Living for the Music

The next day, I finally went back to my house. I had been living in old clothes of Seth’s, comfy sweatpants and baggy t-shirts, but I needed actual clothes for school. Seth walked with me, waiting in the hall while I found an old pair of jeans and a warm hooded sweatshirt. I threw on a little cover-up to try to hide the dark circles under my eyes before I headed out to meet Seth.

He was leaning against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets, but he looked up when I stepped out of the room. "I don't have my backpack," I murmured. "I left it at Aaron's. Or in his car. Or..."

I stopped, knowing he understood. He looked like something had just clicked in his head, but he didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led the way downstairs.

I climbed into the car as Seth locked the door and bounded down the steps, climbing into the driver's seat. He gave me a quick once-over, then paused, frowning slightly.

“Hey,” he said abruptly. “That’s my sweatshirt!”

“What?” I glanced down at the gray hoodie. “Huh. That explains why it’s so comfortable.”

He laughed startledly. “I guess that means I’m not getting it back?”

“Nope,” I agreed. “You haven’t missed it yet, I think you’ll be fine.”

A small smile played on his mouth as he started the car. I felt the butterflies reappear in my stomach as Seth pulled out of the driveway. There was no going back now. I’d have to face the teachers and Nicole and… Aaron.

“Breathe, Sophie,” Seth ordered, glancing over at me.

I did as he said, forcing myself to focus on breathing in and out. “You’ll be fine,” Seth continued. “Aaron’s not going to hurt you.”

“So he’ll be nice to me,” I whispered. “And he’ll apologize, and I’ll forgive him just like I always do. And this whole weekend will have been worthless.”

“Not this time.”

“What’s different about this time?” I asked.

“You don’t need him anymore. You have me.”

He swung a sharp right into a parking lot and pulled up to the Caribou Drive-Thru. “What do you want?” he asked.

I shook my head, still trying to prevent my breakdown. “We’ll have two caramel mochas,” Seth told the girl in the window. “Medium.”

I rested my head against the back of my seat. This was insane. I couldn’t do this. I…. “Here.” Seth interrupted my rant, handing me a steaming cup. “Drink. It’ll calm you down.”

I took a long sip, and to my surprise it did help. It cleared my head a little, allowing me to think clearly. “Will anyone believe me?” I asked helplessly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Seth assured me. “You don’t even have to tell anyone. All you have to say is that you two broke up and you don’t want to talk about it.”

“But the fight…”

“I was jealous.” He said it so matter-of-factly I almost believed him. “And I took it out on Aaron. But that’s for me to explain. You weren’t even there, so don’t worry about it. No one will ask you.”

I wasn’t sure about that, but I did believe him. For better or worse, I was going to do this.