Catch Me If I Fall

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I hear his heart beat faster, “Me too.”

  We spend most of the night talking. I remember it being four in the morning when I last looked at the clock.

  “Alec Matthew!”

  We both jump awake.

  “Crap,” he says.

  “Downstairs. Now.”

  His mom looks at me and she seems furious.

  “Both of you!”

  She stands by the door and waits for us to move. Alec looks as horrified as she does. We all do. I can’t even meet her eyes.

  I am out of the room first. “Put a shirt on,” she tells Alec in a hard tone, before following me. “And get your father up on the way.”

  “No need. I’m up. What's going on?”

  I look back to see that she is looking from her husband to Alec.

  “Downstairs.” She pauses. “We will be right down.”

  Alec and I sit on opposite ends of the couch and don’t say anything. As soon as his parents enter the room, Alec speaks.

  “Nothing happened, Mom.”

  “Do you know how serious this is? Her parents trusted us to take care of her. What am I going to tell them now?”

  “Please don’t tell them,” I beg. “Nothing happened. I swear,” I cry and Alec moves over next to me.

  “Alec!” his mom warns.

  “Mom. Come on. She is upset. We are telling the truth. Nothing happened.”

  His dad looks at him, “Were you really broken up?”

  His mom looks surprised by the possibility.

  We both look away.

  “Jesus,” says his mom.

  She looks at her husband. “I don’t know what to say or do!”

  Her husband whispers something to her then looks at Alec. “Go get Skylar a glass of water, son.”

  Alec leaves and his dad then looks at me. “We’ll be right back, Skylar.”

  ALEC

  I can’t believe this is happening. I grab a glass of water and turn around to find mom and dad standing there.

  “What were you thinking, Alec?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Please tell me you at least know how bad this looks.”

  “I do and I’m sorry,” I look away. “Please don’t tell her parents. This whole long distance thing has been hell on both of us. We thought that maybe keeping it a secret would take the edge off. Mom,” I look at her and beg, “please. If you tell them this will more than likely be the end of us.”

  She shakes her head. “Go to the living room, Alec. We’ll be there soon.”

  I go and sit next to Skylar, put my hand over hers, and we wait.

  It’s at least ten minutes before they come back.

  Mom looks at us and Skylar pulls her hand away.

  “I hate that both of you are putting us in this position.” She looks disappointed, which is far worse than her being mad. “We decided we won’t tell your parents about this, under two conditions.”

  Skylar nods.

  “First, you WILL tell your parents that you two are back together.”

  “Okay,” says Skylar. “Thank you.”

  “And if either of you even think about taking your relationship to the next level…”

  “MOM!” I say. I look over at Skylar and she is bright red from embarrassment.

  “Let your mother finish,” says dad.

  “If things get to that point, I want you to talk to your mom about it, Skylar. And YOU,” she says to me. “You better make sure nothing happens until she does. Understood?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Skylar?”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  SKYLAR

  His parents end up sending Alec over to Kyle’s house, and I stay at his house, uncomfortable as hell, and wait for my parents to come back.

  I text Alec, ‘I can’t believe I just had that talk with your parents…’

  ‘Sorry,’ he replies back. ‘Let me know if they get to be too much. I will rescue you.’

  I laugh out loud and his mom gives me a sideways look.

  ‘I’m okay.’

  Mom and dad get home sometime after lunch and come right over.

  Alec’s mom invites them in and I’m terrified. I keep wondering if she changed her mind about telling them.

  My dad thanks her for keeping an eye on me, and I can tell she feels bad about lying to them, so before she changes her mind, I cut in.

  “Mom, dad. Alec came home yesterday," I hesitate, "and we got back together.”

  Neither of them seems surprised which is more than a little puzzling.

  “We figured it was only a matter of time,” mom says.

  They leave it at that. It’s almost as if they are too tired to keep fighting with us on this. Which could be good… or bad.

  I get a text from Alec that night after he gets back to school. ‘I miss sleeping with you next to me.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Thanksgiving week doesn’t come soon enough. On Tuesday after school, Sebastian drives me home and we find Kyle sitting on my front steps.

  I end up inviting Sebastian in too.

  “Hey, Kyle,” I asked surprised that he is here.

  “I bet you forgot I was coming, huh?” He doesn’t even give me time to answer. “Well, get your guitar and meet me in your backyard.”

  I bite my bottom lip. “Actually,” I pause. “Can we do this inside instead? I’m still freaked out about hanging out back there.”

  “Come on, Sky,” he begs.

  I glare at him and he laughs. He knows that only Alec calls me Sky.

  “You have two guys here to protect you.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “One of which screams like a little girl when watching scary movies. You can’t blame a girl for doubting his protective skills.”

  “Ouch,” he says and pretends he is actually hurt.

  “Come on,” I say and he follows me in.

  “I didn’t know you played,” says Sebastian.

  “Oh, then you are in for a big surprise, kid.” Kyle tells him and I blush.

  I go upstairs and Kyle yells from downstairs, “And don’t forget to bring the songs you wrote!”

  Ugh.

  I check my phone for messages from Alec. All I have is a, ‘Love you. Off to work.’ I text him back saying that I love him too and that Kyle is over. I go downstairs and hand Kyle the notepad where I scribbled some song lyrics.

  He looks them over and I feel nervous. I’ve never showed these to anyone.

  “Dang girl. These are really good,” he says after a while. “Do you want to sing some of them at the bonfire this weekend? We can start practicing now.”

  “Ha. No way. I’m not ready for that.” I take the notepad from him and grab my guitar.

  “What do you want to play?” I ask.

  “Here,” he reaches for the guitar. “I will play, we both sing.”

  We play one of my new favorite songs, called Wake Me Up, and Sebastian’s eyes widen. When we finish, he just stares at us.

  “What?” I ask. “I know we suck right now. We’ve been out of practice.”

  “Speak for yourself!” Kyle teases.

  “Seriously? You guys are amazing.”

  Kyle grins. I know this will go straight to his head.

  We play a few more songs and then I go to the kitchen to grab some snacks.

  We just sit around watching TV while we eat, and I zone out while looking at my phone.

  “What is on your mind, Sky?” Kyle asks playfully and I throw a pillow at him.

  I sigh. “Nothing.”

  He laughs. “I know better than to believe that one. Come on. Spill it.”

  I take a deep breath and ask the question that has been on my mind for a while now. “Do you think that if a guy says he will wait until the girl is ready for - you know - that he really means it?”

  “No way,” says Sebastian. “He is probably getting—”

  “Shut up, kid,” warns Kyle. Then he looks at me.

  “Yes,
it is possible. If the guy really cares for the girl, he will wait. In fact, I know a guy who would do that,” he winks.

  “Oh,” says Sebastian. “I didn’t know you and Alec weren’t… well… just, don’t listen to me. I know nothing.”

  Kyle shakes his head.

  “Is it because of the age thing, though?” asks Sebastian and Kyle looks at him in disbelief. “You should’ve just got it over with before he turned eighteen.”

  “DUDE!” says Kyle. “Shut up already.”

  “Sorry,” says Sebastian.

  Kyle looks at him. “Alec wouldn’t have rushed things back then either. He cares about her too much. He wants the timing to be right and he wants it to be perfect.”

  I blush. “He talks to you about that stuff?”

  Kyle doesn’t exactly answer my question. “Relax. It’s not like we sat down to braid each other’s hair and talk about it. I just know Alec,” he winks. “Trust me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  On Wednesday evening, we have a full house. Alec and his sister, Amanda, are home for the holidays and they come over after dinner. Uncle J is home too, and they decide to go out to the baseball field to play. Alec calls James, Kyle, and some of the other guys who are in town. Amanda and I go to watch them play. I try to call Sebastian but he doesn’t answer.

  When we get to the field, the guys claim to need two extra people. I know it is just their way of getting Amanda and I to play.

  Amanda laughs. “It doesn’t matter how many games I watched my little brother play, I still have no clue how to. I’m not coordinated enough for this!”

  Uncle J says, “Come on. I will teach you.” And all the guys tease them. I swear it’s like their brains stayed at a middle school maturity level.

  We end up playing for a while and when we stop to take a break, I notice it’s getting close to my curfew. I tell them I have to go back. It’s so embarrassing. I’m the only one here with a curfew.

  “Nonsense,” says uncle J. “You are hanging out with your uncle. That should be an exception.”

  I laugh. “Yeah. You can tell that to mom and dad.”

  He calls mom and dad and then hangs up. “Told you,” he says.

  Alec comes from behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.

  “That doesn’t mean you have a free pass for any funny business,” warns uncle J and I turn bright red.

  He laughs. “Relax. Go do whatever it is you kids do. Just stay at the park. Don’t you get me in trouble with your parents!”

  One of the guys laughs and jokes, “Aren’t you a little old to get in trouble with anyone’s parents?”

  Uncle J turns to the guy, “And aren’t you a little too young to be out past your bedtime?”

  All the guys start laughing.

  I walk over to Uncle J and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Uncle J.”

  “Yeah… yeah…”

  Alec and I walk over to his truck. He grabs a blanket from the back seat and puts it on the bed of the truck, where we lay down and watch the stars.

  “How is school?” I ask.

  “Good. It only took me a few months in college, but I finally picked a major. Sports Medicine.”

  I smile, “Like Uncle J.”

  He nods.

  “That is great, Alec.”

  His smile widens. “Yeah. I love that stuff and the money isn’t bad. Do you think your parents will hate me a little less?”

  I laugh. “They don’t hate you.”

  “I don’t know, Sky. It seems like it sometimes.”

  “They are just worried. They will get over it.” I try to change the subject. I really don’t want to talk about my parents, or anything sad. “So, you haven’t mentioned the list in a while. Tell me something else that is on it?”

  He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me. “Making out in the back on my truck?” he says it more like a question.

  “Did you just add that in?” I ask.

  “Maybe,” he smiles.

  I lie on my side and start kissing him. Alec puts his hand on the small of my back, under my shirt, and I flinch. “Your hand is freezing!”

  He laughs. “I will take your mind off that.” He kisses me again and the kiss deepens. We kiss until we are out of breath, and then again until Alec gets a text from Kyle. I look over at Alec’s phone, ‘Warning text. We are walking toward the truck. Uncle right behind me.’

  Gotta love Kyle. Alec and I sit up, lean toward the back window and catch our breath until they get back.

  “You guys want to go for ice cream?” asks Uncle J.

  “You know this isn’t Atlanta, right?” says Kyle. “The ice cream place closes in like twenty minutes.”

  “I guess we better hurry then. Skylar, can you ride with Alec? Amanda is going with me.”

  The guys tease him again and he just shakes his head. “How old are you guys again?” he asks before opening the door of his sports car to Amanda.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  We park outside of the ice cream shop and I spot Sebastian’s car. He is parked across the street and he is inside his car.

  “I will be right back,” I tell Alec.

  I go over and knock on the driver side window. He looks up at me and he’s been crying. He rolls the window down, “Come in,” he says.

  I rush to the passenger seat. I’ve never seen him like this before. I look over at the ice cream shop and Alec is standing by the front door, waiting on me. I pull up my phone and text him. ‘Go ahead. I will be there as soon as I can. Something is wrong.’

  I get in and close the door. I just then notice that the backseat is full of boxes.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  He wipes away his tears and takes a deep breath.

  “My parents, if I can even call them that, kicked me out. Boyfriend called the house and cussed them out for moving me here. He said they were destroying our relationship.” He pauses. “They didn’t know we were still together. Notice that I said ‘were’.”

  “I’m so sorry, Sebastian. Can they even do that? Kick you out? You are not even eighteen yet!”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he says. “I don’t want to be in that house anymore anyway. I can’t even look at them.”

  “Do you have any other family nearby?”

  He shakes his head. “They pretty much distanced us from everyone before we moved here. They were that embarrassed at the possibility of someone finding out.”

  I sigh. “Come on,” I say. “You’re coming to my house.”

  I text Alec, ‘I have to go home. I will text you about it later.’

  ‘Is everything okay?’ he texts back. ‘ Is there anything I can do?’

  ‘It’ll be okay. Love you.’

  ‘Love you too. Text me if you need anything.’

  We drive straight home. Sebastian hesitates getting out of the car.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Did you tell your parents about me?”

  I roll my eyes at him. “My parents love you. Nothing would change that.”

  “I don’t know, Skylar,” he says.

  “Come on. Trust me.”

  We go in and mom and dad are sitting down, watching TV. They look toward us and know something is wrong just by taking one look at Sebastian.

  “What happened?” asks dad.

  “Honey, sit down,” says mom.

  Sebastian starts crying again. He looks over at me and I know he wants me to speak on his behalf.

  I take a deep breath. “His parents kicked him out.”

  “I’m sorry. What?” asks dad.

  “They kicked him out.”

  “Why?” mom asks and I look at Sebastian. He nods and I go on. “Sebastian had a boyfriend. That is why they moved here. They just found out that they were still together and that being gay is not about going through a phase, like they believed.”

  Dad stands up and he is mad. “That is insane. You are their son.” He looks at Sebastian.

  “I�
�I guess they would rather that not be the case.”

  Dad shakes his head. “I’m calling CPS on them.”

  “Please don’t,” says Sebastian. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. And--” he looks away, “I would rather not go back home.”

  Dad sighs. “I’m calling your parents to say you are staying here.”

  Sebastian doesn’t say anything. Dad goes to the kitchen and I tell Sebastian, “I told you that you could trust me.”

  “Honey, Do you want anything? Water? Something to eat?”

  Sebastian looks up at mom. There is nothing but love and concern in her eyes, and tears fall from his.

  We hear dad yell from the kitchen, “What the hell kind of people are you? Good then!”… “Great! That is what we will do. You know what, he is a great kid. He shouldn’t have to live in that type of environment!” I hear dad’s phone hit something. I’ve never seen or heard him so furious.

  “I’m going to go check on him,” says mom.

  “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” says Sebastian.

  “You’re fine, sweetie,” says mom as she walks toward the kitchen. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be right back.”

  Mom and dad come back a few minutes later.

  “You’re staying with us,” says dad.

  “I don’t want to be any trouble,” says Sebastian.

  “You’re no trouble at all, son. Do you have clothes and other stuff in the car?”

  He nods.

  Uncle J opens the door and Alec walks in right behind him.

  “Is everything okay?” says uncle J.

  “Yeah,” says dad. “Do you mind going into the kitchen for a few minutes? Take Alec with you, please.”

  Alec looks at me as they walk by and he looks concerned. I try to smile at him, but I can’t even do that.

  Dad sits across from Sebastian. “Do you think they will change their minds?” dad asks.

  Sebastian shakes his head. “I doubt it.”

  “They said you are okay to stay here,” says dad.

  Sebastian shakes his head. “I’m guessing not in those exact words.”

  “It doesn’t matter, son. They are your parents. They should love and protect you. That is what parents should do.” Sebastian looks away. “Chin up, kid. You are a great person. If they don’t understand how to be good parents, we will show them. You are staying here. We have the guest room where J is staying. It’s your room now.”