Chapter
14
The next few days that Nick and Angela spent together were
glorious. They spent whole days
together, just hanging out in different places, never at Nick’s house, unless
his parents were gone, and of course, never at Angela’s father’s house.
But after four days of fun together, Angela had to leave, to head
back to her home in South Carolina, miles away from Nick.
“Can I at least drive you to the airport?” Nick had asked the day
before she was due home.
“No,” Angela replied. “What
would my dad think? I know he and Lynn
are planning on seeing me off.”
“So I can’t even go to the airport at all?” Nick asked.
Angela looked pained. But
then she firmly told him, “No. I can’t
let Lynn find out about you.”
Nick had sighed in regret, but had nodded, accepting her
wishes.
That evening before she had left for her father’s house to spend
one last night in Orlando, he had said his goodbyes, knowing he might not see
her again for months.
“Don’t worry, Nick. Spring
break’s in about three months, and I can come down here again then. Then we can be together,” Angela promised.
“I know,” Nick said. “But
I’ll miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too,” Angela said, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, kissing her tenderly.
“Call me when you get home, okay?
To let me know you made it home alright.”
“Sure.”
There was silence, as they both contemplated what to say
next. Finally, Angela broke the silence
with one last, “Goodbye.”
“I’ll see ya,” Nick said, holding himself back from running to hug
her one last time.
“Yeah. See ya,” Angela
replied softly. With that, she turned
away and hurried down the steps of the front porch and out to her father’s car,
which sat parked in his driveway. She
gave him a little wave, blew a kiss, and climbed in. The car started, and she pulled out of the
driveway and out of his life for the next few months.
***
The next day, Nick sat around his house, filled with
melancholy. He missed Angela already,
and she was probably still in the air, not even back in South Carolina
yet.
He sighed. How was he going to go three months without
seeing her? How would she get by
without him? Would she find someone
else to date, someone that went to school with her, maybe? Nick winced, hoping that would not
happen. His feelings for Angela were
strong, and although he kept telling himself that it was impossible, he felt
that he had fallen in love with her already.
“Nick, honey, are you feeling all right?”
Nick turned to see his mother enter the rec room, a look of
concern spread over her face.
“I’m fine, Mom,” he replied.
“What’s wrong? I know
something’s wrong,” Jane said.
Nick sighed, hating the fact that his mother could always tell
when something was bothering him. “It’s
nothing, Mom. Nothing that you would
care about.”
Jane looked hurt. “Nicky,
please. Talk to me. What’s the matter?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Nick said, standing up. “And don’t call me Nicky.” With that, he left the rec room, brushing
past his mother, and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. He locked his bedroom door behind him,
flopped onto his bed, and lay staring up at the ceiling, allowing a few tears
to escape his eyes.
***
