Chapter 12: Tristan

"Do you forgive me, Sienna?"

My eyes connected with his twinkling light brown eyes. A teasing smile formed on his face as he walked over to me, stopping a few feet in front of me. He cautiously lifted his arms from his sides, slightly raising them when an adorable grin took the place of his smirk. He lifted his eyebrows, silently asking me to forgive him. I laughed, releasing the unknown cautiousness and uptightness I had been holding in. It felt good to let go and be carefree; to not worry.

"I forgive you," I heard myself say, a smile evident in my voice. I took the few steps to close the distance between us, slipping my arms under his. A sense of pleasure filled me as I felt his strong arms wrap around me; holding me close to him…

I woke with a start, shooting upright in the folds of my blanket covers. My heart pounded in my chest, the effects of waking up to a dream…that felt so real. I shook my head and took deep breaths, trying to calm my heart. It was just a dream…sadly.

I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to clear the blurriness. My brown eyes slowly took in the empty desk that only held a Mac computer and a laptop—my laptop. My eyes found my purse set in front of a closed closet door. Where am I?

I looked down at myself to see that my arms were covered with blue sleeves…of a jacket. And just like that, everything flooded my mind. The amusing events of late last night with Alex, the phone call conversation I had with Brenton, the fact that I wasn't in New York. I was here…in California.

I automatically slumped, remembering my predicament to spend summer in California. But I couldn't ignore the somewhat exciting and anxious feelings I had for the potential of my summer here. I managed to meet Alex again and it wasn't so bad talking to him; it wasn't awkward; it was sort of like old times. I also managed to steer my thoughts away from Brenton…

I turned my head towards the clock on my nightstand to see that it was 7:00 A.M. which was 10:00 A.M. time in New York. I groaned as I collapsed back onto my pillow. I lay there staring up at the bare white ceiling as I recalled my dream. I groaned again.

Why? Why did I have to dream about Brenton?

My feelings were mixed up and confused about the guy I let my guard down with and actually kissed the night before I left New York. The knowledge my best friends Katie and Sara told me just the other day—that Brenton went out on a date with Christine—is what made me put that guard up again; to be suspicious of Brenton. I thought Brenton liked me but it turned out he went on a date with another girl. So what did that mean?

Sure he called me yesterday and he seemed really sweet and concerned about me…but I can not forget the fact that he kissed me and then went on a date with another girl.

Fed up with the confusing thoughts of Brenton, I jumped out of my bed and headed towards my dresser. I unzipped and took off Alex's jacket that I somehow slept with last night. I placed it on the back of my desk chair before I changed my tank top with a sports bra and a white wife beater. Just as I was pulling out a pair of my jogging shorts, black with white stripes down the sides, from a drawer, my fingers came in contact with something with a rough texture that contrasted with the smooth wood of the drawer.

I peered into the drawer curiously and pulled out the piece of paper. But when I had the object in my hands, I noticed it was a photo. The back of the photo was facing up and I noticed my hand writing. It said in purple pen: 8th grade.

I flipped it over to see about thirteen of me and my former friends and students from school at the beach. The sunset was just about to set; creating a red, orange, and yellow glow in the sky. I looked at the faces in the picture. I spotted myself in the middle of my group of friends. Though it was only two years ago, I could tell how I changed. My hair was still the same wavy dark brown, but now hair was now fuller and parted towards the side. Back then I had braces. I smiled down at the picture, grateful I got rid of those awful metal things in my mouth.

I looked over all my friends and noticed Melody with her highlighted blonde hair. I noticed Vivian, the beautiful brunette. There was Landon with his blonde surfer hair and his boogie board attached to his side. My eyes glanced over Courtney, Aubrey, and Sean.

I smiled as I found Alex on the side of the photo, taking in his damp spiked bronze hair and the smile he was flashing towards teh camera. I looked at the guy that was standing next to me in the picture and a sense of nostalgia overwhelmed me. Tristan.

I smiled in spite of myself as I observed Tristan's picture. His brownish-blonde hair stuck up in places and his blue-grey eyes looked directly at the camera. Back then I thought he was the most attractive guy in the world. I instantly laughed at this thought.

But honestly, one of the reasons I hated moving to New York was because Tristan and I had something; a strong friendship that was about to be something more. It was right in my grasp but it was taken away from me when my parents dropped the news about New York. That's why the situation between Brenton and me seemed so familiar—too familiar. First, I fell for Tristan but I left. Then I let myself fall for Brenton, and I left; I'm here in California.

As I recalled my memory with Tristan, I was surprised that no hurt or pain started inside my chest; as it would usually happen when I moved to New York. It hurt too much to think of Tristan once I moved away, knowing I was away from him. But now…I was fine.

I smiled again at the thought that I was able to think about it without getting those hurt feelings again. I guess time helps all wounds. I just hope that time will help me get over Brenton; I don't want to get hurt.

I placed the picture on my dresser drawer, finished recalling good memories from two years. I went into my connecting bathroom, washing up, rubbing sun block on my tan face, and tying my hair into a high ponytail. I was ready to go.

I quietly skipped down the stairs so I wouldn't wake up the two college guys from their sleep. I entered the kitchen and wrote a note to Seth, telling him I was going out for a jog and wasn't going to have my cell on me.

~*~

I inhaled and exhaled as I kept my running pace down the sidewalk. I slowed to a jog and soon slowed down to a walking pace as I found myself looking at the ocean. A few people were walking down the sidewalks in their beach clothes.

I looked across the street and found myself staring out at a Dunkin' Donuts. I smiled to myself and crossed the intersection once the lighted green man appeared; signaling the pedestrians it was safe to cross.

After five minutes, I was sitting at a small table in Dunkin' Donuts with a round maple donut and a small carton of milk. Good thing I had a few change in my jogging shorts.

I looked out the window of Dunkin' Donuts to see that in the just a few minutes, the sidewalks had gotten a bit more crowded though it wasn't as bad as it would be in the middle of the day.

I suppose it was still early in the day for people to be away; specifically teenagers. Hello, it's summer. Summer equals sleeping in. I guess one of the perks of spending summer here was that I got the whole day to do whatever I wanted, knowing full well that it was 11:00 A.M. over in New York and only 8:00 here. The only people inside Dunkin' Donuts were a couple of business men and women. I sat in the midst of the donut shop as the customers carried on with their busy lives as they entered and left the shop with their donuts.

It was actually peaceful to get away and be in a new place; an opportunity to reflect and just live in the moment; it was a nice escape. I was actually starting to enjoy my stay in California though in the beginning I was bored and bitter. I looked out the vast open window of Dunkin' Donuts, watching people walk across the sidewalks; crossing the streets; heading towards the beach.

---

"I can't believe they're making us watch this scary movie," Courtney whined as she crossed her arms over her chest. I sent her a sympathetic and agreeable smile from beside her.

"Ugh, I know," Aubrey groaned as she shouldered her purse. "And they're not even here yet."

"At least Melody is at camp so she doesn't have to be put through this," Vivian inputted, tossing her brunette curls behind her shoulder. I tuned out the conversation as I roamed my eyes towards the entrance of the movie theater, hoping to catch sight of the guys who were late. Thankfully the movie was starting n fifteen minutes so the guys had a few more minutes to make their appearance.

"I'm okay with some scary movies so I just hope this one they picked isn't too scary," Aubrey stated, absentmindedly twirling a strand of her light brown hair around her finger.

"I don't really like scary movies," Vivian admitted. I turned to look over at her tan face to see a weary expression on her. "I mean, I guess its okay…"

"I hate scary movies too," I stated. The only reason why I'm not freaking out at that moment was because I tried not to dwell on the fact that my group of friends and I were about to watch a scary movie. I tried to tell myself that I was just going to watch another regular movie—though I knew it won't work in the long run.

"If you hate scary movies why are you here?" Aubrey asked, turning her pierce blue eyes on me. This comment startled not just me but Courtney and Vivian. It was silent for a moment in our circle, other movie goers walking past us to get some popcorn or just entering the theater with their tickets.

"Well…" I said a bit uneasily. "All of you guys were going and Tristan insisted—"

"Oh, Tristan huh?" Aubrey asked, mock-surprised. I stared back into her blue eyes and nodded, slightly taken aback from her blunt forwardness. I hated how my heart pounded in my chest and as my cheeks began to grow red as Courtney and Vivian stood on the side in nervousness, watching the scene before them.

I felt myself go small under Aubrey's piercing eyes.

"Then why don't you ask Tristan to hold your hand in the movie?" Aubrey asked with a glint in her eyes. "Or better yet, why don't you tell Tristan you don't want to watch it? He'll do anything for you and he'll probably just watch another movie with you or something if you're so scared."

I willed myself to continue staring back into Aubrey's blue narrowed eyes. I gritted my teeth behind my lips, trying to disguise the confusion and anger I felt from Aubrey's sudden and random attacks.

"Hey girls! Hope you girls didn't wait too long," Alex greeted us with a smile on his face, oblivious to the edgy atmosphere us girls, were feeling at the moment.

"Hey Alex," Courtney greeted, trying to break the intensity in the air. I broke my eyes away from Aubrey and looked over at Landon who had approached us.

"Hey Sienna," Landon greeted with a smile.

"Hey Landon," I replied back with a smile I hoped disguised the confusion and uncertainty that developed because of Aubrey's comment.

"Hey girls," Sean approached with Tristan with bags of popcorn in their hands, coming up behind Aubrey and Courtney.

"Can you hold this for a minute Aubrey?" Tristan asked from beside Aubrey as he handed her the popcorn bag to pull his cell out of his pocket. Before flipping his phone open, his blue-grey eyes connected with mine and he sent a warm smile towards me.

"Let's go before the movie starts," Sean suggested but didn't wait for a reply as he started towards theater ten. We all followed after him, some starting mini conversations. I followed behind Vivian when Tristan appeared by my side, popcorn in hand.

"So, you ready for this?" Tristan asked, eyeing me from the corner of his blue-grey eye. He tried to suppress his amused smirk on his face but I saw it.

"If I get nightmares, you are so guilty," I replied, forgetting the Aubrey incident and just reveling in the comfortable presence of Tristan. Tristan let out a laugh.

---

I looked away from the window of Dunkin' Donuts to see that I had been sitting and reminiscing for twenty minutes.

I gathered up my trash and set it in the nearby trash can. As I turned around, I saw that there was now a line at the front counter, adults waiting for their donuts and coffees. I was about to turn away and start heading out the door when I heard my name called.

At first I just thought it was a hallucination or something; the effect of not talking to many people since I've been here. And the fact that nobody knew who I was—well, that I know of since I haven't been here since two summers ago.

I turned to the female voice that called my name and was greeted by a woman with brown straight hair that came to her shoulder. The woman smiled and lifted her hand to wave. I noticed the diamond watch and ring on her wrist and ring finger.

"Sienna? Is that you?" the woman asked as she came over with a box that held a dozen donuts. Once I heard her voice, I confirmed my suspicion of who this woman was. She hasn't changed at all but I just that my mind was playing tricks on me.

"Uh, hi Mrs. Mason," I greeted back with a smile of my own, a bit shocked.

Mrs. Mason tilted her head to the side and observed my face. Her eyes quickly glanced over my figure.

"Wow! You have grown," she stated with appreciation, a smile on her face. "And so gorgeous."

I laughed nervously and replied awkwardly, "Thanks."

"Are you parents here too?" Mrs. Mason asked with an expectant face as her light blue eyes looked into mine.

"No, they aren't. They're on a business trip," I informed her with a slight smile. She couldn't stop staring at me, wonder in her eyes. My heart beat in nervousness.

"What are you doing here?" she asked intrigued. Before I could answer she added, "I can't believe I even noticed you. I took one look at you and you instantly reminded me of someone."

She pointed her index finger at me as if she were accusing me of a crime. I laughed.

"I'm actually spending the summer here with Seth," I answered, then as an afterthought, "My older brother."

"Oh, of course Seth. Now how are you parents doing?" she asked concerned, looking at me interestingly.

"My parents are good," I said with a nod. Just looking at Mrs. Mason instantly reminded me of Tristan.

Mrs. Mason quickly and subtlety looked me over, taking in my jogging clothes. "Did you jog here from your house?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did," I said with a nod. Dang, she's good.

"Well it's defiantly gotten hotter," she said, glancing out the window. I looked over too to see that the sun was shining down from the middle of the sky. "Do you need a ride back to your house? I don't think it's a good idea to run in this heat."

I looked at her to see sincerity in her light blue eyes. It was such a common look in Mrs. Mason, it made me smile. Mrs. Mason has always been caring. I guess that's why she's been such a good mother to Tristan and her other two sons.

"Um…" I said, taken aback from her offer. "Uh…okay. That'd be nice," I answered after debating about whether the car ride with her and her questions would be worth not running in the hot sun.

Mrs. Mason gave me a smile before heading out the doors of Dunkin' Donuts. I followed after her, and was instantly greeted by the heat of the sun. Dunkin' Donuts has good air-conditioning.

"I'm actually headed over to a meeting right now," Mrs. Mason informed me as I met her outside. Okay…What's that got to do with anything?

I nodded, not knowing what the correct response was. Mrs. Mason turned to me then.

"My meeting starts in actually ten minutes. These donuts are for my sons," she said, raising the box in her hands. I nodded my head with slightly creased eyebrows. Okay…

"Tristan's suppose to be coming now to pick up the donuts for Scott so I won't be late for my meeting," she informed me.

I smiled at the mention of Scott. Scott was Tristan's little brother and looked like Tristan in some ways. The last time I saw him, Scott was…six years old, I believe.

She turned her attention back to the street as she continued, "I wouldn't be able to get the donuts and drive it back home, and get to my meeting in time. Tristan's coming to pick up the donuts from me so he can drive it back home. So he'll be able to drive you."

My mouth slightly dropped and my heart began to pound fast in my chest; the same pounding feeling as if I was to be the next person to make a speech in front of the class. I was nervous.

"That's okay, right?" Mrs. Mason asked, turning to me because she didn't hear a response. I nodded my head, befuddled. Oh, goodness.

I mean, I do want to see how Tristan is. I'm actually curious but I just think this is too soon; especially out of the blue and a big surprise. Then again, Mrs. Mason was a generous woman so it wasn't a quite surprise for her to offer some help even though she wasn't the one to carry out the help.

"Oh, there he is," Mrs. Mason said satisfied as her eyes followed the black Lexus as it turned into the parking lot and drove towards us.

"Is that his car?" I found myself asking as I stared at the shiny black Lexus too. I was startled at how soon I would be meeting Tristan after so long.

"Oh, no," Mrs. Mason laughed as if it were ridiculous. "That's Jon's car. We still need to buy Tristan his own car."

I nodded in understanding. Jon was Tristan's older brother, who I believe is Seth's age and should be in college.

I stood next to Mrs. Mason as the black Lexus pulled up in front of us. I tried to look as if I was preoccupied with my surroundings as my eyes observed the few people pass by to enter Dunkin' Donuts as I heard the car's engine turn off.

My heart pounded faster and faster by the second. I inhaled, trying to calm my nerves. I suddenly hoped that it wasn't Tristan who was driving the car but his older brother, Jon. But instantly the hope was shot down by my logic that maybe it would be even more awkward to have Jon drive me home.

Suddenly a cell phone rang and I looked up at Mrs. Mason.

"Can you hold this for a second? That's my cell phone," Mrs. Mason asked.

I nodded with a smile as I took the box from her. She dug into her purse and took out her cell phone. I looked away and at that instant the Lexus door opened, revealing Tristan.

My heart stopped as my eyes took in the tall, golden tanned Tristan in front of me. His brown-blonde hair was short and matted against his hair as if he just woke up. He ran his hand through his short hair as he shut the door and made his way over.

I instantly looked away. I couldn't bear to look into those blue-grey eyes and the expression on his face when he would realize it's me.

"Alright, bye," Mrs. Mason said into the phone before she dropped it back into her purse.

She looked up and said with relief in her voice, "Tristan. You came just in time. If you were a minute late, I'd be late to my meeting."

I couldn't ignore the knowledge that Tristan had finally approached us. I took a deep breath before raising my eyes up at the guy who had always been there for me; they guy who I could have had something with if I hadn't moved away; the guy who I unfortunately lost in touch with.

Author's Note:

What do you guys think?? Enough details? Are Sienna's thoughts relatable and clear?? Did this chapter do justice?

And thank you so much for your reviews! They absolutely help me make this story that much better. If you have any ideas/suggestions/opinions feel free to let me know! I'm always open to new things!

You guys got another flashback from Sienna's past. I hope you guys were able to detect the message in the flashback--the sense of who Sienna was back then; how her personality was.

I would love to know which characters you guys like so please let me know! :) Which character would you like to get to know a bit more? What are your predictions for the next chapter?