28. Happy Place

Tuesday arrived all too suddenly. I have not been looking forward to what I have to do today.

Hayley, Carley, and Candace were texting me yesterday. They were worried, since it's not like

me to miss school. I assured them that I would be back. I knew that Candace would be the

first one that I had to break the news to. She was eagerly waiting for me as I got out of my

truck. I figured it was just best to give her the news right away. Pull the band aid off swiftly. Her

smile turned to a frown as I approached her. She must've been able to read my sullen expression.

"Look, I know that you're probably expecting an answer from me today, so I'm just going to go ahead

and give it to you. I think that you're a great girl and any guy would be lucky to have you..."

"You've chosen one of the others." She interrupted.

"No, I actually skipped school yesterday to meet a girl. Her name is Leah..."

"Oh, I've heard about her." She interrupted again.

"One thing led to another and we're sort of... together now. I'm sorry that I made such a mess of this,

but I really hope that we can still be friends." I pleaded. Man, I was really bad at this.

"No, I don't think that we can be friends. You played me... You played all of us!" She snapped.

"It's not like that. I really did feel something for you. It was never my intention to hurt you..."

"Save your speech! I don't feel much like studying today. Have fun with your new girl!" She shouted as

she stormed off. I'm really not good at this stuff. I feel like I'm about two feet tall. I really hated

hurting her, but I had to tell her the truth. The sad part is that I had to do this two more times. I had

to hurt two more people that I cared about.

Hayley met me at my locker before class started. She had to walk outside to get to her class, so I

decided that would be the best place to tell her. She looked hopeful as I pulled her to an area where

no one was around. The look on her face showed that she had something else in mind. I started

with the apology and then went into my spiel about Leah. It was met with pretty much the same

results. Hayley said that she couldn't be friends either. She didn't even get mad at me, which made

it even worse. She was upset, so I tried to give her a hug, but she pushed me away and stormed off.

There had to be an easier way to do this.

I knew that Carley had first period office aide, so I decided that I would turn in my forged sick note,

so that I could talk to her. Carley was sitting by herself at the front office. I handed her my sick note,

but she never met my gaze. I let out a sigh as I prepared to tell her the news. "Save it! Candace and

Hayley already told me the news. I thought that you were different, but you're just like any other guy at

this school...YOU'RE A JERK! Stay away from me and my friends from now on." She ordered. I walked

away in defeat. Zero out of three was not a good percentage. I lost three of my best friends today,

because I acted like an idiot. I have no one to blame but myself. Only two good things came out of

this whole mess. One, I am now with the girl of my dreams, and two, Candace, Carley, and Hayley

would remain best friends. I really hope that Leah can come see me tonight. She's the only one that

can pull me out of this slump. I moped my way through school for the rest of the day.

I have never been so glad to see the parking lot. This day seemed to drag on forever. It was by far

the worst day I've ever had at Forks High School. To my surprise, the most magnificent looking

person in the world was propped up against my truck waiting for me. She definitely improved the

look of it tremendously. "If only you knew how much better you just made my day." I assured her with

a huge grin that I was sure was touching my ears.

"Why is that? Did you have a rough day today?" She questioned. I explained to her everything that

happened and the mess I had made during her absence. I checked her face for a reaction, but she

didn't give me one. "Oh, I didn't realize that you had options."

"There was only one option and that was you. You're the only one I've ever wanted. This mess is a

result of me trying to move on without you." I assured her.

"Are you sure that I don't have any competition?" She asked skeptically.

"I promise, no one makes me feel the way that you do. You're presence always brightens up my whole

day." I said as I could see students staring at us and whispering. Hayley, Candace, and Carley sent

some nasty scowls in our direction as they passed by. Leah seemed to be unaffected by them.

"I'm guessing those were the three girls that you were talking about. They're pretty."

"You're beauty is indescribable. You have nothing to worry about. I may need you to protect me if they

try to run me over though."

She let out a howling laugh. "Well, it sounds like everyone at school knows what your new girlfriend

looks like now. You should hear some of the things that they're saying. I guess word about me spread

pretty quickly." She smirked.

"Sometimes I'm jealous of your super senses, but not today. I don't even want to know what they're

saying."

"It's not all bad, but those girls must've really painted you out to be the bad guy."

"Let's get out of here before you start telling me what they're saying...Did you drive here, or did you take

the faster approach?"

"The faster approach. It's way more fun. I figured you might would give me a ride home. I have

something to ask you anyway."

"What are you going to ask me?" I asked nervously.

"Well, we have this family dinner on Saturday. It's at my mom and Charlie's house. Seth will be there

too. Would you like to go with me? It's no big deal if you can't."

"I would love to go." I assured her. Even though it was nerve racking to think about meeting her mom

and step-dad.

"You're sister can come too... Does she know about us yet?"

"I haven't got a chance to tell her. I tried to avoid her yesterday since I skipped school. I'll tell her as

soon as I get home though."

"How do you think that she will react to the news?"

"I think that she'll be happy. She's suspected that I've had a crush on you for a while. She's not too

thrilled about the age difference though. Even though technically, we're only two years apart now, but

she has no clue that you're not aging." I said as we pulled up to Leah's house.

"I hope that she will like me."

"How could she not?"

"Would you like to stay for a while?" She asked as she was getting out of the truck.

"Of course, just let me tell my sister that I'm hanging out with you." I said as I sent my sister a text.

This was the first time that I've been in Leah's house since the accident. This time brought on

happier memories than the first. We curled up on the couch together and talked for hours. I never

wanted to leave the warmness of her touch. She made me happier than I've ever been before.