to be seeing a boy who hates him?” I turn just in time to see Mom’s brows shoot up.
I blow out a frustrated breath. “It’s not like that. Eli wasn’t with me to get at Jake.”
She says nothing, which tells me she’s on Jake’s side with this one.
So frustrating. It’s like no one listens to me. No one takes the time to try and understand what Eli and I shared. They don’t care. Now I’m left alone, completely heartbroken. My relationship ruined and on top of everything else, I’m grounded.
I don’t like disappointing my parents, but I don’t think they’re actually listening to me either. They’ve already made up their minds about Eli.
They’re against him. Against our relationship.
But I don’t care.
If they continue to feel that way and Eli and I do end up getting back together, their disapproval isn’t going to stop me from seeing him. Eli and I belong together. It doesn’t matter what my family thinks.
“I need to get ready.” My tone is snotty. I am giving myself major Autumn vibes right now. She would use the same tone with Mom when she still lived at home. “Can you leave please, so I can get dressed?”
Mom turns and marches out of my room, slamming the door behind her. I jump at the sound, sinking my teeth into my lower lip. Great, now she’s mad at me too. I sort of want to cry all over again.
But I don’t. Instead, I tell myself to stop being sad. Easier said than done, but if I have to be out in public, I have to look normal. Like nothing’s bothering me. If I seem broken, and someone sends me a sympathetic look, then I’ll break even more.
Even though my entire world just collapsed last night. No big deal.
I’m sitting at the top of the stands at the very high school Eli attends. Talk about a stab in the heart. If I’d known the league game would be here, I would’ve fought harder to get out of coming. I might’ve even offered to clean the bleachers at our school with Jake, and that’s one of the worst jobs on the planet.
Instead, I’m sitting here surrounded by all things purple and gold, staring at the field where Eli plays. Where he practices every day. This is his school, his home away from home, and it’s like I can feel him surround me, wrapping all around me. His essence is here on that football field, in the very air that I’m breathing, and it’s killing me slowly.
No one would know it, though. My expression is forced indifference. Mom isn’t talking to me much. Still mad for the way I treated her earlier, which I suppose I deserve. Dad was so focused on Beck and the upcoming game as we drove here, he was oblivious to the tension between Mom and me.
And here I was, worried over him being angry with me.
Once we got to the school, Dad escorted my brother over to his team and stayed. He’s basically one of their coaches, though he has no official title. Leaving Mom and I alone. We went into the bleachers, me choosing to sit at the top, Mom sitting one bench below.
Halfway through Beck’s game, I spot Wyatt Cahill walking in front of the stands, accompanied by his parents. I sit up straighter, grateful to spot a familiar face.
“Why’s Wyatt here?” I ask Mom.
“His little brother plays for the senior team. He’s in the eighth grade,” Mom says, turning to look at me. “You finally over your little pouting session?”
I send her an irritated look before I train my gaze on Wyatt. I will him to look up at the stands. To see me. I want to talk to him. To hear what people are saying. If they’re saying anything about me.
Thankfully, he finally glances up to scan the crowd, and our gazes meet. He smiles. I smile in return, though it feels foreign.
He says something to his mom before he starts running up the steps, heading straight for me.
“Can I talk to Wyatt for a little bit?” I ask Mom, praying she doesn’t deny me.
“I suppose,” she says reluctantly. “But I’m not budging.”
“That’s fine.” I hate that she feels like she has to supervise my every move. It’s clear my parents don’t trust me.
I need to earn their trust back, but I’m not going to do anything to please them that in turn risks my relationship with Eli. He means everything to me. I