“Stop!” I screamed out in horror, barely able to see through my tears now. Everything went silent. “Please stop!” I managed to push out in between sobs.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t lay this fool out right now,” Antonio’s voice boomed once more. I heard AJ chuckle in response to the threat.
I searched my thoughts for the answer that made the most sense and I let the words tumble out of my mouth. “Because……I love him too,” I whispered as I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands.
The room went silent again for a few seconds and then I heard the door slam. In the next instant, I felt AJ pulling me to my feet, and then he sat me down on the couch beside him. The tears continued to flow and neither of us said a word.
I’d messed everything up just as I predicted, and as a result, my heart ached like my bruised ego. Antonio hated me for sure and I’d just told AJ my true feelings without even knowing if he felt the same way. We sat there together for a long while. He was silent as he listened to me releasing the weight of every secret I’d been holding as I continued to cry. When I came to my senses and realized what I’d just admitted, I began to feel a combination of guilt, embarrassment, and shame. Guilt because I’d hurt Antonio and could possibly end up hurting AJ too. Embarrassment because, until now, A.J had no idea just how strong my feelings for him were. What must he think of me for falling so hard so fast? Shame, because I allowed myself to get so incredibly caught up in both of them that I’d made one bad decision after another without thinking of anyone but myself…...and this is how that turned out.
I lifted my head from AJ’s shoulder and wiped the last of my tears away, but didn’t open my eyes. Unsure of how to read his silence, I couldn’t face him just yet. Is he just letting me have my moment? Or is he trying to come up with an escape plan to get away from the crazy girl who’d just admitted that she was in love with him after only really knowing him for a little more than a week? In the midst of my miserable thoughts, AJ lifted his hand to my chin and turned my face toward him. Next, I felt his lips on mine. It was so gentle that I questioned whether I was imagining it. It didn’t last long, but in those few short seconds he’d reassured me that he wasn’t going to run screaming for the hills. Was it possible that he felt the same way I did?
“Are you gonna be alright?” He asked caringly.
I thought about it and answered as truthfully as I could. “I don’t know.”
I leaned my head back on his shoulder and stared off into space. There was a loud humming noise that could only be one thing…..the garage door. My parents were home earlier than expected. I jumped to my feet and tried not to panic. They’d seen AJ here before they left out this afternoon and were aware that we were doing a project together. There wasn’t really any need for them to be suspicious. The only thing was that now Leslie wasn’t here anymore and I looked like crap from my temporary nervous breakdown. I had to think fast.
“Do you want me to go?” AJ asked.
“No, they would’ve already seen your car.” I thought for another second before deciding just to stay calm. There really was nothing going on, we were just talking, so I’d just tell the truth. Well, most of it anyway.
The next second I heard them coming through the door. Lucky for me Daddy must’ve gone straight to his study, so I didn’t have to explain my story to him too. My mom walked into the living room and stared at me as she assessed my appearance. I hadn’t made it to a mirror, but I could guess that it was pretty bad. Mom hesitated a second before asking, “Are you alright, Sweetie?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I looked over at AJ who showed no signs of being nervous at all. “We were just talking and I got a little emotional. Antonio and I got into it.” She stared at me for another second and then glanced over at AJ.