Unreachable Love
Chapter X
After the party--which I was forced to stay at by the fact Oliver was there—my parents invited Oliver to come with us to dinner. Oh joy.
My dad started the night off with one of his favorite lines, “So, boy, are we going to see you more after tonight.”
Oliver looked at me and I frantically shook my head. He didn’t seem to care. “Yes, I think so.” He answered. Very determined boy, I made note.
“Well, then alright. Good good.”
I looked at Oliver and he looked back with a big giant smirk on his face. I glared right back. I suddenly had an image of him throwing me over his shoulder and me pounding on his back for him to let me down. A corner of my lip turned up and his smirk somehow got bigger.
I finally got up the nerve to ask my family the question that had been bugging me all day. “So why did you throw me a surprise party if you knew I’d hate it.”
My parents suddenly looked at each other then quickly at Oliver, who nodded once and had a smile tugging at his lips. “We didn’t organize it honey,” my mother said.
Confusion swept over me. “Well, then who did….?”
I saw my parents glance at Oliver again and I got the hint. I stood up from the table knocking my chair back. “No! No, no, no, no, no!” I yelled. “You are coming with me.” I pulled Oliver away from the table and into the library, with my parents yelling for me to come back and calm down.
I locked the door behind me.
“Why?” I asked him. “Why would you do that to me?”
“Do what? Throw you a party? I thought—“
“No, you DIDN’T think! You thought about what YOU would want but maybe that’s not what I wanted!”
I sat down in one of the armchairs and tears started flowing. I couldn’t help it. I could handle my parents throwing me a party, because I expected it. But what I didn’t expect was for Oliver—Oliver! Of all people!—to throw me one.
He saw the tears and I could see he wanted to come over and comfort me, but he knew it was HIS fault this time for me crying. “What is your problem?!” I yelled at him, standing up.
“What is my problem?!” he thought for a second. Was he really that stupid? “Ya know what?”
“No, what?”
His voice was barely a whisper as he stepped closer to me. “You.” He said. “You, are my problem.”
And just like that he kissed me. I just stood there for a second, in shock. And I did something I know now that was horribly wrong: I pushed him away. He got the clue and stepped back, daring to lift his eyes up to mine.
“Get out.” I whispered. Not because I wanted him to, but because I could see that HE wanted to. It was like I was throwing him a life saver.
Later, my parents gave me a lecture on my over-reaction. They told me how I didn’t think rationally and I really should have. They told me I needed to calm down. They told me maybe I had anger-management problems, when they knew I didn’t. This was them getting their anger out, taking it out on me, while I’d taken my anger out on Oliver. And while they yelled at me, I just sat there. Not really listening, but not drowning them out either. Because what they were saying was true. It was an over-reaction and I really should’ve thought about it before I started yelling at him.
That night I never fell asleep. I lay awake all night, sitting on my window seat staring up at the stars. Staring up at the sky. It was like it let my mind escape from its hole.
Space was something a lot of people couldn’t put a grasp on, because space has no boundaries. People like to have limits to things. But the sky had no limit. It goes on and on. Never ending. But the sky was something I understood. It didn’t end, just like a lot of things. You go into space, you can fly forever and never stop. You can run away from the things you hate and just… float. It sounds so simple but its not. And I wish it was that simple. Escaping from the things you hate to face. Like my birthday. I hate to see it come around, but it does eventually.
I understood the stars too. They got stuck in one place for a while, just like people, but they start to roam around. Flying then falling out of the sky. Eventually, they died, like people. Some stars were brighter than others, like people. Some were invisible to the human eye… like me.
At three o’clock in the morning, I saw the thing I’d been waiting for, but I didn’t know I’d been waiting for it until that moment.
I saw a shooting star. And as it shot across the night sky, I wished on that star. “I wish I could learn to love.”
My dad started the night off with one of his favorite lines, “So, boy, are we going to see you more after tonight.”
Oliver looked at me and I frantically shook my head. He didn’t seem to care. “Yes, I think so.” He answered. Very determined boy, I made note.
“Well, then alright. Good good.”
I looked at Oliver and he looked back with a big giant smirk on his face. I glared right back. I suddenly had an image of him throwing me over his shoulder and me pounding on his back for him to let me down. A corner of my lip turned up and his smirk somehow got bigger.
I finally got up the nerve to ask my family the question that had been bugging me all day. “So why did you throw me a surprise party if you knew I’d hate it.”
My parents suddenly looked at each other then quickly at Oliver, who nodded once and had a smile tugging at his lips. “We didn’t organize it honey,” my mother said.
Confusion swept over me. “Well, then who did….?”
I saw my parents glance at Oliver again and I got the hint. I stood up from the table knocking my chair back. “No! No, no, no, no, no!” I yelled. “You are coming with me.” I pulled Oliver away from the table and into the library, with my parents yelling for me to come back and calm down.
I locked the door behind me.
“Why?” I asked him. “Why would you do that to me?”
“Do what? Throw you a party? I thought—“
“No, you DIDN’T think! You thought about what YOU would want but maybe that’s not what I wanted!”
I sat down in one of the armchairs and tears started flowing. I couldn’t help it. I could handle my parents throwing me a party, because I expected it. But what I didn’t expect was for Oliver—Oliver! Of all people!—to throw me one.
He saw the tears and I could see he wanted to come over and comfort me, but he knew it was HIS fault this time for me crying. “What is your problem?!” I yelled at him, standing up.
“What is my problem?!” he thought for a second. Was he really that stupid? “Ya know what?”
“No, what?”
His voice was barely a whisper as he stepped closer to me. “You.” He said. “You, are my problem.”
And just like that he kissed me. I just stood there for a second, in shock. And I did something I know now that was horribly wrong: I pushed him away. He got the clue and stepped back, daring to lift his eyes up to mine.
“Get out.” I whispered. Not because I wanted him to, but because I could see that HE wanted to. It was like I was throwing him a life saver.
Later, my parents gave me a lecture on my over-reaction. They told me how I didn’t think rationally and I really should have. They told me I needed to calm down. They told me maybe I had anger-management problems, when they knew I didn’t. This was them getting their anger out, taking it out on me, while I’d taken my anger out on Oliver. And while they yelled at me, I just sat there. Not really listening, but not drowning them out either. Because what they were saying was true. It was an over-reaction and I really should’ve thought about it before I started yelling at him.
That night I never fell asleep. I lay awake all night, sitting on my window seat staring up at the stars. Staring up at the sky. It was like it let my mind escape from its hole.
Space was something a lot of people couldn’t put a grasp on, because space has no boundaries. People like to have limits to things. But the sky had no limit. It goes on and on. Never ending. But the sky was something I understood. It didn’t end, just like a lot of things. You go into space, you can fly forever and never stop. You can run away from the things you hate and just… float. It sounds so simple but its not. And I wish it was that simple. Escaping from the things you hate to face. Like my birthday. I hate to see it come around, but it does eventually.
I understood the stars too. They got stuck in one place for a while, just like people, but they start to roam around. Flying then falling out of the sky. Eventually, they died, like people. Some stars were brighter than others, like people. Some were invisible to the human eye… like me.
At three o’clock in the morning, I saw the thing I’d been waiting for, but I didn’t know I’d been waiting for it until that moment.
I saw a shooting star. And as it shot across the night sky, I wished on that star. “I wish I could learn to love.”
♠ ♠ ♠
