Chapter Thirty-Five
Layla
I stare at the message on my phone. Tingling little wisps of flutters fill my belly and dance along my skin from head to toe. I chew on my lower lip.
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asks.
“I just … ”
“Is it math, or those feelings for Tyler and mysterious texting boy?”
“Well, R just texted me. He wants me to be his date for the school dance.”
“Oh, my God! Are you serious? Let me see!” she yanks the phone from me and smiles so wide I swear her face is going to crack. “What are you going to say?”
“No. I can’t. I mean, for one he’ll know I was lying to him. Two, what if this is too good to be true?”
Rachel wrinkles her nose and nods. “You’re right. I mean, what if this person turns out to be catfishing you. And really he’s an old man.”
“What? Don’t be silly. We talked on the phone and he did not sound like an old man.”
“There are apps that can disguise your voice, you know.”
The more she tells me this stuff the more I don’t want to see him. Wow, Juliet was right. This was a really bad idea.
Me: I can’t. I’m going out with someone this weekend and if things go well I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Sorry.
R: No worries.
My heart instantly stings. How could I possibly go from feeling all blushy to miserable in a matter of ten minutes?
“Are you okay?” Rachel asks. “You look really pale and awful right now.”
“Why do I feel like I made a mistake?”
She shrugs. “You didn’t, though. Look, you don’t know this person. He could be a total fake. Maybe he’s not really on the football team. Heck, maybe he’s a freshman nerdball.”
What does that matter? I wouldn’t care if he is a freshman. I wouldn’t care if he doesn’t really play football. However, I do think he would care who I am. And hell, what if he just doesn’t like me? Just look at Tyler, he admitted to disliking me. What if this person does too?
It’s just better to leave this alone and not know.
Rachel hugs me. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see.”
“I know.” But really my insides don’t feel like that. They are aching in places I didn’t know one could even hurt.
She gets off the bed. “I have to head out. I’ll call you later. ‘Kay?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Oh, my God, I sound like a robot. I better snap out of it soon.
Rach smiles and then leaves.
I fiddle with my phone. No. It’s better this way. I drop it on the bed and walk out of my room. Out of sight out of mind, or however that phrase goes.
As I descend the stairs, I hear laughter pouring out of the kitchen. I peer around the corner and see my mom and sister sitting at the table, flipping through some photo albums.
“Oh, remember this one?” My mom coos and points to a photo. My sister giggles.
“Layla was so mad.” Then Juliet frowns. “Mom, I know you say we sometimes need our own space to work stuff out and all, but I’m worried about Lays.”
Mom turns to her and sighs. “Me too. Ever since she and Adam broke up she’s been bit of a frumpy, grumpy girl. I want to butt in and help but I also want her to work through whatever is going on by herself. I don’t want to be that mom. The nosey one who needs to know your entire business.”
“Mom, I don’t think she’d mind so much this time.”
What the hell, Juliet? I’m so mad at my sister for suggesting such a thing. I don’t need help. So, I’ve been a little edgy. So, I decided to dress like a mess. Who cares? A few days of it doesn’t mean I need my mom to come in and fix things. Maybe I’m more of a mess than I realize though. Still, I can fix this. At least I’m fairly sure I can. I grab my coat and purse then rush out the door.
Once I’m outside though I realize I’m sort of screwed. My car is still in the shop, Rach just left, plus I ditched my phone in my room, so there goes calling for a ride. But I need to get away from the house. At least for a little while.
I walk to the nearest bus stop.
I’ve been walking in and out of stores for the past thirty minutes. My mood hasn’t improved.
As I approach a store called Gowns by Design, the pit in my stomach worsens.
This is ridiculous. I should be able to step into a silly dress shop if I want to. So, I rejected the first person to ask me to a dance since Adam and I broke up. Big deal?
I step into the store and browse the beautiful gowns hanging on the racks. Different materials such as silk, satin, and glittered rhinestones slip through my fingers. Usually I want to try on every dress in the store. Today, I want to bury my face in glittery sequins and bawl my eyes out. Why did I have to be such a wuss? Why didn’t I say yes?
Because secretly you want Tyler to ask you. That’s ridiculous. He’s clearly made his choice. He kissed Selena in the hall. Enough said.
Screw it. That’s exactly what I’ll do.
I leave the store and rush back home to tell R everything.