by Chloe Smith
Soon enough lab came around, and Tristan was determined to get the truth out of Kate. Mr. Ortega had assigned them to some sort of written work, but Tristan's focus was on Kate as he tried to get her attention.
"Hey, Charlie, get Kate."
"Kate who?" Charlie asked stupidly.
"The girl behind you."
"Oh, shit, I thought her name was Kylie," Charlie whispered as he turned around to tap Kate's desk and indicate that Tristan wanted her.
"What?" she snapped at him in a hushed voice.
"What the hell is wrong with you and your friends?" Tristan blurted out without thinking.
"Nothing is wrong with us. It's you who needs to check his attitude," she retorted.
"Whatever. I don't care about that right now. What's wrong with Scarlett? Why is she at home?"
"Mind your own damn business," Kate snapped back and looked down at her worksheet.
"Oh, no, you don't. I need answers and I need them right now, so speak."
"Don't tell me what to do." Kate narrowed her eyes.
"Then fucking answer me." Tristan was getting aggravated with all of this.
"Listen, I kind of hate you right now, but if you must know, Scarlett's at home packing."
"Packing for what?"
"For Ohio."
That was odd. Why was Scarlett randomly going to Ohio? Maybe she had some sort of family up there she was going to visit. But why hadn't she told Tristan?
"Does she know anything that Alice might have spread around?" Tristan asked quietly, not trying to let too much information out.
"Alice hasn't been spreading anything around," Kate replied.
"Okay, thanks."
"Whatever, asshole."
Okay, those girls earnestly needed a reality check. But Tristan didn't care. Scarlett didn't know about Alice. Everything was going to be okay in the end. He just knew it.
Tristan was on his way out of the school building after the final bell had rung when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders. "Oh no, you don't. You are so not bailing on us again today. We have football practice," Kyle said, steering Tristan to the boys' locker rooms.
Shit.
"Okay, well, practice might be short today," Tristan told the football team while they were changing in the locker room. "Coach said, 'Take it easy for Saturday's game.'"
"When did you talk to coach?" Kyle asked.
"Yesterday," Tristan lied.
While the team was walking on to the field to start stretches, Kyle came up to Tristan and lowly said, "What the hell has gotten into you? I know you didn't talk to coach yesterday because his phone is turned off for the entire week. And ever since you were assigned to be partners with that Scarlett, you've been acting all weird. The team needs you, and no girl is going to interfere with that."
It was one of the longest speeches Tristan had ever heard Kyle make; he was thoroughly impressed. Tristan took a deep breath, "Look; I know I've been acting strange, but something about Scar makes...she makes everything seem all right."
"You do know that made no sense," Kyle replied.
"I don't know; I just can't stand not being around her," Tristan admitted.
"She really means that much to you, huh?" Kyle asked.
Tristan simply nodded.
"Well, then, we're going to have to try and change that. This team would not function properly without its team captain and MVP all year around. You're the glue that keeps us together, and if you're gone, the team goes up in smoke."
"What happened to you, and where's the Kyle I know?" Tristan asked yet again impressed with Kyle's speech.
"I'm just saying you have to get your mind off the girl for just one hour while we practice. And this relationship better not affect our game tomorrow. Have you not realized that tomorrow's game is the semi-finals, and if we lose, we have absolutely no chance in making it to the championship game for the fourth year in the running?"
Okay, three long speeches in one day—something was up. "I'll be fine. I just have to get through with this practice and check on Scar and then I'll be ready for the game tomorrow, I swear."
"You better be," Kyle muttered, running off to join the rest of the team.
It was five o'clock, and Scarlett had missed school for the first time in her life. Scarlett was in her plain, old room, stuffing clothes and knick knacks into a duffle bag. While she was packing, she was crying. She had been crying all day. Not only because of what she had seen at Tristan's house last night, but also because of what she had learned from her mother when she had gotten home. After she had closed the front door behind her after gloomily sulking back home, her mother had told her something that would change her life forever.
~*~*~*~ FLASHBACK ~*~*~*~
LAST NIGHT
Scarlett hugged her knees to her chest, crying into her arms. She was leaning against the front door on the floor, simply unable to believe what she had seen. Tristan was cheating on her with Alice. She had shared her first kiss with Tristan and had believed he actually cared for her—boy; was she mistaken? Two heart breaks in less than one week—so typical. It seemed that her luck hadn't changed at all. Why had she even trusted Tristan after she had been angry with him for the fake texts?
"Scar, get up off the floor. I have news to tell you," Rosa, Scarlett's mother, called from the kitchen.
Scarlett quickly wiped away her tears and entered the kitchen silently. She didn't like her mother to see her vulnerable. She really didn't like her mother to see her at all, seeing as every time she did encounter her mother, Rosa would only lecture her about grades. Or whatever else was bothering that drunken mind of hers.
"Guess what, darling." Scarlett inwardly flinched; her mother had never called her anything sweet or compassionate like that before. "You know my buddy, Tim?" More like drinking buddy.
Scarlett nodded her head, refusing to speak. She knew her voice would betray her if she tried to talk, so instead she just decided to listen.
"Well, he proposed to me."
"Congratulations," Scarlett choked out. Her mother didn't notice that she had been crying. Instead, Rosa continued with her news.
"The wedding will be in a few months. I know it's all happening so fast, but we've known each other for a long time."
"That's great, mom," Scarlett said in a perfunctory tone.
"But he is being transferred to Ohio."
"So, you're going to have the wedding before he leaves?" Scarlett asked, her depressed mind not fully understanding the situation yet.
"No, silly. He has offered for the both of us to move into his apartment he is renting up there until things become more permanent."
Scarlett wanted to barf. She couldn't move. She had friends here; she had a life here. All of her memories were here. Her father's grave was here. Her beloved stepmother's grave was here. Her half-brother was here. She couldn't just move away from all of that.
"Isn't this great?" Rosa asked with an excited voice that Scarlett had never heard her use before.
Scarlett's lower lip trembled. She knew that, if she opened her mouth, she would burst into tears, so she merely nodded. At least her mother was getting the happily ever after Scarlett had yet to find.
"So, run along and start packing," Rosa said. "We leave in a week, but we have to be out of the house by tomorrow."
Scarlett's jaw literally dropped. "T-Tomorrow?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Yes, honey, we're staying at a hotel until we catch our flight to Columbus, Ohio next week. So go ahead and get to packing; we have a long day ahead of us."
~*~*~*~ END FLASHBACK ~*~*~*~
Scarlett had been packing the entire day. She had already gotten most of her things pack and loaded downstairs, ready to go. Now she was just sitting on her bed. Could this really be happening? How could they move in literally one week? How were they going to sell the house? Didn't they need to get her information from school to transfer to the new school she was undoubtedly going to have to go to? Fucking perfect. Ju
st when she had finally started to become popular, she had to move and start all over at another school.
But leaving her school and new found friends wasn't the only thing that had really hurt Scarlett. She was leaving Charles, her half-brother. She had gone to visit him once a week, every week, for years. And now she was moving miles away. She had gone to visit him this morning and had seen Francis there. It was awkward, but she had gotten over her fears about what he thought of her or how he felt about her and had asked him with tears in her eyes to take special care of Charles for her while she was gone. He had agreed when he saw that she was on the verge of bursting into tears.
Scarlett suddenly heard the sound of a car pull into their driveway. Ginny, Meghan, and Kate were supposed to come by around six to say goodbye, but it was only five. Why would they come by so early? She was a mess right now. She was supposed to have another hour to compose herself and get ready for people to come by to say their goodbyes. She hurriedly wiped her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.
Scarlett peered out her window cautiously. A silver convertible was parked in their driveway, and Scarlett's breath hitched. Why was Tristan over here? Wasn't he still supposed to be at football practice? It wasn't over yet.
Glued to the spot, she watched as Tristan walked up her driveway and knocked on the door. Her heart wrenched from just seeing him. She longed to run down the stairs and fling herself into his strong, sheltering arms and cry the rest of the night, but she stayed where she was. The vivid memory of last night, only minutes before she found out the horrid news, flooded her mind. The way Alice had practically eaten his face off was disturbing, but it bothered her more that Tristan hadn't tried to push her away.
Finally, after a couple minutes of hearing the continuous banging on her front door, Scarlett forced her feet to walk down the stairs, and she forced her arms to move to unlock the door. When she did open the door, she kept her eyes glued to the black shoes planted on the Welcome mat. She didn't want him to see her like this. She looked like shit with her hair a tangled mess and her eyes as red as rubies.
"Scarlett, what's wrong?" His voice filled her ears, and she wanted to drown in it. It sounded so sincere and caring, but she knew it was only a façade. He couldn't really mean it because he had kissed Alice back.
She remained silent.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes, something happened, you asshole; you kissed her. You kissed Alice Barrington. Last night, in your living room, at nine o'clock. Ring any bells?" Scarlett venomously replied, sarcasm dripping in her scathing tone.
She heard Tristan's intake of breath and finally looked up to meet his eyes. "How did you know?" he whispered.
"So, it's true; you're dating Alice? You cheated on me? In less than one day. Everything you promised me is just gone. I knew I should have never trusted you. Why didn't I just keep on hating you like I always had? Why did I have to fall for your little tricks and mind games?"
"Of course I'm not dating her! Alice stormed in my house and she kissed me. Scarlett, you have to believe me; I did not want to kiss her and I never want to ever again, I swear."
"Why was Alice at your house?" Scarlett asked, still reluctant to believe him. "That doesn't seem to make any sense. No one just walks on in at nine o'clock."
"I haven't got the faintest idea. Wait a second...how did you know this?"
"Follow me." Scarlett walked back up the stairs, not caring if Tristan did as she had told him or not. But she could hear his feet behind her, walking up the stairs to her room.
She pushed open her door and heard Tristan's gasp as he saw the state of her room. It was completely and utterly bare. The bed was stripped of any covers or sheets. Her chest of drawers was opened and empty. Her closet only had hangers dangling across the empty bar with no clothes hanging on them. Her curtains were gone. Her desk was cleared of all paper and pens and books.
"What happened in here?" he asked.
"Never mind that. This is what I found in my locker yesterday before lab." Scarlett thrust the crumpled up piece of paper into Tristan's hands and instantly went back to moping and pouting on her bed. She was determined not to look at him. She was determined not to believe him. She was determined not to trust him. Ever again.
"I didn't write this, Scarlett," he said after a minute.
"Then who did?" Scarlett didn't look up to face him.
"I don't know, but not me—" And then the obvious hit him.
Alice just happened to randomly be walking around in the hallways during lunch visiting 'Riley's' locker. The confusion between Scarlett and him during lab. Alice's whole act last night. She had set up the entire thing. Alice knew that Scarlett had been there last night. That was why she had glanced out the window before she had pretty much chewed off his face.
"Alice did. She was at your locker during lunch yesterday and she must have given this to you so you would be there when she was there. Scarlett, you have to believe me. I would rather kiss a bee than kiss her again."
After a while Scarlett sighed, "I suppose you're right. That does seem like the sort of thing Alice would do. I'm sorry for treating you like that," Scarlett said. How could she change her mind so fast? Maybe it was the look in his eyes. How sincere he looked. How pitiful he looked. How gorgeous he looked. How wonderfully safe and secure she felt when she looked into his caramel eyes. But she knew that this had to end. Long distance relationships rarely worked out. Why would it be any different for them?
"So what is going on in here?" Tristan asked, looking around the completely empty and bare room.
"Packing."
"For Ohio?"
"Yeah. How did you know?" Scarlett asked distractedly.
"Kate told me. Why are you going to Ohio?"
Scarlett gulped, "My mom's engaged."
"Well, that's good, isn't it? Why do you sound so depressed?"
"The guy is being transferred to Ohio. And we're moving in with him."
"What?" Tristan grabbed Scarlett's wrist and pulled her up from the bed so that she was eye level with him. "You can't. You can't leave me."
"I don't have a choice," Scarlett said; her eyes back on his shoes, filling with more tears.
"Yes, you do. You can move in with me. I'm sure you'd love my family."
"Tristan, I would love that, but I don't think my mother could survive on her own. She's very dependent on alcohol and drugs. She needs me more than I need her."
"But, Scarlett, please—"
"I'm sorry, Tristan." Scarlett put the palm of her hand to Tristan's cheek, and Tristan closed his eyes, relaxing at her touch. "I'll miss you. Thank you for giving me the best few days of my life. I will cherish them forever."
"When do you leave?"
"In a week," Scarlett answered quietly.
Tristan's face fell. He didn't have a lot of time then.
"This doesn't mean that we have to break up," Tristan whispered, his eyes snapping open.
"Do you really want a long distance relationship?" Scarlett asked, tired all of a sudden.
"Of course. Scarlett, I want to be with you. I want you to be mine."
Scarlett loved hearing those words on his lips and smiled for the first time in a long time. "Then we will make it work out."
Tristan smiled in response to her and then frowned again. "Will I ever see you again?" he whispered.
"I don't know."
Tristan's face hardened a bit, and then without any warning, his lips crashed down on Scarlett's with as much intensity as he could conjure up. Scarlett, who was shocked at first, relaxed and closed her eyes. Tristan's hands tangled themselves in her hair, and he pressed his lips more firmly to hers. They bodies crashed together, and Scarlett felt cool wetness against her cheeks, but she soon realized that they weren't her tears. She opened her eyes and saw that Tristan was crying. Her heart tore again, and she pressed her body even closer to his. As she felt his cool tears on her face, she realized that this was probably going to b
e one of the last kisses they would share for a long time.
When they finally pulled apart, Scarlett's eyes looked deep into Tristan's slowly turning red eyes. She felt a sharp pang in her chest as she took a deep breath, trying to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.
Both of them eventually ended up on the side of Scarlett's bed. They talked for a long time; longer than Scarlett could ever remember talking to anyone else in her life, even her three best friends. They avoided the subject of Ohio and any other geographical northern state in America. They mainly talked about school and plans of calling each other every night after school. They tried to convince themselves that long distant relationships always worked out and that there would be a happily ever after for them.