Chapter 4

Connie's POV

They ended up in Monet's, sitting in front of each other. Connie ordered a raspberry mocha latte and blueberry pancakes, and encouraged Justin to do the same.

"W-what did I just do? I can't pay for that!" Justin exclaimed.

Connie chuckled at his worried expression, finding his reaction adorable. "Relax, okay? I invited you here, so I'm paying."

"I can't ask you to pay for me, Connie. It's supposed to be the other way around."

"Then you can pay for everything the next time." She bit her lip, immediately regretting her words. I'm already talking about a next time. You sound so clingy, Collette.

Justin nodded, soothing her worries. "Deal."

Connie texted her mom, informing her of her whereabouts. Why do I even bother? She's probably asleep right now. Justin was also on his phone, but Connie didn't ask who he was texting.

Once their orders were on the table, they started drinking and eating enthusiastically. Neither of them said anything; they just shared amused glances while they enjoyed their food. Justin laughed when he saw Connie's mouth was covered in whipped cream.

"Don't laugh at me!" She wiped her mouth with a napkin. "You're eating like a dog, and I'm not making fun of you."

"I'm sorry! You just reminded me of a baby, that's all."

A baby? "Wow, thanks." Connie said sarcastically. "Just what every girl wants to hear."

Justin continued to laugh, and Connie eventually joined him. This earned them some judgmental looks from other customers, but the teenagers paid no mind to them. Connie was happily enjoying herself with the cutest guy she'd ever seen, but she also wanted to talk about the things that had made her end up going to NA meetings. That's why I invited him here, right?

"I hate ruining the moment like this, but I need to vent for a bit. You don't mind, do you?"

The boy shook his head, taking another bite out of his pancake.

"Thanks." Connie sighed, bracing herself. She didn't care that he was basically a stranger; she just wanted to share her truth with him. "So, my dad is a really mean son of a bitch, pardon my language. He would always beat my mom and me. He also threatened to kill us several times, until one night he grabbed a knife and tried to stab my mom." She paused for a moment, trying to hold back the tears. "And he would have, if I hadn't hit him in the back with a fire extinguisher. Then the cops came, and he got 12 years for attempted murder."

I did it. I actually told someone. Justin was staring at her, and she prayed he wouldn't leave.

"I'm really sorry that happened to you." He finally said, and Connie could have sworn he was about to cry too. "Is your mom okay?"

"She's on antidepressants, spending most of the time in bed. Her boss gave her a leave of absence and was very understanding, thank God."

"And are you okay?"

Connie smiled slightly, touched by Justin's concern. They barely knew each other, but here he was, listening to her problems and asking her how she was doing. His eyes are so beautiful. "I'm hanging in there, I guess. After that whole mess with my dad, I started using coke and did a lot of terrible things. I only managed to get clean two months ago thanks to my mom, who is now forcing me to go to meetings. Said I needed to talk about these things with people who understood."

"I guess you could say I'm one of those people." Justin murmured. "I've been through some heavy stuff myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You want to talk about it?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Not right now, sorry."

I wonder what happened to him. I guess I'll learn about it soon. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me anything. To be honest, there is plenty of stuff I haven't told you. It's just not easy to admit certain things, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Being an addict makes me feel like a burden... everyone looks at me like I'm a time bomb that's going to detonate at any moment. I hate that people think of me that way."

"Like you're never going to be good enough?"

"Exactly."

Connie and Justin had gotten so wrapped up in their conversation that they had completely forgotten about their food. "I think this is the first time I've ever ignored a pancake." Connie joked.

"It would be a crime to let all of this go to waste." Justin agreed.

After they finished everything, Connie paid for their meals. She could tell Justin still felt uncomfortable by having somebody else pay for his food, which made Connie giggle on their way out of the coffee shop. "You'll get your chance to return the favor, Justin."

"Oh, I will." He promised, smiling brightly. Connie couldn't help but blush; Justin's entire being was so unbelievably captivating. She wanted to spend more time with him.

Connie gulped, trying to compose herself. He's just a guy, Connie. You just met him, so calm down. "Do you live near here?"

"Um, yeah." Justin responded, stroking the back of his neck. "My brother is picking me up. Do you need a ride?"

"No, thanks. I'll just walk home."

"You don't have to, we can ta-"

"No, no, I'm good." She cut him off. "I don't mind walking, and my house isn't that far from here either. But thank you for the offer."

"You're welcome, Connie."

Closing her eyes, she leaned and kissed his left cheek. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to make her heart want to jump out of her chest. Justin's gorgeous blue eyes were now wide open; he clearly hadn't been expecting that. Oh, shit. What did I do? Wait, are his eyes really blue? Because they also look kind of grey... ugh, say something!

"I'm sorry." Connie blurted out. "I just wanted..."

"It's fine, don't worry." He assured her. "I don't mind."

You don't mind? What does that mean? "I guess I'll see you in another meeting?"

"Yeah, of course." Justin said quickly. "It was good talking to you."

Connie snorted, wanting nothing more than to kiss him again. "I'm glad I didn't scare you away."

"It takes a lot to scare me away. Trust me." He flashed her one last smile as she waved him goodbye.

Connie put her hands in her pockets, letting the tears fall down her face this time. I hope that's true...