AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I can't do this with you here," he reveals. He's not angry; resigned, maybe.
"I'll go then," I quickly stand and stumble down the hall, trying to gain my bearings.
I see Mom first. She's sitting in a chair by the exit, sipping coffee in a white Styrofoam cup.
My eyes burn, my throat hurts, my chest aches.
"What's wrong?" Mom asks, worried, as I reach her.
"Can you take me home?" my voice cracks, even though I'm trying really hard to pull myself together.
"What? Why?"
"Matt doesn't want me here," I try explaining without breaking down. "Can you take me home?"
Mom stands, "I'll let the guys know."
I rush outside, into the dark night, inhaling a wave of frigid air.
I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe.
What's wrong with me?
—
Mom hands me a cup of chamomile tea, the steam swirls off the amber liquid, hits my lips as I take a sip.
It should soothe the scratch in my throat, but it only makes it sting more.
"What happened?" Mom sighs as she plops down beside me, grabs a blanket and drapes it over our legs.
I lay my cheek against the warm mug, wonder why everything feels so cold. "He told me to leave."
Mom scrunches her face. "Why would he do that?"
"Audra asked me to be her maid of honor," I exhale. "He got weird after that."
Mom takes a sip of tea, seems to mull over her words before she asks, "And that upsets you?"
My eyes fill with tears. "Yeah, it did."
"He's been through a lot today," she clears her throat. "Burying his mother. Rushing Audra to the hospital."
I bite my lower lip. "I know."
Mom shakes her head. "Listen, Jenny, I'm not blind. I know you love them both."
"I don't," I tell her, noticing my voice is weak, strained. "I'm in love with Kyle. I chose him."
Mom scratches the top of her head as tears pool in my eyes. "You can choose someone and still love someone else. Love is complicated. We don't get to choose who we love sometimes. It just happens. I think you need to ask yourself if you chose Kyle because you love him more or if it's because Matt is unavailable."
Tears slip down my face. "I know I haven't made the best decisions over the last year, but I can't leave Kyle. Leaving him would be too hard. I chose him, Mom, because he's the person I can't live without. You told me when I was younger that I shouldn't be with someone I can live with. You said I should be with someone I can't live without. I can live without Matt. I've been doing that. But with Kyle..."
My words trail off as my chest aches, my throat spasms, my entire body rocks from the truth.
It's Kyle.
It's always been him. From the first moment our eyes met all those years ago in the driveway as our parents introduced us. I felt it. A jolt of electricity, a spark igniting a flame, lighting striking the earth.
