Somebody read?

First topic message reminder :

I've kind of been writing a story and was wondering if anyone would like to read it? I don't want to put it on here if I'm not going to get feedback.

-Thanks-

Ooooo wow. Definitely getting serious. I wish my little brother and big sister were that nice. Or at least we got on like that. I highly doubt I'd be considered either of their best friends. But that's okay, I can live through this story instead =D Plus, it's fun to bug my siblings. =P

Friday, it's fianlly here, I think as I'm getting ready for school. And not only is it Friday - it's Homecoming. A couple weeks ago I made a shirt with Trayton's last name on it, Smith, and his number, 27 on the back and Vikings on the front. I decided to wear my hair up today, which I rarely did. I was finishing up my make up when my phone went off. The ringtone wasn't one that called often. It used to be, but in this past week I had changed it. I didn't even ahve to check the caller id though. "Dad, what do you want?" I ask.

"Jazlyn, I just wanted to talk to you again. You've been ignoring my calls," he says. Of course I had been ignoring his calls. What did he expect? "Look, it's your birthday tomorrow, we can't go like this tomorrow. Jazyn, I need to see my baby girl." He broke out the name that he called me when I was younger. Everytime someone asked me what my name was I said Jazyn. I couldn't say my l's, so I left them out.

I sigh. "Dad do you really think that'd be best? You do know that we're not happy with you right now, right?"

"I know, I know. I just want to talk to you. You need to hear my side of the story." I could hear the desperation in his voice, which made me feel bad.

I was torn. Let him tell his side? Or not? "I...Alright. This one time. I'll meet you at our spot tomorrow at eleven?"

"Thank you Jazlyn, so much. I'll be there at eleven." He hung up then. Our spot was the place we went to when we wanted to talk about anything and everything. Having trouble at school? We went to the spot. Having isues about myself? The spot. Boy troubles? The spot. I was a Daddy's girl. Up until this year that is. He went on more 'business trips', which now I'm not even sure were actually business trips. I had Trayton. Was it just mom that had pushed him away, or was it the whole family?

"Jaz, Jaz? Earth to Jazlyn," I hear someone say behind me. When I turn around I see Kently. "I thought maybe you had passed out. It's 7:45, we need to leave."

It takes me a few seconds to respond. "Yeah," I say. "Let's go."

-------------------

When I pull into the parking lot, Trayton has begun to walk towards the school. I shut off my car, grab my stuff and yell for him, "Trayton are you just going to make me walk into school alone today?"

He turns around and a huge smiles fills his face. "Take long enough getting ready this morning? What did you wait until this morning to make this shirt for me?" he asks when I catch up to him, a smirk on his face.

I smile. "You know it. I just lost track of time this morning. I'm kind of excited for tonight."

"As am I. We're going to the dance tonight, right?" he asks.

"Of course. Destin's going over to our Aunt Carol's to spend the night, so Kently and I are free of babysitter duty." It wasn't that I didn't love Destin, it was just we had to watch him so much.

"I don't have to dress up, right?" he says, jokingly.

"Uh...Yeah, you do. Don't even start with me. It's our senior year, you have to look spiffy."

"Fine, I'll wear a tux." I shoot him a look. "Kahkis and that polo you got me?" I nod with a smile on my face.

"I've taught you so much," I say and we both laugh.

"Where would I be without you?" We reach the door of my first hour and we part ways.

I walk into the classroom and head back to my spot by Laney. She's not here yet so I talk to Greg, one of Trayton's friends. "So Greg, you going to the game tonight? Or are you going to be a bum like every week?" I ask, teasing him.

He smirks. "Very funny. But, yeah I'm going to be there." Greg was always the odd one of the group. He kind of stayed to himself, but he was funny so we kept him around.

"Good, because you can't miss your Senior homecoming," I say laughing.

"I guess you're right," he says.

"Smith, huh? As in Trayton?" I hear someone from behind me ask. When I turn around, I face Sarah. I shoot her a confused look. "Your little boyfriend isn't who he says he is. I know something about him that I'm sure you wouldn't be happy with."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever Sarah." For some reason since I started to date Trayton, Sarah has hated me, even more than she did before. And I have no idea why. I asked Trayton if they had a past, and he denied it. I still didn't know what her problem was with me, but I could honestly care less. It was still awkward though when your boyfriend's best friend's girlfriend hated you.

She shrugs. "Jazlyn, don't you get it? I figured because of what all has gone one, you would know not to trust everyone."

I shake my head. "Sarah leave me alone. I'm tired of your crap."

She laughs. "I guess I'll be saying told you so," she smirks. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I had feeling she was just trying to stir things up.

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The rest of the day went by so fast, and before I knew it, we were cheering our team to victory. It was a heck of a game. The final score was 45-42. In the last seconds of the game, the ball was turned over on the other team's 30 and we brought out our field goal team. The crowd was loud. Finally it was time for the dance. Kently and I rushed home to get ready. We both touched up our makeup, and I scrunch my hair up. Kently gets dressed in a white dress that ruffled at the bottom and a black tie around the waist, going right above her knees. I wore a simple black dress that was embelished with sequins.

When we arrive at the school, Trayton is waiting on the bottom step for us. He's wearing a pear of kahkis and the polo I bought him - a light blue one. His hair was slicked back. "Hey, you look nice," I say. "For a change."

"Very funny," he says, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You look hot, like always."

"Alright you two, we can both agree that you two look nice, now can we go inside and dance our butts off? I would like to get this night started," Kenlty says.

We all head inside where the gym is dark except for a few lights and the speakers are thumping with Ke$ha's 'Die Young'. As soon as we spot a group of our friends, we all three walk over to greet them. "Jazlyn, Kently you look beautiful!" Laney expresses. "Trayton, you look okay."

"What is it with everyone commenting on my looks today?" Trayton says, shaking his head.

"Laney, thanks. You look gorgeous," I say. Laney is wearing a skin-tight knee lenght dress the sparkels in the lights. She looked stunning.

I can see her blush, even if the dark of the room. "Gee, thanks. And Trayton because it's what people do, don't you know?"

"Well, I think it's because everyone is jealous of my hot body," he says.

Laney shakes her head. "You wish, Trayton, but whatever makes you sleep at night," she says.

"Jazlyn, agrees, right?" I look up at him and shake my head. "Now I'm hurt," Trayton expresses fake hurt and the three of us start laughing.

Our group slowly gets bigger as it completes. A few songs had played since Trayton, Kently and I first got here, and finally a slow song filled the speakers. Lady A's "Dancing Away With My Heart" has started to play and the dance floor fills with couples. Trayton pulls me out onto the dance floor as I notice Nick nervously talking to Kently. I wrap my arms around Trayton's neck, but keep my eyes on Kently and Nick. If they danced tonight, it would make Kently's night. She has been waiting to dance with him since seventh grade. I smile when the walk out onto the dance floor together and dance awkwardly.

"What are you smiling at?" Trayton asks, pulling me in closer.

I motion with my head towards Kently and Nick. "My baby sister's finally getting the slow dance of her dreams," I say and we start to move so Trayton can see.

"I told the kid to go for it last year." When I give him a confused look, he continues. "He came up to me in the locker room after our Courtwarming game last year and asked if he should try to dance with Kently. I said of course, go for it. He said he would, guess he finally went for it."

-----------------------------

The rest of the dance went smoothly, and everyone seemed to have a great time. As we said bye to everyone, most said they'd be seeing me tomorrow. "Looks like you won't have the bummer party you thought you were going to have," Trayton says as we walk towards our cars.

"I never said that," I say. "So Kently, is Nick going to be there tomorrow?"

She looked like she was on cloud nine all night, I was happy for her. She raises her eyebrows as she looks over at me. "I don't know, I think so," she says.

We finally reach our cars. "I'll see you tomorrow birthday girl," Trayton says and kisses me. "See you Kently." We all say goodbye and we were on our separate ways.

As I was laying in bed that night, I couldn't help myself thinking about what had happened this past week and the fact that I was going to be talking to my dad tomorrow. What would tomorrow bring?

Hehehe I say Spiffy, too! And I thought Kently was older...

Oh, I bet Trayton HAS been cheating. And that Jazlyn will have an argument with her dad. Hmmm just my predictions You can tell I'm into this story! Can't wait for the next part!

Sorry about the wait!

When I wake up in the morning, the sun is shining bright, the sky completely clear. So far my day was going good, even though I just woke up. We had planned my party to be outside, but there was a chance of rain. Not only was the sky clear, it looked warm outside. Not like a normal October day.

I look at my clock to see that it's already 10; I needed to hurry if I wanted to catch up with my dad. I take a quick shower and get dressed in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a light yellow v-neck. After touching up my make up and straightening my hair, I put on my black Toms.

I walk downstairs and my mom is in the kitchen cooking breakfast. "Good morning," she says, flipping a pancake onto a plate. "I'm cooking you're favorite breakfast - chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns. Happy birthday sweety."

We hadn't talked since Thursday and I was kind of mad at her still. But I could she was trying. She didn't want my eighteenth birthday to be bad. "Thanks mom," I say. "Is it almost done, or is it going to be awhile? I wanted to do something before the party."

"I'm just finishing up," she says as she puts the last pancake on the plate. "Could you go get your sister and brother while I set the table?"

"Sure thing." I turn around on the ball of my foot and run up the stairs to get Kently. "Kently, breakfast's ready," I say when I reach her door.

"Yes, it's in the backyard. You can just enter through the gate. Alright, I'll see you later," she says into her phone and hangs up. A grin fills her face. She sees me and jumps a little. "How much did you hear?"

"Just you telling someone something about our backyard. Was that Nick?" I ask leaning against the door frame.

A blush quickly comes to her face. "Yeah. Is it alright that he comes today?"

"Of course not sis." I keep a straight face, but can't but crack a smile when her face deflates. "Of course he can. It may be my birthday, but you've been waiting for this day since when? Like sixth grade?"

She rolls her eyes. "Seventh, thank you very much. Thanks sis."

"Anytime, now get your butt downstairs for breakfast." I head down to Destin's room next, before remembering he had stayed the night at our aunt's and would be home soon. I close Destin's door behind me and walk to the kitchen. Before I reach the doorway, the front door bursts in and Destin and our little cousin Jonathon comes running in with Aunt Carol carrying Destin's bag and a present. "Hi Aunt Carol. Looks like those two had fun."

She smiles a thin smile. "They're hyper, I can tell you that. I came over to help your mom set up for the party this afternoon," she says, setting the bags on the ground.

"We were getting ready to eat breakfast if you want join us. Chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns."

"I fed the kids an hour ago, so I think they'll be fine. But I do love your mother's chocolate chip pancakes, so I might take one."

"That's fine. The boys should be fine playing in Destin's room." We both walk into the kitchen where a plate with two pancakes covered in syrup sit on a plate with a one and an eight candle sitting on it.

"Happy birthday Jazlyn!" Both my mom and Kently exclaim, embracing me.

"Thanks guys," I say, hugging them in return.

-------------------------

After breakfast, I gather up my keys. "I'll be back in an hour or so," I tell everyone and leave before they have a chance to ask me any questions. When I get into my car, I sit there for a minute, talking myself into actually going. "Come on Jaz, you have to do this. If you don't, you'll wonder all day what he wanted to talk to you about." As soon as I work myself to go, I back out of my driveway and head to the spot where my dad and I met - a spot off in the woods that looked out over the town.

I have to park my car in a clearing before the woods, but I don't see my dad's car there yet. I hope that he didn't back out on this. After a few minutes, I get out of my car and walk through the woods to our spot. When I reach it, I don't see any sign of my dad being here. I take a deep breath and sit down on the edge, my legs dangling.

I loved this spot. It looked over the whole town, and it was especially beautiful today. It was that time between summer and fall - the leaves had begun to change. As I sit there, I can't help but remember the last time I was out here:

Around us, the birds were chirrping, coming up to us to feed from our hands. "Dad, Trayton and I have been together for almost a year, and I don't know what to get him for our anniversary," I say.

He clears his throat. I think about how our conversations have changed this past year. "Well, honey, you like to make collages, make one of your first year: pictures, menus, movie tickets. You get the idea." He shrugs, and looks over at me, a twinkle in his eye. He holds back the tears as he continues to talk. "My little girl is growing up, too fast. You're finishing up your Junior year, you've been with a boy a year, you're turning eighteen in October. Where has my little girl gone?"

I sit there a bit and look out over the town, then I turn my attention back to my dad. "I'm right here, Dad. I'm not going anywhere."

He smiles and wraps his arms around me. "I'm not going anywhere either, Jazyn."

When I'm brought back, I have tears on my cheeks and my dad is sitting next to me. "Everything alright?" he asks after a few seconds.

I look at him like I did that day, just a few short months ago. "Where were you dad?" He's about to speak, but I stop him. "You...you promised me you weren't going anywhere. Why did you leave?"

He takes a few minutes to answer. "Look, Jazlyn, you don't know how sorry I am. I was so stupid to mess up what your mom and I had together. She was the best thing in my life and she brought the three best kids into this world. I'm not using it an excuse, but after what your mother did, I snapped. You know, she didn't tell me until Destin started school last year that he might not be my kid. Yes we were going through a rough patch, but I could of swore that he was my kid." He shakes his head and we sit there for awhile, letting me soak it in.

"But mom said that she told you when she became pregnant that you might not be Destin's dad?" I say. Did my mom just assume that my dad thought that?

"Well, she didn't. I'm not trying to make your mom look like the bad guy here, but I think she was trying to make herself look like the better person. Now if you ask me, I don't think she did such a good job. You know, I remember the last time we were here, and I'm sorry. I should of been here. I shouldn't of let all this happen. You're turning eighteen today, my little girl's an adult. She can make her own decisions, always could. I feel like the decision you've made is to hate both your mom and I, but don't."

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before I respond. "Look dad, it's not that I hate you. I'm just disappointed. I'm angry. You guys were supposed to be our parents and you let that all go. We had a great family. I've always been the strong one, I'm getting ready to go off to college, possibly signing with a college. Destin and Kently need a firm family, not the one that we have now. Dad, Destin hit a kid in daycare last week and said he wanted to be like you. He needs a role model."

"He said that? I've only hit your mom once, except the other day. It was stupid. I came home really drunk," he says, shaking his head. He puts his head in his hands, and I think he might be crying. "Why did I have to mess up? I've ruined everything for you kids."

"Dad, we still have the rest of our lives ahead of us. You can change this. Yes things might be awkward, and that pain will always be there, but you have the chance to fix it if you try." I think a few seconds before I say the next thing: "You know, my party is today. You know time and place."

He looks up at me, tears streaking his face. "Are you sure? Your mom probably won't want me there."

"I don't care," I say. "I do."

Aww lovely chat they had! And October is the best month to have a Birthday I'm curious to find out what happens at the party. For some reason I still don't completely trust Trayton.

When I pull up to my house, Trayton's car is parked on the side of the road. Why was he here early? I think as I pull into the driveway, my dad a short ways behind me. On the way back I couldn't help but think of what could all go wrong, but how mad could my mom really be about wanting my dad here for my birthday party? Of course I knew she would be furious, but would she show it? I'm hoping that it won't turn out bad. Before we left, I told my dad to wait in the car before he came in. I needed to see how my mom would react, but little did I know that Trayton would be here.

I get out of my car, make eye contact with my dad and head inside. Sitting in the living room floor is Trayton, Jonathon and Destin, playing with one of Destin's train sets. Trayton seems to be enjoying himself. He's an only kid and never had time like these. I smile as I stand there and watch them play. Trayton seemed to be really good with kids. He feels my eyes on him and looks up at me, smiling. "Hey birthday girl," he says, getting up from the floor and coming over to me. "Kently said you went out to do something, I got here half an hour ago. I tried to call you, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, I was out in the woods, gathering some thoughts. I must of not gotten any service. Where's everyone else?" I ask, shifting.

"They're out back setting up for your party. Wanna go up to your room, I have something for you."

"I need to do something real quick," I say. He looks at me with a question mark on his face. I motion for him to come down to my level so I can whisper to him. "My dad's outside, I went to see him. I want to tell my mom he's here."

Trayton shakes his head. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? Aren't you worried about trouble?"

"Of course I am, but he's my dad and it's my birthday. He needs to be here."

He sighs. "Alright, I'll stay in here with the boys." He kisses me on the cheek and sits on the floor.

I walk into the kitchen and out through the sliding glass doors to the backyard where tables are set up. Aunt Carol and Kently are putting on table cloths, but my mom is no where to be seen. "Where's mom?" I ask aloud, causing my aunt and sister to turn their heads.

"She just went inside; I think she might of gone down to the basement to get something," Kently says.

"Thanks," I say and turn around to go back inside. The basement door is open and the light is on. I make my way down the narrow steps. When I reach the bottom, I see my mom shuffeling through a box. "Hey mom," I say, startiling her.

She turns around, brushing her hands on her pants. "Hello dear," she says, pushing a loose piece of hair behind her ear. She seemed to be really flustered. "I was trying to find the photo albums. Seems I've misplaced them again. What's going on?"

I bite my bottom lip. "Mom, how would you feel if dad showed up today?" I ask.

She looks at me. "It is your birthday, he has the right to see you. Why?"

I sigh, relieved. "He's outside. I went to see him after breakfast."

She nods her head slowly. "Well, like I said, it's your birthday. I better get back to looking." She turns around slowly and goes back to looking.

"If you don't want him here, I can tell him to leave."

She shakes her head, waving me off. "I said it was fine."

I stand there for a few seconds and turn to go back up the stairs. Coming out of the basement didn't change anything, I still feel like I'm not sure if she wants him here or not. On my way outside, Trayton looks up at me from the floor and smiles. I smile back, but I can tell by his face that it's not a full smile. I sigh and pull open the door. I bound down the front porch towards my dad's car, where he's leaning against the hood, on the phone. He doesn't see me, so I stand there until he hangs up.

"Look, we can't be doing this anymore. It's simple, just stop calling me. I told you already. I have three kids at home, they need me. My wife, she needs me. I gotta go. Don't call me, lose my number." He hangs up and puts his phone in his pocket. He seems to be frustrated as he shakes his head.

"Hey dad," I say, coming up behind him. He turns around and gives me a sheepish smile. "Mom's okay with you being here."

He nods. "Where is she? Backyard?"

"She's in the basement, looking for the picture albums."

He chuckles. "She's always misplacing things. I think I know what she's talking about. I'll go help her, if she'll have me." As he passes by, he pats me on the shoulder. "Thank you for this chance," he says, looking me in the eyes.

"Dad...How could I not? You are my dad."

____________________

Back inside, I find myself on the floor with the boys. Trayton stands up, offering me his hand. When I take it, he pulls me up. "Let's go to your room, I want to give you your present early," he whispers into my ear. We sneak out of the room and up to my room. He sits me down on the bed and I look up at him as he talks. "Jazlyn, I can't believe we've been together a year and a half, and has it been the best time of my life." He pulls out a long, slender box. "Happy birthday, babe." He opens the box, and in it is a necklace - a heart locket.

I open up the locket and a picture of each of us looks back up at me. I smile and motion for him to help me to put it on. "I love it Trayton. Thank you." We stand and hug each other in the middle of my floor. "I love you."

"I love you too, forever."

"And always."

Maaaaaaaybe I was wrong. Maybe. Maybe. I'm sure something bad will happen between the parents, though.

Sorry I haven't replied in awhile. I've been really busy with school and everything that goes along with it. I'll have a little more free time until August, so if you would like Jade, I can continue updating you on the story.

Take your time, Rome wasn't built in a day. Writing is better when the author wants to write. I would love to read more! But don't stress yourself

I really want to, so I'm reading over it. I keep realizing how many mistakes I've made.

I do that all the time. And I recently read back something I wrote back in highschool (I think I was in grade 11-12. It was a good 4-5 years ago anyway) and I was shocked and not just the mistakes, but my whole writing style as well!

You can obviously tell I didn't read back chapters before I continued to write after I had sat it down for a while.

Okay, here you go! Next chapter.

Trayton and I are sitting on the floor with Jonathon and Destin when I hear the basement door open. My parents come out, both holding boxes, both with smiles on their faces. "Oh Phil," my mom says, laughing. "That was such a long time ago."

My dad shakes his head. "Was it really? It seems as if it was just yesterday. I can't believe how time flies."

"That was before Jazlyn was even born, Phil, now we're celebrating her eighteenth birthday." I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation because they had gone outside, but I was glad that my parents were laughing again, together.

"Did you see and hear that?" I ask Trayton.

"Your parents? Yeah, I saw them. It's great," he says, resting his hand over mine. "I bet it made your day."

I smile. "Of course it did. I thought it was going to be terrible, but they're laughing." I shake my head. "I never thought I'd see them like that again."

"Never see who like what?" Kently asks from the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a light blue long sleeved top that had lace at the shoulders and tan crochet Toms. Her hair was pulled back in the front but was still down. She looked stunning.

"Mom and dad," I say. A look of confusion masks her face. "I went to talk to dad, and they hit it off. Something about old times, I'm guessing."

She smiles. "Well that's good. It'll be a great birthday. Eighteen and mom and dad are on talking terms again."

"You don't seem too happy. I thought you would want this."

"Well yeah, it's just...I don't know. Do you think I look alright?'

I laugh, she was worried about what she looked like for Nick. "I'm sure Nick would like you in whatever you wear," I say.

"Jazlyn's right, Kently. Nick won't care what you're wearing," Trayton says.

She rolls her eyes. "Boys, can't live with 'em."

"But you can't live without them," Trayton says, pointing at her.

"Whatever. But really, do I look fine?"

"You look great sis," I say. "This day is about me, don't you remember?"

She looks at me and shakes her head. "I'm going to go help finish setting up; the guests should be arriving soon."

I look up at the clock as she goes outside. It was 12:30, and the party was to start at one. "Maybe we should get the boys cleaned up?" I suggest to Trayton.

"You're right," he says, getting up and offers me a hand. I take his hand and he pulls me up.

"Destin, Jonathon, we need to clean up. It's almost time to party!" I say, smiling down at them.

They both look up at me, a look of disappointment on their faces. "But sissy, we don't want to," Destin says.

"You can play later, okay? But remember, it's my party. Don't you want some cake?"

That changed their mood instantly. "Okay, later. Come on Jonathon. It's cake time!"

I laugh as they hurry to clean up. "That was easier than I thought it'd be," I tell Trayton.

"You have a way with kids," Trayton says, pulling my close to his side. I smile up at him as he bends down to give me a kiss. "And that's just one more thing I love about you."

The boys were done cleaning up in a matter of minutes and were out the backdoor quickly after. "I hope they know that they aren't getting cake until after lunch," I say as Trayton and I head outside, holding hands.

"Couldn't the birthday girl give them a little slack?" Trayton says, opening the door for me.

"Of course, they get the first pick, after me of course." Outside there are a few people here already. Laney was the first person I spot. She runs up to me and gives me a hug.

"Happy birthday!" she says, smiling. "Eighteen, you're getting old!" I see her eyes focus in on the necklace. "Oh, an early present from Trayton?"

I look down at the necklace, back up at Trayton and back to Laney. "Yeah," I say as she grabs at it to look at it. "Calm down, Laney."

"Sorry. It's so pretty. Good job, Trayton. Who knew you had it in you?" She smiles and pats him on the arm.

"Ha, Laney. We both know I do," Trayton says as he smiles down at her.

"Hey, do you know when Brytani's going to get here? I've missed her," Laney says.

Trayton shrugs. "She said she'd be here at a quarter til, but knowing her, she won't make it until thirty minutes after one." Trayton had a point. Some days, he and I would be waiting for her for forty five minutes. We had to start telling her an earlier time so we wouldn't have to wait.

"Well, maybe she's changed since she's been in Africa," I say.

Trayton shakes his head. "No, she hasn't. If anything, it's gotten worse. That night at the football game? She had just shown up."

"Well you can call her now and tell her we aren't waiting for her. I'm hungry," I say.

"Well it looks like you won't have to call me," someone says behind me.

Turning around, I am face to face with a new Brytani. Where she was once blonde, she was now brunette. Where she was once a good head shorter than me, she was a few inches taller than me. Where she was once the awkward sixteen year old girl that left, she was now an almost eighteen year old woman. "Bry-tani!" I yell, using her nickname. I wrap my arms around her neck, pulling her in for a hug.

"I have not gotten worse, I just happened to get lost. When you've almost been gone two years, you forget things," she says. "I'm actually quiet surprised I made it here without getting lost." She puts her arms around my waist. "It's great to see you again birthday girl!"

"I'm so glad that you could come back for my party," I say as we make our way over to a table. "So, how long are you back?"

"Well, mom says if I want to, I don't have to go back until after graduation. Meaning Monday, I'll be starting school back here with you guys," she says.

"Could this day get any better?" I ask. "Who will you be staying with?"

"Sadly, I have to stay with this big lug over here," she says, pointing to Trayton.

He rolls his eyes. "Cuz, you know you love me," Trayton says, draping his arm over her shoulders.

"Only cause I have to." She flashes her pearly whites.

"What is it? Crush Trayton's ego week?"

"It's always crush Trayton's ego; I mean someone has to. We all know how big of a head you have," Laney says.

"Don't worry Trayton, I love you enough for all these people," I say, smiling up at him.

"I'm glad someone does, and I'm glad it's you," he says, pulling me close to him. We look up at each other, meeting for a kiss.

"I see things have gotten worse since I left," Brytani says. "But this is what I was aiming for."

"Hey guys," Clay says, walking up to our table with Sarah. She did not look too happy to be here. "Happy birthday Jaz." He shoots Sarah a look as if to tell her to play nice. "Happy birthday," she mutters.

"Thanks guys," I say. "Guess what. Brytani's graduating with us!"

Clay and Sarah tell her how glad that she gets to say, but Sarah seems forced. We all go on joking about the past and filling Brytani in on the drama. The whole I feel Sarah's eyes on my necklace constantly. "Nice necklace, Jazlyn. Looks like the one my sister had," she says when we're telling Brytani how the teachers hadn't changed. This statement made us all shut up quickly. Sarah's sister had been committed to a mental hospital the end of March our Sophomore year. She was never mentioned, especially around Sarah.

We all look around at each other, waiting to see who would speak up first. "Could that be a coincidence Trayton?" Sarah pipes up.

"I don't know what you're talking about Sarah. How would I know that your sister had this necklace?" Trayton inquires, squirming a bit in his chair.

She shrugs. "I don't know, Trayton. It's not like you two dated or anything."

"Of course we didn't, Sarah," he says through clenched teeth. They locked eyes, until Trayton looked away. "I mean, we all knew she was crazy before."

Sarah surprisingly keeps her calm. "Because you made her that way," she says, turning around and stomping away. "Uh, I better go.." Clay says, following her.

"I'm thinking Sarah needs to join her sister," Trayton says. Laney and I look at him, while Brytani smirks.

"That wasn't very nice Trayton," I say.

"We all know it's true." He stands up. "I'm going to go get a drink. You three want anything?"

"Sweet tea," Brytani says, jostling Laney and I out of our shock. "Same," we both say.

"Brytani, what was that all about?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Nothing," she says. "He has a point, those girls were always a little off."

There was something deeper, and I had a feeling it had to do with Sarah and her sister. But some how Trayton was a part of it too. Maybe what Sarah said yesterday was right - maybe I don't know Trayton all that well.

Ooooooo! I hope we find out the truth soon. I'm so glad you're writing again! Keep up the good work!

The party went pretty smoothly after the whole Trayton and Sarah thing. As I could see, mom and dad were having a good time the whole party. Dad never left her side, unless it was to get something. If anything else hadn't gone as planned, I think seeing my parents happy together would of made up for those things.

Now Trayton, Brytani, and I sat in the backyard. We were catching up on all that had gone on in our lives. "I can't believe you guys have already been together a year and a half," Brytani says. "Today exactly isn't it? Didn't you get together April 27?"

"Brytani, I'm sure you remember it better than Trayton actually does," I say. "And you weren't even here!"

"What can I say? I have to remember my favorite cousin's best decision of his life. And he called me at 4 o'clock in the morning just to tell me all about it," she says, shaking her head.

"I had to tell someone, and I thought, why not the person that helped push me along?" Trayton says, smiling as he pulls me in close to him.

"So, do you know what made your mom decide to let you graduate with us?" I ask.

"Well, I did a lot of begging. And then I had Trayton call her...For some reason she fell for his excuses," she says, shrugging. "So here I am!"

All of a sudden, out of no where, it starts pouring on us. Brytani and I scream as Trayton picks us both up. "Put us down!" I scream, pounding on his back as he runs around the yard with us.

"Why should I do that?" Trayton asks. "You guys have been so rude to me all day!"

"Come on Trayton, I don't want to get sick," I say. I feel his weight shift as he places Brytani on the ground and he twists me so he's holding me up off the ground in front of him. "Please Trayton, I don't want to get sick. Let me go." I give him my pouty face, knowing he can't deny it.

A big grin spreads across his face. "Of course, but first I want to do this," he says, placing me on his feet. He bends down and gives me a kiss. "I love you, Jazlyn Cecilia Reynolds. These have been the best eighteen months of my life. I am the luckiest guy in the world." He digs around in his pocket and pulls out a ring box. "Now before you say anything, this isn't a proposal. This is just a promise ring. I thought about waiting until April, but I just couldn't wait after thinking during your's and Brytani's conversation. So many things are going to change this next year, we could possibly be going to different colleges. I just want you to know, if it comes to that, I won't forget you. I will always love you. And I hope you will too. So with this ring, I promise you that we will always be together, no matter the miles between us. Will you accept me?"

I stood there, breathless, speechless. What was I supposed to say? I mean, I knew what I was supposed to say...But I didn't know how to say it. I just stood there, looking into his eyes, trying to see truth. After a few minutes, his grin fell and he started searching my face with curious eyes. I take a deep breath, finally gathering all that I could to say what I needed to. "Trayton..." I say, nodding, tears brimming my eyes. He picks me up and swings me around in a circle. After sitting me back down, he gives me a kiss. He then took my hand and placed the ring on my finger. I don't I could of been happier.

Everything was perfect. Mom and Dad were getting along. Trayton just promised me there would be no one else. Brytani was graduating with us. I was eighteen. Nothing could go wrong. But was I wrong.

___________________

That night, after Brytani and Trayton had left, Kently and I were up in her room talking about the days events. "So are you and Nick official?" I ask, popping in a piece of popcorn. I was on my stomach on her bed and she was sitting in her mushroom chair. We each had our own bag of popcorn - we were fatties.

"Well...Kinda, I guess," she says shrugging. I give her a confused look, telling her to go on. "Well, I walked him to his car after the party, and he gave me a kiss." Her face turns beat red.

"Aww!" I scream, standing up, almost dumping my bowl of popcorn. I run over to her and give her a big hug. "My little sister is now officially a big girl! Got her first kiss. So tell me, what happened next?" I ask, sitting at her feet.

"We're going on a date tomorrow," she says. "But he won't tell me anything about it. He says to dress comfortable. Jaz, I need help."

I smile. "Well, dress comfortable. So whatever your comfortable is, is not his. So probably not a skirt or skinny jeans, or he would of said nice. Trust me, I got dressed in a nice skirt once when Trayton said comfortable. We went to a drive in. No one even saw me. So a t-shirt and jeans," I say.

"Boys are so complicated," she says, throwing her head back. "Speaking of you and Trayton, you were outside in that rain quiet awhile. What was going on? Did you have a fight?"

I shrug, standing up and going back to my place on her bed. I could barely hold in my excitement. "He...gave me a promise ring, nothing to major," I spit out, not being able to hold it in any longer.

Her eyes grow wide. "Let me see it," she squeals, standing up, knocking her chair over. She runs over to me, yanking my hand up to her face. "Where is it?" She frowns.

"It's in my pocket, I didn't want mom or dad to see it," I say. I take it out of my pocket and show it to her. "I don't want them to freak out."

"It's beautiful," she whispers. She rocks back on her feet, looking at me. "You know sis, not to burst your bubble or anything, but Laney told me about the conversation between him and Sarah. Aren't you a little concerned about that? Maybe there's something deeper."

I shake my head. "There's nothing to it," I say. To be honest, I had totally forgotten the conversation. "You know Trayton doesn't like Sarah, nothing wrong there."

"But do you know why he doesn't like Sarah? What if something happened between him and her sister and you don't know about it?"

"Maybe nothing did happen. And besides, Trayton would tell me."

"I'm just saying, you might want to find out before you promise him anything."

"Whatever," I say, standing up. "I'm going to bed." I walk out of the room, turning the ring in my hand as I walk to my bedroom. Maybe Kently was right. Maybe I needed to figure out what was going on. I felt a yawn building up and decided to talk to Trayton about it tomorrow.

Yeeeeeey another post! I don't know what it is, but I just don't trust Trayton. People can have secrets, sure, but the person you're planning on spending forever with needs to be the person you trust with at least the important things. She should hear it from him instead of someone else.

Sorry for the wait!

The next afternoon, Trayton and I were sitting in his living room. Brytani, well I wasn't sure where she was. Trayton just said she had gone off somewhere. I turn on the couch so I can look at him. I just sit there for a moment before working up my courage to ask him about what happened yesterday. He takes his eyes off the TV screen to look at me. "What? Do I have something on my face?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No," I say. "I was just thinking...about yesterday." He smiles and gets ready to say something, but I cut him off before he can. "Not about last night, but between you and Sarah. And don't tell me nothing, I'm not blind Trayton. But what happened there? Is there something you're not telling me?"

He shrugs. "It's nothing." I shoot him a look. "Look, really Jaz, it's not a big deal. It's in the past. Why does it mean so much to you to know?"

"Really Trayton? I kind of made a big promise last night, I would like to know everything I'm getting into. Is there some past between you and Sarah or her sister that I don't know about? Because, if there is, I'd like to know."

"Why don't you ask Brytani? She knows all about it," he mutters, standing up, attempting to leave the room. But I place my hand on his arm, stopping him. He knows I'm serious about things when I do this. With his head down, he turns around to look at me. "Promise me you'll talk to Brytani after this? She knows the whole story."

"I...promise. But, why can't I get the whole story from you?" I ask. What does Brytani have to do with any of this?

"You just can't; it'll only make sense if you get it from both of us." He sits back down, and I can tell he really doesn't want to do this. "Okay...Well the summer before our sophomore year, I started dating Savannah," he starts off. "Now before you get mad at me for not telling you, I didn't tell anyone. No one knew, at least so I thought. Brytani found out somehow, and she tried to break us up. Why, I don't know. She won't tell me. And I guess eventually Sarah found out too. So, eventually Brytani broke through my wall and I broke up with her. The week before Valentine's day. And as you know, the next week she started going missing, and the next month they sent her off. Sarah likes to think it's my doing that I caused her sister to go insane."

We sit there for a few moments, letting it sink in. "Trayton, I don't care that you didn't tell me about dating her, but the whole breaking up part. Do you remember the part of that year that you sent me roses every day that week for Valentine's day? Did Brytani want you to break up so you could be with me? And how could you do so soon after you broke up with Savannah?"

"Well," he says, taking a deep breath. "I didn't send you those flowers; Brytani did. So yeah, I think she wanted me to break up with Savannah, but I don't know why. She refuses to tell me. And I didn't want to go after you until March; Brytani got to me again."

"I need to go talk to Brytani," I say, standing up. But before I can get too far, Trayton grabs me and sits me back down. "What are you doing?"

"We don't know where she is remember? And besides, I'm not done with you." He turns so we're facing each other. He grabs my hands, and starts to talk, "You've got to realize that I did not mean to hurt Savannah, and whatever Brytani did, however uncalled for it was, I'm glad she did it. I made the mistake of doing something because Brytani did something, but I'm not going to do that again. Savannah was a great girl, but you're better for me. That's why I gave you that promise ring; I'm not going to mess up again."

I look down at our hands; the promise ring completely sparkling up at me. And then I remember what else I had gotten yesterday - the necklace. "Trayton," I whisper, taking my hands back. I finger the necklace. "What about this? Is it true? Did Savannah have the same one? Is this the same one?"

He leans back against the arm rest. "Well...No, Savannah didn't have one of those. Sarah just said that because she knew you would never find out unless she said something." Before I could respond to this, he continues, "And by you never finding out, I wouldn't of told you. I'm too ashamed of it, and I'd thought you'd hate me. You still love me right?"

I take a few minutes to think about everything before answering. He said he wouldn't do it again, but how could I know for sure? I'm about to answer, when Trayton gets down in front of me, looking up at me with pleading eyes. "Please, Jazlyn, please understand. I don't know what I'd do if you stopped loving me."

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I just...I just don't know. I need to know Brytani's motives. What if she tries this again? What if you fall for it again? I don't know if I could handle that. I want to believe you, but there's a part of me that doesn't know what to believe. I mean, I never would of thought my dad would cheat and abuse my mom, but he did. So how do I know for sure it's not going to happen with you?"

"Come on Jaz, that's why I gave you that promise ring. And I'm not going to break that promise. I want to be with you every minute of every day. Come here," he says, pulling me off of the couch and down onto his lap. He takes my hand and places it on his heart. "Feel that? That's beating for you. Not anyone else." He pulls me in for a kiss. "These are for you, and only you." He lifts my head so I'm looking directly into his eyes. "These are only going to be looking at you. Jazlyn, I'm here for you; I really believe that. When I'm with you, I feel alive. I feel full of purpose. And never will I ever mean to ruin what we have. Jazlyn, l love you."

What he just said, pushes me over the edge. Tears start pouring out, and I fall into his chest. I let him wrap his arms around me, pulling me in tight. "Trayton, I love you too. And the only thing I know for sure is that I just need to trust you. That's the only way we can truly get over this. And what you just said made me want to trust you even more."

Oooooo Brytani's in trouble!!!

Jade, I'm sorry it's been forever since I last updated. Once again, really busy. I have more if you'd like.

No worries, we've all been busy. Just leaves more for suspense XD

Yeah, I love to read more if you have it! =D

Trayton and I are sitting on the couch watching the end of our third movie for the night when the door flies open, Brytani standing on the threshold. She was panting, as if she had just got done running. She looks up, as if just noticing we were here. “Oh, hey guys. Didn’t know you were here. Trayton told me you were coming over when I left six hours ago. Do we not have school?”

“Brytani, where have you been?” Trayton asks from his spot on the couch.

“Running,” she answers quickly as if she were expecting his question.

“In jeans and a t-shirt? Yeah right, Brytani. Where were you really?”

“Can a girl not go on an improtu run? I didn’t have any shorts. I had to use what I had,” she says, shrugging. She starts walking towards her room, but before she gets too far, Trayton stops her, bringing her back to the couch. “Okay, look, I was catching up with some friends.”

“Everyone you could possibly want to catch up with was at my party yesterday,” I point out.

“Well…there was this one person.” Both Trayton and I give her puzzled looks. “Savannah, okay. I went to see Savannah. I took the bus into the city to where she’s staying. Happy?”

“Why did you go see her? Cause her more pain?” Trayton asks.

Brytani rolls her eyes. “Of course not. I wanted to see if she had gotten any better. I mean, considering we’re apparently the cause of what’s wrong with her. Crap, I said too much. Guess you had to find out sometime Jaz.”

“I already know Bry, that’s why I’m here. To hear your side,” I say, crossing my arms.

“You seem mad, I don’t know why. I mean, you and Trayton are obviously happy together. I think I did you both a favor. He was never going to see how insane Savannah actually was.”

“Really Brytani? Yeah, we’re happy, but if it’s meant to be, we would have gotten together eventually. With or without your so called help.”

She lets out a sigh. “Look, why don’t you just let me explain? Obviously Trayton refused to tell you my motives behind it. I don’t know why you can’t just admit it Tray.” She shakes her head. “Okay, Savannah was truly insane before they started dating, I have proof. Cold hard proof. Savannah and I used to be great friends, the best of friends. But then things changed, she went away the summer before her and Tray started dating. She came back different – black hair, wearing dark clothes. I could have seen why he would of dater her before, she was gorgeous. But for some reason, he fell for her afterwards.”

“Because unlike some people, I saw who she really was,” Trayton says.

“No, you just saw one of her personalities. Don’t deny it Trayton, you saw how she really was.”

“Yeah, she was different at school because that’s who she wanted to be around them. She only showed me who she really was because she trusted me. And you know how cruel the people were at school.”

“Trayton, you are so gullible it’s not even funny. Who spent hours upon hours with her when we were younger? Oh, that’s right, me. I don’t know why I didn’t see anything when we were younger. If you haven’t caught on Jaz, Savannah had multiple personalities. When she got to high school, she had a good handle on it because she went and got on meds.”

“You still have no proof of that.”

“Really? I talked to her doctor today, and trust me, that took a lot of work. I had to lie and say that I was related. I pretended I was Sarah.”

“Why?” I ask. “I mean, why did you need proof?”

“I had this feeling that Sarah was going to try and convince you that it was our fault. It kind of was, she stopped taking her medicine after Trayton broke up with her, but she was already insane.” She shrugs. “I wanted to make sure that if she did such a thing, I could prove her wrong.”

“Don’t you think that if she tried, I would have come and confronted you and Trayton? We all know that Sarah doesn’t like me, and now I finally know why.”

Brytani looks up at the ceiling, and with a sigh, she looks back at me. “Look Jazlyn, I know how you are. If you found out from Sarah, you would have been too mad at Trayton and me to think about asking us. I mean, you thought he was cheating on you with me.”

“Whoa, Brytani, stop,” Trayton speaks up. “That has nothing to do with any of this. We hadn’t seen you in a year and a half, you changed, remember? I would have probably made the same mistake. You don’t know how Jaz would have reacted to Sarah’s story. You don’t even know if Sarah would have made an attempt to tell Jaz the story.”

“Whatever,” she mutters. “Look, I just wanted to be on the safe side okay? I don’t know why you’re so mad at me. It’s not like I hurt either of you in what I did today.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point, Trayton?”

He sighs and shakes his head. “The point is what you did was illegal. The point is…you had no right to meddle with my relationships.”

“Oh here we go again. Savannah is insane and always has been. Are you not happy with Jazlyn?”

Trayton looks at me. “Jazlyn, you know I’m happy with you. I’ve never been happier with anyone. You know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you; I just told you this afternoon. But when I was with Savannah, I was happy too. And back then I thought I was supposed to be with her. Then Brytani introduced me to you and things changed. I don’t know if Savannah is truly insane or not, but I still admit that what I did hurt her, bad.”

I let his words soak in as he finishes up and prepare what I want to say before I say it. “Trayton, I know,” is all I can say though.

“Can I go now? I would like to take a shower before it gets too late. We do have school tomorrow, remember?” Brytani asks, standing up.

“One more question, why were you running?”

“About that…Remember how you said what I did was illegal? Well, the cops found out, and I followed me back here. Therefore, I had to run. It’s no big deal.”

“Brytani, you know your mom’s rules – no getting in trouble, and you can stay with us,” Trayton says. “Don’t think I’m going to act as if I don’t know anything if my mom finds out about it.”

“Okay, okay. I get it, you don’t have my back.”

“Bryt…” Trayton starts, but Brytani’s gone before he can say anything. He sits down, putting his head in his hands.

Sitting down next to him, I put my arm around his shoulders and pull him in close. “Trayton, don’t worry about it. She’s a big girl, and besides, she should have known better.”

He looks up at me and smiles. “I know, but still. She’s my cousin; we said we would always be there for each other. And that’s why she made sure I broke up with Savannah.”

“Hey, how about we pretend that didn’t happen? We’re together now, that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah but the reason we’re together was at her expense. And I admit, she was a little insane, but it was the breakup that caused her to stop using her medicine. Or at least I think so.”

“What do you mean you think so?”

“Well, who knows, other things were going on in her family. Their parents were having issues, still are.”

“So maybe it wasn’t us. Maybe she just wanted her parents back together so she acted out?”

“Maybe. I think you might be up to something, Jazlyn.” He pulls me in and gives me a kiss. “I’m so glad I have you; you just made me feel better.”

I smile. “That’s why I’m here.” After a few minutes of silence, I speak up again. “But I do need to get home. We do have school tomorrow. And the first game of districts is tomorrow, fantastic.”

Trayton stands up, bringing me with him. As he holds me, he starts to speak, “You’re going to do great, Miss Spring Hill. I’ll be there after practice, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You’re going to drive all the way there?”

“You mean the whole ten minute drive? Of course. I got to cheer on my beautiful girlfriend. But fare warning, I may be stinky.”

“I’m used to it,” I say, cracking a smile. “Gotta love the life of a football player’s girlfriend.”

“Well, especially when it’s me; you can’t get much better.”

“That’s what you think.”

“Admit, you don’t want anyone else besides me.”

“Well, there’s always Channing Tatum or the Hemsworth brothers.”

Trayton sets me down. “You would much rather have them, than me?”

I shrug. “Of course…not. Trayton Black all the way.”

Oooo cops involved now! Cute end to that post though. I'm excited for the next part

As I was finishing up getting ready, I heard laughing in the hallway. “Oh Phil, are you sure we really should be doing this? I don’t think the kids have left yet,” my mom’s voice echoes down the hallway.
After slipping on the necklace Trayton got me, I grab my stuff and slip out my bedroom door. I’m greeted by my parents. “Hey mom, dad,” I say. I’m not sure if I was happy or freaked out by seeing them together. “Good morning.”
“Sweetheart,” my mom says. “Good morning. Your dad and I, we were just…” She drops off and looks to my dad.
“Going down memory lane,” my dad says through a smile. “You know how old people are.”
I slowly nod my head. “Okay, well I better go get Destin and Kently, so we can get to school. See you at the game tonight?”
“Of course,” they said quickly. “We will be there,” my mom continues. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” my dad adds.
They let me pass, and I’m headed downstairs. I still wasn’t sure what to make of what just happened. I had a feeling the whole “memory lane” thing might be something else. As I hit the bottom step, I must have been out of it because I run into Kently. “Sorry, Kent,” I mutter, stepping aside to get past her.
“I was just about to come up and get you. Did something hold you up?” she asks, falling in beside me.
“Our parents, taking a walk down memory lane,” I say. “Where’s Destin?”
“I’m right here,” he pipes up as he exits his room. “What’s memory lane?”
“It’s just remembering things that happened in the past. Come on guys, let’s go.” I place my hands on their backs and push them towards the door.
“Are you not going to eat?” Kently asks as Destin picks up his backpack.
I shake my head. “We need to get going.”
------------------------------------------------------
Once we drop off Destin, Kently speaks up about what was said earlier. “Do you think mom and dad were doing something besides ‘walking down memory lane’?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it. They sounded like they were going to go do something because mom said she thought we were still home.”
Kently shudders. “Ew, I don’t even want to think about that.” She shrugs. “I guess they were taking a walk down memory lane.”
Keeping my eyes on the road, I slap her arm. “Seriously sis? They’re parents. I don’t even want to think about that.” I pull into the parking spot next to Trayton’s truck, as Kently starts to laugh. I shake my head as I get out of the car.
“There you are,” Trayton says jumping off his tailgate. “What’s so funny Kently?”
“Your face,” she smirks, and before Trayton can come up with a retort, she walks off.
Trayton looks down at me. “So, what’s funny? And if you say my face, I will take back everything nice I’ve ever said about you.”
I
smile. “This morning, our parents told me they were taking a trip down memory lane.” He furrows his brows, confused. “And we thought it meant something else…Do I have to draw you a diagram? Because, I’m not going to.”
“Maybe you can show me?” He winks and puts his arm around my shoulder. When I shake my head, he goes on, “I get what you’re getting at. But why is that funny?”
I shrug as we start to walk towards the school. “It’s our parents; it’s just weird to think about, you know?”
“Try having your room right next to theirs,” he mutters.
I laugh. “Sucks to suck.” And before he can say some perverted comment, I speak up, “And don’t you dare take that wrong.”
We have finally reached the doors, and he holds it open for me, while saying, “You know me too well.”
“What can I say? I’ve been dating you for a year and a half, I know how your mind works."
“And I’m sorry you do,” he says, grabbing my hand. He runs his thumb over my fingers, frowning when he reaches my ring finger. “Where’s your ring?”
I look up at him, but quickly look away because I can’t stand the pained look on his face. “I must have forgotten it this morning after I heard my parents outside my room.”
“Jaz, are you sure about us? Or not? Because, I’d like to know if I’m just wasting my time.”
I sigh. “Can we not talk about this right now?” By the look on his face, I can tell that isn’t an option. “I just don’t want my parents to freak out, okay? That’s it.”
He shakes his head. “I should get going,” he mutters, turning around and heading off to his classroom.
“Fantastic,” I mutter. I look up at the clock and realize that I’m already a couple minutes late to my first class. Instead of heading towards my classroom straight away, I think of going to the gym to release some anger, but then I realize I can’t miss first hour or I’ll be ineligible to play tonight. And that wasn’t an option. Still carrying my full backpack and gym bag, I head to my first hour.
As I reach my first hour, I see that the teacher hadn’t showed up yet. I make my way back to my seat next to Lainey. “Hey girl, everything alright? You’re never late.”
“Trayton and I were talking, and I think he’s mad at me,” I say.
Sarah turns back toward us. “I figured it’d be the other way around. Did he finally tell you what happened?”
I roll my eyes and face the front of the room. “Sarah, leave us alone,” Lainey pipes up. “Why do you have to be such a bitch?”
Sarah doesn’t have time to respond because Mr. Shoehammer walks in. “Good morning class,” he mumbles, placing his briefcase on the desk. “Sorry I’m late. Car troubles. Now let’s get started.”
-----------------------
Thankfully the rest of the day went by fast. As I was getting my stuff around to get on the bus, I couldn’t help but think about Trayton. I hadn’t seen him since this morning; he was nowhere to be seen at lunch. And he wasn’t in our seventh hour, our only class together. I sit near the front of the bus where no one ever wanted to sit; I wanted an opportunity to call Trayton without Sarah stepping in. I’m getting my phone out when Kently sits down next to me. “Hey sis, why are you up so far?”
“Trayton, I wanted to call him. I haven’t seen him since this morning.”
She nods. “Alright, I’ll leave you be,” she says, patting me on the knee and stands up. She walks to the back and sits next to Lainey. I had a feeling they were talking about what was going on.
As I’m about to get my phone out to call Trayton, Coach Mac gets on the bus. “Ladies!” she yells, getting our attention. “To win tonight, we need to focus. We need to play as a team. Don’t be looking around the gym for your family and friends. All that exists tonight is you, that court and the Indians.” She sits down two rows in front of me. I was going to have to be quiet about my call to Trayton.
The bus starts up as well as the chatter. I take out my phone and dial Trayton’s number. He doesn’t pick up so I have to leave a voicemail. “Hey babe,” I say. “I’m worried about you. I’m sorry okay? I want to be with you, I do. But you have to understand, my parents will flip out if I told them about the promise ring. I hope I’ll see you at the game; I love you.” I hang up and stare at my screen, the first picture of Trayton and myself together. Back then I would never have thought we would be where we were. No idea.
----------------------
We were standing in the hallway by the bleachers, waiting for the game before ours to finish. This game was going longer than everyone thought; it was the teams ranked seventh and third. Obviously they weren’t ranked accurately. We were ranked second, the best we had been ranked in a long time. The third rank team scores the final point of the match, winning the set.
As the teams run off the floor, our team starts running in place. We were ready for this. When the announcer announces our school, we run out onto the court. I know that Coach had told us to focus on the court, but I couldn’t help looking around. My parents were there together with Destin; Trayton was nowhere to be seen. He should have been out of practice already.
Once in our huddle, I see Trayton enter through the doors. He’s holding a hot dog, and when we make eye contact, he holds up something shiny. My ring. He smiles as Destin holding a bag of popcorn pushes his way next to Trayton. What was he doing?
Coach sets us up to where I’ll be serving first. We all get in our spots on the court. Since we are ranked higher, the other team gets to serve first. The first serve is right to me; I drop into position and hit the ball, sending it over the net. The ball hits the floor. It was my turn to serve. Taking a deep breath, I line the ball up, throw it and hit it hard. The other team doesn’t even touch it, giving us another point. It went on like that for five more serves, putting us up seven to one.
Because I’m mainly a setter, Coach Mac takes me out and puts in Sarah. I’m sitting on the bench until Sarah rotates to the front. Trayton and my parents are sitting right across from us, and he and I make eye contact. I can see that he is playing with the ring. He winks at me and looks back at the court. I was going to hurt him.
Finally it was time for me to go in. The serve is a weak one, and it goes straight to Kently. She sets the ball up, and I decide to spike it. It was the perfect set; I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I jump up as high as I can, bring my arm up and back, and finally hit it with so much force it goes straight over and down. Coming down, I must have done something on the jump because when I land, my right knee gives out. The line judge blows his whistle, signaling a timeout on the court.
Coach Mac runs out onto the court where I’m already surrounded by Kently and Lainey. “Wilson, are you alright?” Coach Mac asks as she kneels down beside me.
I move my leg to see if it caused any pain, and it did just a little. “I’ll be fine,” I say, hoping a pain expression stays off of my face. This could be my last game, and I didn’t want to sit it out.
“Well if it gives you any trouble, motion for a timeout. We don’t want you hurting your chances of recruitment. And we need you on that court,” she says. Once I nod, the team leaves the court and the game is back in motion.
As we’re rotating, I look up at my family and Trayton. I knew I shouldn’t have been thinking about what Trayton was doing with that ring and how he got it, but I couldn’t help it. And I knew I was in trouble for paying more attention to the sidelines than the game because the ball was coming right for my face. Backing up so I could hit, I trip over my own feet. A pain shoots through my right knee, and I fall to the ground. The last thing I remember before passing out is seeing my mom, Trayton, Coach and Kently running out to the court.

Woah! In the first section I really did laugh (yeah, awkward family moment), but then things spiraled downwards. I can't wait to find out what happens next! I though Trayton but ask her parents permission during the match or something. Maybe he still will, I dunno. Although bad timing from the accident =S 

Can't wait for the next part!!