This story now has a new name, it is now called The Trials of Love. Credit
goes to KayKayElle for emailing me and coming up with the idea for the
title. Thank you.
Dedication for this chapter goes to my friend Shadow, who beta-read this story and gave me some ideas on where to go and how to finish it. Thanks girl, you know I love you!
After he had dropped his siblings off at their respective schools,
he
decided to head over to Shana's apartment...her old apartment, that is.
He still had the key, he hadn't given it back to her yet. He pulled into
the parking lot and entered the house. He took the elevator up the
stairs to the floor that she had lived on and let himself in the house.
Everything had been cleared out except for a few things that she kept
there. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he was going to
find something to at least give him the slightest indication of why she
was mad at him. Finally he found it. The long, stick like thing sitting
on the edge of the couch. He stared at it, afraid of even picking it up.
He could see the bright blue line on the end of the stick. His knees
buckled and he felt like he was going to pass out. He grabbed the edge
of the couch to steady himself, then blinked a couple of times to focus
his eyes again. 'Could this be possible?' he thought to himself. Of
course he knew all the signs. He had been through it 5 times already
with his parents. 'How can this be? We didn't do anything.' he thought
to himself, as he could feel his heart start to beat faster. He knew he
was going to have to find out soon enough whether or not it was true.
Shana had taken her phone with her, so there was no way he could
call her. He knew of one person who could help him through this.
Matt waited until he got his siblings home before even thought
about it again. He couldn't remember what had happened last night,
but he didn't remember doing anything with Shana. They hadn't even
slept in the same bed. 'So how could this have happened?' he asked
himself over for what seemed to be the thousandth time. He decided to
talk to Mary about the problem. Mary was the sibling closest in age to
him, and they had always gotten along pretty well, maybe because they
were the two oldest. He knocked on his sister's door and she looked
up from her book. Lucy was sitting on the bed doing his finger nails.
She didn't seem to notice the look her brother was giving her until he
cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" she asked. "Yes. You can leave
the room. I need to talk to Mary." he said. Mary looked suddenly
alarmed. "I didn't do anything!" she cried, knowing the only reason
Matt usually wanted to talk to her was when she was in trouble. Lucy
sighed and left the room. "You're not in trouble." he said, sitting on
Lucy's bed. Mary noticed how pale her brother looked. "Matt, what's
wrong? Are you sick? Should I call Dad?" she asked frantically. He
shook his head. "NO! Dad can't know about this, at least not yet." he
told her. Then he softened his tone a bit. "Mare, if I tell you a secret
do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially Mom and Dad." he said.
She sighed. "Yes, depending on what the secret is." she said. He
sighed and pulled the thing he had been hiding out of his pocket. Mary
gasped. "Matt, where did you get this from?" she asked. He sighed.
"It was in Shana's apartment." he said. Mary frowned. "I don't think
I quite understand. How did you get in there if she is gone?" she
asked. "I know where her spare key is. And besides, I never gave her
my key back yet. I just unlocked the door, walked right in, and there it
was." he said. She sighed. "You know what this is, don't you?" she
asked. He nodded. "Of course I do. I can tell that much." he said. She
sighed. "What happened between the two of you last night?" she
asked. "How did you know I stayed with Shana last night?" he asked
his sister. "I called John because I needed to ask you a question and
he told me you were staying at Shana's. And before you get mad, I
didn't tell Mom or Dad." she said. He sighed. "Good. Listen Mary,
nothing happened between me and Shana last night. I would remember
if it did." he said. She nodded. "Unless you got caught up in the
moment." she added. He shook his head. "Even then, I know my
limits. I know her limits, and I respect her. I would never do anything
like that." he said. Mary looked from the strip to her brother, shaking
her head sadly. "I'm sorry Matt, but the test is positive. So it must be
true. You and Shana must have done something last night, whether
intentional or not. I can only imagine that is why she keeps avoiding
you. She is too ashamed to talk about what happened last night." she
said. Matt pounded his fist against the wall. "Well, she needs to talk to
me. We need to work this out together." he cried. Mary nodded.
"Matt, give her a couple of days. Girls are sensitive when it comes to
things like this. She'll blame you for a couple of days, then be ready to
talk it all through. And when she is, you just have to be there for her.
Listen to what she has to say. Remember one thing though. You do
have experience with this. You went through it 5 times with Mom and
Dad. So you know what to expect. But Shana doesn't, she has never
been through it. Well, she has with her brother, but that's a different
story. So just be patient with her and wait until the time comes." she
told him. He smiled at his sister and hugged her. "Thanks Mary. I
knew I could talk to you about it." he said. She nodded. "As the two
oldest, we have to rely on each other for a lot of help and support.
Remember that you can talk to me about anything. Oh, and one more
thing. Even if Mom and Dad aren't there for you, you've got my
support. And I'm sure you'll have Lucy and Simon's support as well."
she said, as he left the room.
Dedication for this chapter goes to my friend Shadow, who beta-read this story and gave me some ideas on where to go and how to finish it. Thanks girl, you know I love you!
After he had dropped his siblings off at their respective schools,
he
decided to head over to Shana's apartment...her old apartment, that is.
He still had the key, he hadn't given it back to her yet. He pulled into
the parking lot and entered the house. He took the elevator up the
stairs to the floor that she had lived on and let himself in the house.
Everything had been cleared out except for a few things that she kept
there. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he was going to
find something to at least give him the slightest indication of why she
was mad at him. Finally he found it. The long, stick like thing sitting
on the edge of the couch. He stared at it, afraid of even picking it up.
He could see the bright blue line on the end of the stick. His knees
buckled and he felt like he was going to pass out. He grabbed the edge
of the couch to steady himself, then blinked a couple of times to focus
his eyes again. 'Could this be possible?' he thought to himself. Of
course he knew all the signs. He had been through it 5 times already
with his parents. 'How can this be? We didn't do anything.' he thought
to himself, as he could feel his heart start to beat faster. He knew he
was going to have to find out soon enough whether or not it was true.
Shana had taken her phone with her, so there was no way he could
call her. He knew of one person who could help him through this.
Matt waited until he got his siblings home before even thought
about it again. He couldn't remember what had happened last night,
but he didn't remember doing anything with Shana. They hadn't even
slept in the same bed. 'So how could this have happened?' he asked
himself over for what seemed to be the thousandth time. He decided to
talk to Mary about the problem. Mary was the sibling closest in age to
him, and they had always gotten along pretty well, maybe because they
were the two oldest. He knocked on his sister's door and she looked
up from her book. Lucy was sitting on the bed doing his finger nails.
She didn't seem to notice the look her brother was giving her until he
cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" she asked. "Yes. You can leave
the room. I need to talk to Mary." he said. Mary looked suddenly
alarmed. "I didn't do anything!" she cried, knowing the only reason
Matt usually wanted to talk to her was when she was in trouble. Lucy
sighed and left the room. "You're not in trouble." he said, sitting on
Lucy's bed. Mary noticed how pale her brother looked. "Matt, what's
wrong? Are you sick? Should I call Dad?" she asked frantically. He
shook his head. "NO! Dad can't know about this, at least not yet." he
told her. Then he softened his tone a bit. "Mare, if I tell you a secret
do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially Mom and Dad." he said.
She sighed. "Yes, depending on what the secret is." she said. He
sighed and pulled the thing he had been hiding out of his pocket. Mary
gasped. "Matt, where did you get this from?" she asked. He sighed.
"It was in Shana's apartment." he said. Mary frowned. "I don't think
I quite understand. How did you get in there if she is gone?" she
asked. "I know where her spare key is. And besides, I never gave her
my key back yet. I just unlocked the door, walked right in, and there it
was." he said. She sighed. "You know what this is, don't you?" she
asked. He nodded. "Of course I do. I can tell that much." he said. She
sighed. "What happened between the two of you last night?" she
asked. "How did you know I stayed with Shana last night?" he asked
his sister. "I called John because I needed to ask you a question and
he told me you were staying at Shana's. And before you get mad, I
didn't tell Mom or Dad." she said. He sighed. "Good. Listen Mary,
nothing happened between me and Shana last night. I would remember
if it did." he said. She nodded. "Unless you got caught up in the
moment." she added. He shook his head. "Even then, I know my
limits. I know her limits, and I respect her. I would never do anything
like that." he said. Mary looked from the strip to her brother, shaking
her head sadly. "I'm sorry Matt, but the test is positive. So it must be
true. You and Shana must have done something last night, whether
intentional or not. I can only imagine that is why she keeps avoiding
you. She is too ashamed to talk about what happened last night." she
said. Matt pounded his fist against the wall. "Well, she needs to talk to
me. We need to work this out together." he cried. Mary nodded.
"Matt, give her a couple of days. Girls are sensitive when it comes to
things like this. She'll blame you for a couple of days, then be ready to
talk it all through. And when she is, you just have to be there for her.
Listen to what she has to say. Remember one thing though. You do
have experience with this. You went through it 5 times with Mom and
Dad. So you know what to expect. But Shana doesn't, she has never
been through it. Well, she has with her brother, but that's a different
story. So just be patient with her and wait until the time comes." she
told him. He smiled at his sister and hugged her. "Thanks Mary. I
knew I could talk to you about it." he said. She nodded. "As the two
oldest, we have to rely on each other for a lot of help and support.
Remember that you can talk to me about anything. Oh, and one more
thing. Even if Mom and Dad aren't there for you, you've got my
support. And I'm sure you'll have Lucy and Simon's support as well."
she said, as he left the room.
