat said. "Here, you can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor." She grabbed a twin sized air mattress out of her closet and plugged in the automatic inflater.
"No, I'll have the air mattress!" Adrienne stood up. "I love those things!" She smiled.
"Okay, are you sure?" Cat asked.
"Yeah, totally."
"Okay, well, do you need anything else? Food, water?" Cat asked, giggling a little.
"Nope, I'm all good, just maybe a blanket and pillow?" She asked.
"Oh, yeah of course!" Cat went to her closet and pulled a huge blanket and a comfy down pillow. "Here." She handed it to Adrienne and went to go brush her teeth. When she came back in the room, Adrienne was in a deep sleep. Cat quietly tiptoed to her window and closed it, then turned off the lights and climbed into her bed.
Thoughts buzzed around in her head. She thought about all Adrienne has been through in her life. She thought of Charlie, and how much she loved him. She thought of Tommy, and how maturely he took the whole situation, still promising to be friends. Then, lastly, she thought of school, two days away. She sighed and snuggled under the covers.
