the bus and walked up the steps, it occurred to me that maybe Aaron had moved on.
Maybe he had already let the idea of us go.
Given up like me.
Isn’t that what I had wanted?
Yes and no.
I found Scarlett and sat down next to her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately. I threw my gym bag next to hers in the seat behind us.
I sat back down. “Nothing’s wrong,” I replied, my voice bitter.
Everything was perfect.
She didn’t say anything, just looked at me like she was trying to guess what had happened.
But it was obvious.
Especially when Aaron climbed onto the bus a minute later and I turned to look anywhere but at him.
Aaron clearly wasn’t interested in me as more than a friend anymore.
This was exactly what I had wanted.
This was for the best.
So why did it feel so terrible?
14
On Saturday morning, I woke up to a long list of chores.
By noon, I had finally finished all of them and I felt like Cinderella but without the fairy godmother and getting to go to the ball to meet Prince Charming.
At least staying busy kept my mind off of Aaron. It still hurt a little thinking about seeing him with that girl at the last game.
I crashed onto the couch. Mom kissed me on the forehead. “Gracias, mija. So nice of you to step up with your brother still recovering.”
David gave me a thumbs up from the opposite end of the couch. His ankle had gotten kind of swollen just from putting weight on it this morning. “Yeah, sis. Thanks for covering for me. I owe you one.”
I gave him an annoyed look and pretended to mimic him, but then I grinned.
Doing his yard work on top of everything else had sucked, but at least it was done.
Besides, maybe this way, Dad would see how responsible and hard-working I was and realize that I deserved a car just like David.
Mom walked past me with a mop and bucket. “You gonna go take a shower?” she asked me. “Remember we’re going to that party at your cousin’s later.”
I gave a loud sigh. I’d forgotten about that party. “Mom,” I said, drawing the word out. “Can’t I just please stay?”
“No,” she said firmly in Spanish. “We’re all going.”
Then David turned around to face her, ignoring his show. “What? Can I stay?” He indicated his leg. “I really need to keep this thing elevated.”
Mom stood up and put her hands on her hips. The expression on her face was not caring in the least. “You sure didn’t seem to care about keeping it elevated this morning when you and Aaron were playing basketball. I told you not to play, but did you listen?”
David tried to say something, but just stuttered.
I began laughing. “Sucker. You’re stuck going to the party too.” Then I got up. If I had to be at that party later, then I needed to go for my walk now.
As I headed to my room, I heard him call out. “I need to practice my shots! The doctor said I needed to put weight on my ankle as I felt was comfortable.”
I headed to my room but chuckled when I heard my mom say, “Uh huh. Well, don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re real comfortable at the party.”
A minute later, I had changed into sneakers and walked back towards the living room.
Now Mom didn’t look happy with me. “I thought you were going to shower and get ready?”
“I will,” I said, heading towards the front door. “Just gonna go for a quick walk.”
“Don’t take too long,” she called after me. “We can’t be late.”
I shut the door behind me, giving her a reassuring wave.
We were Puerto Rican. Everyone was always at least an hour late. Two or three was normal.
Besides, if I was going to be stuck at that party for the rest of the evening with blaring music and crazy relatives who would pepper me with a million questions, then I needed some quiet time first.
And I knew exactly where to get it.
I walked through the neighborhood towards the woods. It had been a while since I’d gone down to the creek, and it would be the perfect way to get some alone time.
Pretty soon, I came through the clearing and found it.
The sound of the water streaming past the rocks was one of my favorite sounds.
The sound of the ocean was another sound I craved. I usually played it on my phone at night to fall asleep faster, but I’d never actually seen