Chapter 4: The Binge

Story of A Girl


I'm not sure when I had picked myself up from that spot I sat frozen to on the front porch, but I found myself up in my bathroom, puking up the remainder of my dinner into the toilet. I cried as I stuck my finger down my throat, waiting for the gagging reflex, the familiar burning sensation in my stomach, and then the vomit flowing out of my mouth.

I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened this weekend. My entire summer, I had spent reading trashy romance novels and watching crappy made for TV movies. I avoided all things social. My weekends had consisted of people watching out of my bedroom window and internet surfing. I avoided Ashleigh, my only real friend, because I just wanted to crawl up and hide in my dark and comfortable room. And here I am, short platinum blonde hair and all. In just one weekend, my life has completely done a 180 degree turn. If I blink, I might miss something.

I stood myself up, holding onto the sink counter as support, slightly dizzy from what I had just done to my body, and reached for my toothbrush. As I brushed my teeth, for the third time that night, I couldn't turn my gaze from my body in the mirror. My forehead was slightly higher than it should be, my nose may have been turned too upright. My arms needed to be toned, my stomach could do with less flab and a little more fab, and my thighs… Ugh, my thighs. I've always hated them. I managed to extend my feet, so now I was standing on my tip toes. I wish I could be just a few inches taller too. Ugh, I needed to work on this body of mine.

I spit the remaining toothpaste out into the sink and reached for a glass of water to rinse my mouth. That's when I noticed how bloodshot my eyes were. Maybe I just needed to get some sleep. And that's exactly what I did, after I laid out my all too familiar Spencer's Academy uniform on the desk across from my bed, and laid down. I was perfectly content, off in my own little world, where I can drink as many White Mocha's from Starbucks and not gain a pound, where all the boys want me, and all the girls want to be me. A place, where I am someone. Someone special, someone deserving, and someone happy. A place that belonged to me, and only me. A place that existed only in my dreams.

--

I don't care how late I am, I'm not going to run. I'll look like an idiot, and that's the last thing I want.

I was walking, as fast as I could manage, though the never ending halls of Spencer's Academy. I was late for my first class of the year, Calculus. Math, first thing in the morning, is not exactly a good way to start the day. And the very fact that I'm late, is only make my predicament a lot worse.

There it is, I smiled to myself as I saw room 123 in big bold letters, standing just a few inches in front of me.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

Shit, the late bell had just rung. I swung open the doors and looked around. I spotted Ashleigh sitting in the very front of the class, with a spare seat open. Figures, it has to be in front of the damn class.

I took a deep breathe and made my way to the front. I sat down and looked around. I spotted my brother and Pogue sitting a few seats behind us. I'm in the same class as my brother. Sucks for him.

"Where's Mr. Anderson?" I asked Ashleigh, as the two of us looked around the older classroom for our teacher.

"He's not here yet." I sighed, out of relief. Maybe today wasn't going to start off so bad after all.

I looked back at my brother and waved, a smile creeping on my face. He's never going to live this down, having the same math class as his little sister. He saw me waving and semi-waved back. I think he might have been signaling for me to turn around, I'm not too sure. Someone unfortunetly familiar popped into my view.

"Well, little Miss Danvers got her hair cut. Isn't that nice." Kira, the bitch, spat out in front of me. "Funny, what a little cut to the hair can do to oneself." And she sat down, in the seat directly behind me.

"Tell me this, Kira. How does it feel being in a calculus class, with classmates years younger than you?" I smiled as fakly as I could. I hated this bitch. I hated her a lot.

"Ah-hem" someone coughed at the front of the classroom. I turned around and took my seat. Mr. Anderson decided to show up after all.

Despite being math, and strictly boring, I found myself enjoying my first period of the day. We were paired up in groups, and Ashleigh, Kira, Aaron, and I were ironically paired up. I found that voicing my slightly disappointing opinions of Kira was rather therapeutic. I felt like a million bucks when I called her a flapped-face farce. Of course, I had no idea what that means, and I'm pretty sure if I did, I wouldn't use it as an insult, but it made Ashleigh start to crack up. And that, was the highlight of first period.

My second and third classes for the day, English and History, were pretty boring. Ashleigh was in my classes with me, which made me feel a little more at ease, but the classes themselves were boring. It was the first day too, when all the teachers talk about themselves, their families, their hobbies (which I'm 99 positive they're only bullshitting us about anyways), and yet I found myself staring at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring signaling the end of class.

--

Finally, lunch came around and I found myself exhausted. I had not eaten anything all day and I was starving. Ashleigh decided on a cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate shake. I hated how she could eat anything she wanted and stay that size two forever. I went with my rabbit food of choice, salad with no dressing and a bottled water, and made my way towards the tables. We looked around and found that all the tables were full. Except for one, but I would die before I sat with Kate. Especially after everything that happened yesterday.

"Want to eat outside, it's nice out?" I suggested and my friend agreed.

We walked over towards a shaded area of the grass, just surrounding the outside quad and began talking about our day so far. We were so in conversation that we didn't see a group of boys come over and sit down next to us.

"So you're Kira's cousin?" A boy, wearing a letterman jacket, interrupted our conversation. It was Aaron Abbot. Sans Kira.

"Ashleigh." She stuck out her hand and he shook it. I couldn't believe she was being civil to this guy. He was such a creep.

"You both look so different." I'm not sure if he was trying to compliment us or not, but I doubted it. Aaron was only nice to girls if he wanted something. And all Aaron ever wants is ass.

"Hi, I'm Trevor" One of Aaron's crew stuck out his hand, mimicking Ashleigh's earlier hand move.

"Adele" I shook his hand. He could never get into my pants, but it might be nice, rejecting someone else for once.

"I'm sorry I don't recognize you." He was outspoken. I liked that. Minus the part he was friend's with Aaron. "Is that all you're eating?" He looked down at my tray of salad. I had barely touched it.

I took a sip of water and shrugged. "Not really hungry." I answered him. I've never been one for lying. As a matter of fact, I hated liars. But this was different. If I tell myself I'm not hungry, it might work.

"Hey you're on the swim team aren't you?" I asked him, recognizing the last name on his jacket.

"Yeah, I'm not one of the best, like your brother and his friends, but I'm pretty good." He said that middle part a little to sarcastic for my liking. So I decided to ignore him. I stood up and went back into the cafeteria, to throw away my uneaten salad and put my tray away. As I opened the door, I was bumped aside.

"Let me help you with that." It was Trevor again. At least the kid has manners.

"Really, it's okay. I don't mind." I was gripping onto the tray as hard as I could.

Trevor reached up and took a hold of the tray. "Really, I don't mind." He tugged a little, to lessen my grip, and the next thing I new the tray was in his hands and my salad was all over me. Thank God I didn't top it off with dressing.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He said, as the entire cafeteria looked over to see what the commotion was all about.

I brushed off the lettuce and shrugged. "It's cool, don't worry about it." I could feel everyone's gaze on me.

"I'm just going to go clean up a bit now." I said slowly as I made my way back out of the door and towards the hall. Spencer's was a big prep school. One long hallway just led to another long one, which led to another long one, and so forth. Just getting to the nearest bathroom was at least a mile walk. Well maybe not a whole mile but you get my point.

Soon after, I heard footsteps catching up to me. "Look Trevor," I said without looking back, "I said I'm fine. I don't need you walking me back to the bathrooms. And I'm pretty sure I'm not going to have sex with you in the handicapped stall."

"Who's Trevor?" Oh, shit. That was not Trevor's voice.

I turned my head slightly and saw Tyler walking up next to me, head slightly tilted, waiting for my answer.

"The idiot that threw my salad all over me." I turned the corner and headed towards the direction of the bathrooms.

"Can we talk?" He was still walking next to me. I stopped. We were alone in the halls together. Our bodies were inches away from each other. I was nervous.

"Sure?" It came out more as a question rather than an answer.

"About last night…" He started. Oh, I get it now. He was just going to tell me that he didn't mean it. It was just a friendly kiss, and then walk off. He was a boy after all. And boys don't seem to like me very much.

I decided to cut him off before he could finish. I didn't want to hear this. I was hungry, exhausted, and not to mention I was just humiliated in front of the entire lunch room. I was in no mood for another rejection. Especially from someone I've poured my entire life story out to. Someone I trusted. Someone I respected.

"You didn't mean it. I get it Tyler. I get it. It's cool."

Tyler stood still. I think he was unsure of what to say. It was obvious what I had been saying was right. I mean, he didn't even try to stop me from talking. I'm not sure what got into me.

"I know you're only Tyler Simms and I shouldn't care what you think of me. But lately, all I've been thinking about is what other people think of me. Everything, from what I say, from what I wear, even to what I eat. All I can think about is rejection. My entire life I've only been a friend to the guy I've liked. My entire life, I've been Caleb's little sister. When am I going to be Kate Tunney? Am I ever going to be her?" I'm sure someone had to be eavesdropping on our conversation because it was dead quiet. It was so quiet I'm sure you could have heard a pin drop.

"You know Tyler, I've never thought of you in that way, anyways. Sure the past couple of days I've been checking you out, but the truth is you're not Pogue. You'll never be Pogue." And without waiting for him to turn around and be like 'we're still friends' like I did with Pogue, I walked into the girls bathroom, and stayed there until lunch was over.

I'm not sure why I had gotten so angry. And I'm sure the reason why I cried the rest of the lunch period in the bathrooms was because I saw the look on Tyler's face when I was degrading him. I was such a bitch. He looked so hurt. All the pent up frustrations took a toll on me, and I felt like cutting my last four classes of the day. But it was only the first day of the school year. I had plenty of other days to cut them.

--

I met up with my brother at his car after school. Caleb was leaning against his Mustang talking with Sarah. I must have looked really bad because they both asked me if I was okay. Without answering I climbed into the front seat of his car and just stared out window. I watched as the majority of the students piled out onto the lawn on Spencer's Academy. I watched as I saw girls laughing, smiling, and having fun. I wonder if they ever throw up? I wonder if they're hiding some sort of dark secret behind those fake smiles of theirs? I wonder if they even know how lucky they are?

Caleb pulled out of the parking lot, and headed East towards our parents house. "You want to talk about it?" I looked over at my brother and he looked worried. Genuinely worried.

"Why do you suddenly care?" I spat out. Oops, I hadn't of meant to come off that angry.

"What do you mean? I care. I've always cared. I'm your brother." He was paying attention to the road while he spoke. "Is this about Tyler. I heard about what happened. Do you want to talk about it?" So I was right. Someone had been eavesdropping.

"How'd you hear about that?" My curiosity got the best of me. I remained staring out the window, which happened to be a habit of mine as well. I don't like to talk much when riding in cars.

"There was an incident during practice today. Tyler and Pogue went at it." Caleb almost looked amused as he said this.

"What do you mean? Are they okay?" I was worried now. What if Tyler got hurt and I didn't have a chance to apologize? Okay, why am I thinking about this right now?

"They're fine now." Caleb obviously didn't want to go into details. I wasn't about to push him either. I just wanted to go home, and sleep away my problems.

"I know we haven't been close lately. And there's some stuff going on, with Reid using so much all the time, and with Senior year I've got all the college applications to fill out. It's stressful, but I am also sorry that I haven't necessarily been there for you. I mean, in all honesty Adele, you haven't been easy to get to know either."

"Things change." I replied. I was getting tired and I didn't really want to talk, or argue for that matter, anymore.

"I know it's none of my business, so I'm going to say this once and I'll leave you alone. Tyler's a good guy, and I'm not just saying that because he's my friend. I mean it. Tyler's the type of guy that would do anything for anyone. You were right in saying that he's not Pogue. Because, he's not. As much as I love Pogue as a brother, he could never be half the man that Tyler is."

I waited a few seconds before looking away from my brother. I wasn't sure if he was finished or not. I couldn't believe what he had just said. My brother would never talk about a friend, his friend, in such a negative way.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, my voice a little dry.

"Because I think you need to apologize to Tyler."

I hated Caleb at this point. He was always right.

--

"Why are you both home so early?" I heard a scratchy voice behind the sofa ask, as both Caleb and I walked into the living room.

It was a little past three in the afternoon, and here my mom was at home, in her PJ's, watching some People's Court show on TV, a cigarette in one hand and a glass of bourbon in the other. Yes, I did say it was only three in the afternoon.

The curtains had not been drawn, the room smelled of smoke and alcohol, and I was pretty sure my mother had every intention on keeping it that way. Our house, resembled a haunted house. Except, the only haunting thing about it were the secrets living inside of it.

"Mother, it's three o'clock. Did you even get dressed today?" How Caleb could remain calm in even the most angry situations baffled me. I could never do that… obviously.

"I'm stressed out, damn it! Don't you dare judge me! Don't you fucking judge me!" My mom snapped. She stood up and I watched as her fragile frame shook with anger.

I backed up. I was scared. My mom always scares me when she drinks. She becomes so unpredictable. Sometimes, she becomes so unstoppable.

She was never like this when I was younger. Back before my dad… well before my dad got sick. She was always happy, laughing, and smiling. Her and my dad were inseparable. You could tell how much my mom loved him just by the way she looked at him. But now, her once loving gaze was glazed over. She's no longer happy. I can't even tell you when the last time I saw my mother laugh or smile. It's been that long.

She has her good and bad days. And today, I had a feeling, was going to be one of her bad days. I hope she doesn't break anything this time.

"Mother, Caleb didn't mean to judge you. He was just telling you the time, because you did ask us why were home. We know things have been hard and the last thing we want you to feel is like we're judging you." Sometimes I amazed myself. This was one of those times. Why I had said it, I couldn't figure that out myself. But it sounded good.

It seemed to work too, because my mom sat back down on the couch, and returned her attention to the judge on TV. I looked over at Caleb who smiled at me. I hated when he smiled like that. It was such a sad smile. It's the only smile he ever gives my mom or dad nowadays.

I picked up my book bag and walked up to my room. I flipped open my lap top, which was sitting atop my un-made bed and turned it on. While I waited for it to load, I changed into a pair of baggy grey lounge pants and a matching grey tank top.

I was just logging into my email account when I heard a knock on my door. Finally, Caleb learned the proper etiquette of door knocking.

"Come in" I said, not taking my eyes off of the screen. I was hoping to hear back from Ashleigh. I had rushed off without saying goodbye today after school. I hope she wasn't mad.

I heard the door open and then shut. The person that had entered my room, had yet to speak. I looked over my shoulder just to make sure it wasn't a ghost and nearly fainted. It was Tyler.

I opened my mouth, to say something, maybe apologize perhaps, but he cut me off.

"Just shut up, okay?" He stated rather than asked me, in an unusually stern voice which was very un-Tyler like. It was kind of hot.

"I know I'm not Pogue. I know you've had an obsession over him since we were kids, but damn it Adele, you didn't even give me a chance to talk to you. What I wanted to tell you earlier at school today… What I wanted to talk to you about… wasn't to say that I didn't mean to kiss you. Because I did. I liked you the way you were before you got all bitchy over the summer." Tyler looked out of breathe and angry. I felt bad. I knew I had done this to him, and he didn't deserve this. He was now pacing my bedroom, on a rant, that I knew I had coming.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are to talk to me like that, after I sat there and listened to all your problems, after I've done nothing but be a good friend to you. Yeah, it's true, I liked you Adele. I liked you a lot. But I don't like the person you are now, or who you're becoming. All you care about is yourself. Did it ever occur to you that there's a concept called 'OTHER PEOPLE?' Because I don't think it has. You think everyone's out to get you and that's not true. If you would give people a chance to begin with you'd find that out for yourself."

Holy shit. I've never been talked to like that before. And I've never been so turned on in my entire life. "Your right Tyler. I'm a bad girl. Now fuck me like I'm a bad girl."

"It's about time you asked" He said in a scruffy, Brad Pitt-like voice, throwing his shirt over his head.

--

And that was when I woke up. I stirred a little before I opened my eyes, hoping I'd fall back asleep into that nice dream I was having. I sat up and noticed my laptop, powered off, laying at the foot of my bed. I got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen, holding onto the railings and walls for support. I was extremely dizzy and very light-headed. I hadn't eaten all day.

I opened the kitchen and pulled everything out. Left over KFC, nice. I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't stop myself. I just kept stuffing my face as if I hadn't eaten in my life. Whatever we had, I ate.

Chocolate cake. I ate.

Coffee Flavored Ice Cream. I ate.

I even made brownies, just to eat the batter.

I ate like I was never going to eat again.

Twenty minutes later…

My conscious felt heavy. I should not have done that. It was as if I had no control over what I was going. I couldn't stop putting food into my mouth. But the second I had managed to control my arm movements, I nearly made a sprint for my bathroom.

And here I am again. Throwing everything up. I can't do this. Tyler said it himself last night. If I wanted someone to love me I needed to learn how to love myself. And the only way I'm going to love myself is if I loose 10 pounds. I'm 115 pounds right now. At 105, I'll be happy. I really will. I'll be the happiest girl alive, I'm sure of it.

I fell asleep that night clutching my stomach. Not because I was hungry. Not because throwing everything up had given me stomach cramps. No. It was because I wished my stomach would shrink off.

--

I'm not sure if you've heard the saying "Never bite the hand that feeds you." Supposedly, the saying itself is describing a type of respect towards the people that help you, in a direct sense. I don't know, I might actually be making that up. I never took that meaning to heart. No, instead I say "Always bite the hand that feeds you." Why? Because if you don't you'll just end up packing on the pounds.

For the rest of the week, I spent my afternoons after class working out. I had stopped bumming rides off of my brother. Instead, I'd run home, carrying my book bag as extra weight. I'd work on squats, lunges, curls, anything that I could think of. I ate only enough to calm my growling stomach, and drank as little water as possible. I didn't want to carry around the extra water weight.

I even started keeping track of my body, by doing 'self checks.' If I could wrap my entire hand, fingers touching and all, around one wrist, than I was doing good. If I could feel my shoulder blades, I was doing good. If I could see my ribs, I was doing good. Overall, with all the 'self checks,' dieting, and working out I was feeling amazing. Tired, but still amazing.

I had avoided Tyler all week. Mainly in our Art History class, because that was the only class just the two of us had together. And for some god forsaken reason, our teacher Miss Brownstone decided that the two of us should be seated next to each other. I nearly died when she gave us our seating changes. It was awkward passing papers to each other, discussing different paintings, and just having to sit inches away from the person I berated only a few short days ago. I knew I wanted to apologize to him, for snapping and everything, but I just didn't know exactly what I should say. The truth is, I kind of liked Tyler. Of course, I'll never admit that to him, or my brother or anything. But between you and me, Tyler was pretty cool.

Oh, and Ashleigh had started hanging around Aaron Abbot more and more during school. We had talked, I mean she was still my best friend, but I often found her sitting outside with Aaron at lunch, while I ran as many laps I could on the track field, in just that short hour. She told me Aaron was actually a nice guy and that his reputation as a prick was "bogus" (her words not mine. I haven't used that word since I was like 5 and that was in the early-mid 90's? And back then, I think I only used it once.) But I knew better than that. Once Aaron sleeps with Ashleigh he'll drop her. I tried warning her Friday after school had let out. She had come up to me, while I was fastening on my iPod armband, getting ready for my run home, and told me that she was going to go to Nicky's with Aaron and the crew later that night. She asked if I had wanted to come with her, but I told her no. I think she took that as I didn't want to hang out with her, because she said I was acting weird lately, and that's when I told her about Aaron only wanting to hang out with her because he just wants to sleep with her. She told me to grow up and stormed off. I ran extra hard that day. I was angry. I don't think I've been acting weird lately. I really don't.

The run home was usual. I listened to my "Rock Out" play list on my iPod and ran angrily the few miles home from school. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, which is odd for Massachusetts, even at this time of the year. Overall, it was a beautiful day out. And although I was sweating up a storm, I was feeling beautiful. Must have been the endorphins.

--

When I got home, I saw an unfamiliar car parked in the long and narrow driveway. A beat up old Volkswagen. I racked my brain, trying to remember if I knew anyone that owned that car, as I made my way inside my parents huge Victorian mansion I called home.

"Adele, honey! Is that you?" I heard a beautiful voice come from the kitchen. It almost sounded as if the person speaking was singing.

I looked around and noticed that the curtains had been drawn, and the house had been cleaned. Shelves had been dusted, carpets had been vacuumed, and the clutter was gone. Everything was in it's place. And for the very first time, the house that I've lived in my entire life, smelled of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. My mouth started watering.

I set my book bag down on the foot of the stairs, and threw down my iPod. As I walked into the kitchen I noticed that Caleb, Kate, and Sarah were sitting at the kitchen table. The kitchen table that my family and I used to eat dinner at… back when we were an actual family.

My stomach turned as I looked towards my left and saw my mom, makeup and hair nicely done, a blue and white checkered apron on, pulling out a batch of cookies from the oven. It was as if I had just stepped into June Cleaver's house. Something weird was definitely going on.

"Umm, Hi?" I spoke, in complete disbelief. My mom never gets dressed up anymore, and I hadn't seen Kate and Sarah since that incident at the Mexican restaurant. So I guess it's safe to say that my stomach was a little uneasy.

"Cookie, sweetheart?" She asked me, as if she'd been doing this for years. Was she putting on a show?

"Sure." I snatched the cookie away from my mother as fast as I could. I was hungry.

"How was school?" My mother looked at me with her chocolate brown eyes. She was beautiful, even after all these years.

"S'okay" I said still chewing the cookie, and reaching for another.

"Hey Adele." Sarah broke into the conversation.

"Hey." I replied back, smiling at both her and Kate.

"Can I talk to you, alone for a minute?" Kate stood up. I noticed that her, Sarah, and Caleb were no longer in Spencer's uniform. They had already changed out into their regular clothes. I didn't think it had taken me long to run home everyday. I guess I was wrong.

"Sure" I agreed and motioned for her to follow me.

We walked out of the kitchen and into the hall, just in front of the staircase where I laid my book bag and iPod.

"You're mom seems really cool" Kate broke the silence.

I nodded, unsure if she knew how my mother really was. I didn't know if Caleb talked about my mom to his friends, but if Pogue knew than Kate probably did too.

"Look, I'm really sorry about last Sunday and everything-" She looked at me apologetically as I interrupted her.

"It's okay, really. I'm over Pogue and I really am happy for you two." I said. I did mean it, I was over Pogue, but I wasn't too sure if I was really happy for Kate. She had everything I wanted. A perfect body, a perfect boyfriend/fiancée, and not to mention confidence. Yeah, I'm jealous.

"So we can still be friends and everything right? I've always thought you were really cool and we get along really well." For some reason, I felt as though Kate meant what she was saying.

"Of course. To be honest, I tried to hate you" I laughed as I saw the shocked reaction take form in her eyes, "But I couldn't. You've always been nice to me, and I really do think you and Pogue are perfect together."

Kate leaned over and hugged me. I hugged her back, unsure if this was normal. Like I've said before, I've never really had many friends, so hugging for me was a little weird.

"We're going to Nicky's tonight. You should come along!" Kate exclaimed, as we made out way back into the kitchen. I grabbed another cookie and shoved in into my mouth.

"Sure" I agreed. I didn't want to stay home alone tonight.

"Wow Adele, you really do like to eat" Sarah laughed as she saw me stuff another cookie into my mouth. I laughed along with everyone but felt stupid inside.

Maybe it was all the running, or maybe it was because my body wasn't used to that much sugar, but I could feel my stomach turning over. Without explaining, I ran to the nearest bathroom which was just outside of the kitchen and opened the toilet lid just in time for the cookies to come back up. After cleaning myself up, and rising my mouth from the taste of vomit, I made my way back towards the kitchen. My mom was going through the pantry, looking for something, while my brother and his two friends were staring at me wearily.

"You okay?" Caleb asked, I could tell he wanted to ask me something else, but I doubted he would do so with Kate and Sarah still here.

"Yeah, I just think I ate way to fast." I lied.

"We should get going, but we'll see you both at Nicky's later?" Sarah eyed both Caleb and I suspiciously. I had a feeling she knew something I didn't.

"Yeah, you will. I'll see you both later." Caleb answered, kissing Sarah on the forehead and walking the two girls to the front door.

"Bye Adele, Bye Mrs. Danvers!" Kate and Sarah exclaimed as my brother shut the door and made his way back towards the kitchen.

I looked over at him and he had that stupid smile on his face. The sad one. The sad smile that makes me want to cry. Something was going on. He was looking at me strangely and my mother, my drunk mother, was actually cooking dinner for once. She hadn't cooked a proper meal in at least 10 years.

"Caleb, Adele" My mother was still forging her best June Cleaver impersonation. She was now slaving over the stove, stirring something simmering in a large steel pot. "The three of us need to have a little talk."

Caleb and I exchanged glances before returning our gaze to our mother.

She set the spoon she was stirring her concoction with down, and pulled off the oven mitt. I didn't even know we had owned any of those.

"Lately, I've been thinking. About your father, about my life, but mainly about the two of you. You two are the best things that has ever happened to me." Tears started to form in her eyes and she looked down, in an attempt to conceal them. My heart sank. I knew that from the tone of her voice that what she was about to tell my brother and I, was going to be something I probably didn't want to hear.

"I think that the stress, with your father being so well… so sick… I just think it's best that I move on. I've started seeing someone else and tonight, I'd like the two of you to meet him and his son."

Did I just hear that right? My mom, who by the way is still married to my dad, is seeing someone else?! Where did she meet him? For the past five years I've never seen her change out of her PJ's or leave the house. Is it Gorman? Oh gross!

"What?" Caleb and I both asked in unison. I think Caleb was equally confused as I was.

"He's been a family friend for years. A few months ago, he came over to check on everyone and ever since then we've kept in touch." She said nonchalantly, like the news she just dropped wasn't a big deal.

My mouth formed a little 'o' as I sat there in shock. Luckily, Caleb spoke first.

"Does dad know?"

"No."

"Do we know him?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell us who it is?"

But before my mom could answer my brother the doorbell rang. "Ah, that should be them now" She said as she set her stirring spoon back down on the counter. "You kids go freshen up and I'll have dinner ready in a few minutes." She ushered us upstairs, like she was a soccor mom and we were her star kids.

"Do you think it's Gorman?" I asked, as my brother and I walked upstairs and down the hallway to our separate rooms.

"Oh gross, I don't think mom could ever get that drunk!"

I changed into a pair of faded and slightly torn jeans, which were now a little baggy, and a yellow halter top. I slipped on my converse and made my way downstairs. Before I entered the kitchen Caleb pulled me aside.

"You're not going to believe who's down there!" He looked as pale as a ghost. I'm assuming he was in dead shock because he didn't try to stop me when I made my way past him.

"Oh my God! It is Gorman, isn't it?!" I joked, but nearly fainted as I walked past Caleb into the kitchen and into a pair of piercing blue eyes. Those eyes look so familiar.

"Adele! My, my you've grown up! Hasn't she grown up Tyler?" Mr. Simms said, pulling me into a hug.

"Sure" Tyler mumbled out.

And that's about the time I fainted.