SZNS SERIES 1: Summer

by Maria Writes

She reached for her face and wiped the eyeliner that smeared on her face. Chloe took the handkerchief in the pocket of her skirt and passed it to Caroline. Her friend took it then sat on the sink.

  "There's something I need to tell you. But promise me, you can't tell anyone. Not my mom, my dad, Jesse, I'm sorry I have to mention his name, but yeah don't tell him. And not even Nate, okay? Promise me." Caroline's eyes are pleading her and how could she say no?

  She took a deep breath and prepared herself from what her friend is about to tell her. "Sure. I'll not tell them, you can trust me, okay. I'm your best friend, no, I'm your sister. Maybe not by blood but we're sisters by heart so close enough."

  Caroline sits up straight and looked at her straight in the eye. "Okay, remember when you and my brother left during my parents' anniversary party? So, something happened between me and Nate. You know, the thing." Chloe thinks that she already has an idea where this talk is leading them. "Well, something weirder happened after that. I got knocked up, Chloe. And I don't know how am I going to tell my parents that I'm gonna be a mom before I even graduated college. I know they all want me and Nate to end up for each other, but this is not what I want. It's too early for this, Chloe. Maybe in three or four years it's fine but not now. But I know I cannot just blame Nate for this because we both did it. I don't know what to do, Chloe."

  Chloe, first the first time, is lost for words. She doesn't know what to say. She is not in the right position to judge or say something about her friend’s situation. What she could do is support her with whatever is best for her, but the decision is all on her.

  "Caroline, I don't know what to say. I don't think it's a good idea, but maybe you should talk to Nate about this? Only the two of you could solve this. But whatever problem you face always remember, that this kid that you have, it may not look like a blessing to others, but he or she will light up your life. I can do this, just like every situation you've faced before, you'll conquer this one too. And you'll be great with it. So, if you're ready, you talk to Nate about this. Only the two of you could solve this whatever you are going through."

  She hugged her friend tightly. Maybe if they are in a normal circumstance, both of them will surely enjoy this. But they've been through so much shit for the past couple of weeks. And those totally messed up their celebration for this wonderful new.

  "You're gonna get through this, okay? Trust me. I won't tell a soul about it. Unless you tell me it's okay to tell. I'm always here for you. I'll be right here by your side."

  Both of them calmed their selves and head out of the restroom and go back to the drama hall where everybody is waiting for them. So much for a ten-minute break. Everybody positioned their selves and started the play from the top. This time, it's perfection.

  Chloe is happy that finally, they finished their play. It took them three months to do everything. Luckily for her, the team that they have this year really had their heart to what they are doing. She's sure that all of them are going to have they future they want for themselves.

  But what about Caroline? She's wondering if she'll do a last-minute drop out because of her baby. She knows that by now her child's safety and condition should always come first. Will Caroline leave the school if she's finally revealing her bump? It is not her problem but she promised to help her friend in any way she can.

  If she could only have a day off for being everybody's superhero. But whether she likes it or not, she cannot stop herself from helping other, especially her friends. It's like she's program to help other people that sometimes she's getting tired of it, but she cannot stop.

  She took a deep breath and stood up to pack up her things. It's been a really exhausting day. Not just physically but mentally. She's burned out. All she wanted now after a very tiring day is a warm bath, tons of foods, and sleep.

  Yes, that's what I should do.

  They all went out of the hall and head home. The rest went out of the campus to support Britney on the club where she's working. She and Caroline walked side by side to the boarding house and was surprise to see Nate outside the house. Surely waiting for Caroline. He walked towards them while waving his hand.

  "Hey, girls. Hi, Caroline. I was waiting for you. Wanna have dinner outside?" Nate asked as he drape his arm over Caroline's shoulder.

  To their surprise, her friend shook her head and remove Nate's arm from her shoulder. "No, I'm good. You should leave. I need to rest." with that she entered the house without looking back.

  Chloe looked at Nate whose shoulder fell and has a gloomy look in his face. She walked near him and pat his shoulder. She doesn't know why Caroline acted the way she did. Maybe she's not yet ready to tell Nate the news. If she's in her friend's situation, she'll be delighted by the news whatever the circumstances she's in. Chloe wanted to have children of her own but she knows that is very impossible because of the syndrome she has.

  "Try again tomorrow, Nate. She's just tired. We've been rehearsing for our play the whole day. We don't have classes tomorrow, maybe you should ask her if she likes to go out. You wanna go inside? I'll cook dinner, you could eat here."

  "Nah, I'm good. Thanks though. I'll be back tomorrow. Please tell Caroline to take care." Nate smiled at her before walking out. He's really sweet. Now she doesn't get why Caroline is distancing herself to him. She thinks Nate is the right man for her. But maybe that is not what Caroline think. Maybe she's still carrying a torch for Britany.

  Though she never mentioned anything about her, she's sure that her friend still has something for her former lover. But she should know better than to judge her friend. Ever since she and Jesse started dating, she's lost track of what's happening to Caroline's life. They never had talks like they used to do before.

  She went inside the house and started cooking dinner. Since it's just her and Caroline in the house so she didn't cook much. After frying the chicken, she placed two servings on a tray together with a glass of soda and a glass of water. Slowly carrying the full tray on her hands, she walked towards Caroline's room and knocked on the door using her feet.

  After a few knocks, Caroline opened the door but not enough for her to enter. She's wearing her old PJs and had her hair on a messy bun. "Dinner?" she said. Caroline widens her open of the door and let her in. She placed the tray on the wheeled table and pull it toward the bed. Both of them sat on Caroline's bed and eat their dinner silently.

  "Why don't I have soda?" Caroline asked. She attempted to grab her glass but she patted her hand.

  "You're not allowed to drink soda, Caroline. It's not just you anymore. And since you're breathing for two, there are things you not allowed to do for a while. Just like wearing heels. And ignoring your baby daddy." She looked at Caroline who is also looking at her. By the look that her friend is giving her, she knows that she wanted to talk to Nate.

  Caroline grabs the glass of water and finished it straight. "I wanted to talk to him, but I'm not sure what to say. Help me, Chloe."

  "Well, maybe you should start by dialing his number then you'll know what to do as you go on." Chloe saw that Caroline is having doubts but she grabbed her phone anyway. But she was surprised that she passed it to her.

  "You do it. Dial his number but I'll talk to him." Caroline said as her eat what's left of her food. She looked for Nate's number which she had a hard time finding because it's under the name 'dumbass'. Chloe dialed it and waited for him to answer.

  "Hello, Caroline? How are you?" Nate asked. Chloe pressed speaker phone when she heard a voice from the other line.

  She passed the phone to Caroline and she let her friend talk to Nate. "I'm okay. Where are you?" When it comes to situations like this, Caroline is really lame. Maybe love is her weakness. She'll surely win any argument but when she's talking to someone she likes or loves, lameness is everything that comes out of her mouth or if not, she doesn't have anything to say at all.

  "I'm here in my car. Outside your campus, waiting if you'll change your mind." So, he still outside, huh? Yep, she's right.
Nate is the right man for her friend. She hopped off Caroline's bed and looked at her closet for clothes. If Nate is just outside the house, then Caroline must go with him. Even if she has to drag her out of the house.

  Finally, she found the perfect clothes for her. A simple sleeveless baby pink dress that reaches her knees paired with flat shoes. She laid it on the bed and mouthed to Caroline to wear it. She is still on her phone when Chloe left the room their left overs in hand. She went downstairs and washed all the dishes.

  Caroline entered the kitchen wearing the clothes she prepared. "Chloe, I'll go out with---"

  "Go, it's okay. Go out with him. I'll be fine here. But please, if tonight is the right time, and you've found the perfect chance, tell him. He'll surely understand. But if you come home weeping later, I'll bury him myself." She gave Caroline a hug and lead him out of the house. When they opened the door, Nate was already there, leaning on his car, waiting for Caroline. "Enjoy."

  She watched as the two left. When they were nowhere to be seen, she went back inside the house and locked herself in her room. There's still a lot of things she needs to do. Chloe hopes that whatever happen tonight with Caroline and Nate, it must be something positive.

  And after everything is solved, she can have the rest she deserves.

  CHAPTER 21:

  Thanksgiving

  'Please put on your seatbelt on as we are about to land shortly.'

  The voice in the speaker blasted through her ears as she reads her book in the plane. She fastened her seatbelt and kept her book in the bag. This is what she hates when she's travelling.

  The pressure you feel when taking off and when landing. It felt like your soul is being separated from your body.

  She closed her eyes shut and held tightly on both of her armrest. Chloe heard the man sitting beside her chuckled a bit that made her open her eyes and glared at the man beside her. He's wearing a very thick hoodie, a very thick eyeglasses and a face mask, which she's sure is thick as well.

  Chloe just rolled her eyes and went back to her position earlier, before the douche-b beside her chuckled with no particular reason, still with her eyes shut and her hands gripping the armrest tightly. When she felt that the plane is landing, she took and deep breath and hold it, then prayed in her mind to keep her safe.

  If she didn't come out of this plane alive, she will hunt whoever is piloting this plane. The seconds felt like minutes and the minutes felt like hours. It seems like they've been landing for hours. Finally, when the plane already stopped and the door was opened, she let out the breath that she was holding and tried her best to calm herself.

  She took her bag and head out of the plane. As soon as she felt the fresh air hugged her skin, she knows she's alive. Chloe head out of the airport and looked for her parents. They decided to spend Thanksgiving on Paris as her parents enjoyed the last time they were here. So, she has no choice but to go here.

  The Thanksgiving she imagined that she will have is her locked up in her room in the boarding house, eating until she cannot walk properly while watching her favorite movie from the umpteenth time. But no, her mother forced her to go here.

  Maybe it's for the best. While she's here, she'll search for the best place to stay so that after college, she's finally ready to move out of L.A. If not Paris, then maybe Italy, where ever she sees fit. Or where ever she'll have a successful career.

  Her parents are waiting for her outside the airport. She run towards them and gave them a hug. It's been a long while since she saw her parents. How she missed them. Chloe let go of her parents and they all walked towards the car.

  "How was school, Chloe?" her father asked while he's driving. Her mother is sitting at the passenger seat while she is laying at the backseat.

  "School's fine, dad. It was very exhausting but I'll survive. When I got back, the group will do one more rehearsal for a week then we'll rest until the play week starts. I expect you to watch, with mom. I wrote that play." She's really hoping that they will come to watch her play. The last time she wrote a play, her father made lame excuses just to miss it. And she will not let that happen again.

  Her father looked at her in the rearview mirror and continued driving. "Sure, sweetie. I'll see if I have an empty schedule in my calendar" That made her eyebrows raise and made her seat from where she is laying.

  "Or you could just clear your calendar to attend my play? Dad it's just a day, that's all I asked. After that you could have all the time in the world to do whatever you want."

  "Chloe ---"

  "No!" she cut of her mother. "No, mom. He's always like this. Every time I have a play, he always misses it. The only thing he did to support me was this year at the concert. A fund-raising concert, which will not be possible if it wasn't for him who funded everything." Now she's pissed. How dare her father not to make time for her only daughter. She gets that he's busy. But when he said that he'll check his calendar, she should have known better than to believe that.

  "This is the last play that I'll be doing before I graduate. The only thing I ask is for you to be there. For some unknown reason, you're always missing my plays and I don't know why. Why can't you just tell me straight in the face that you're not proud of me?"

  Her father didn't speak. So is her mother. She looked at both of them. Waiting for them to say something. But nothing. She heard nothing. Chloe is getting frustrated by how her parents are acting. She laid back on the backseat and closed her eyes.

  She'll just frustrate herself even more if she kept on talking.

  She knows that her father nor her mother will answer whatever she has to say. So, it's better to just keep her mouth shut. There' nothing good that will happen if she continued talking if her parents won't say anything.

  Her heart is aching every time she imagines that her father not going to her play. Is there something they are not telling her? If there is, then she has to find out.

  The car stopped in front of the hotel. The same hotel where she stayed when she was here on her birthday. Great, nice plan, mom and dad! When her parents stepped out of the car she stepped out as well and followed them inside. The two of them are being all mushy together while she looked like a loner at the back.

  "Chloe we already booked the rooms." her mother said.

  She snorted "Of course, you did." she muttered.

  "What?"

  "Nothing."

  "As I was saying, here's your key. Your room is at the fifth floor, while ours is the seventh. If you need anything, just give me a call." her mother told her while they wait for the elevator.

  "Why can't I just stay with you in your room? Or maybe next to yours?" she asked. Her mother is really weird sometimes. Her mother didn't answer her. They just went in the elevator then pressed the buttons for their respective floors.

  When the elevator doors were about to close, a hand stopped it from closing then in goes a man with a hoodie, thick glasses and a face mask. Isn't this the man on the plane? She's not really sure. Must have been a coincidence.

  The elevator reached the fifth floor. She stepped out of it without saying a word to her parents. Well, what do they expect? That she'll be talking to them after their banter in the car? Hell no.

  She looked for her room and luckily, she found it at the end of the hallway. Chloe quickly went in and dropped all her bags on the corner of the room. There are so many things she needs to do while she's here, but first she got to sleep.

  A loud knock woke her up from her sleep and she forced herself to stand up and open the door. Of course, it's her mom. Who else does she think it would be? She went back to her bed and just let her mother enter her room.

  "Chloe, you need to get up. We are going to have a dinner with the Reeds tonight. You need to get ready."

  The Reeds? Why are they going to have dinner with them? She's hoping that it's only Mr. and Mrs. Reed that will be there at the dinner. But that is she's wrong? What if he's there? She is not yet ready to face him again, let alone have dinner with him. No, sh
e cannot do it.

  "My head hurts, mother. I can't come with you tonight. Just go with dad, I'll stay here."

  Her mother dragged her out of the bed that made her fall on the floor. Whatever her mother does, she will never join them to dinner. It's better for her to stay in her hotel room than to have dinner with her ex and his family.

  "No, mom. I'm not coming with you. I just want to sleep. So, enjoy your dinner, don't forget take-outs for me." she went back to the bed and wrapped herself with the comforter.

  She felt her mother sat on the bed beside her and tried to remove the comforter around her. "Sweetie, if this is about you and Jesse, you don't have to worry. Emily told me that it's only Caroline they brought to Paris. Until now, they don't hear have any word from him since you two broke up." her mother still tried to remove the comforter from her and this time she succeeded.

  Her mother stared at her and fixed her hair. Okay, she'll go to the dinner. Maybe it'll not hurt if she sees him again, right? Chloe thinks it's time for them to straighten things up and if they're lucky maybe they could still work things out.