Set Me Free

Zander returned from the meeting with a scowl and red cheeks. I looked up at him and grinned. “What are you so ticked off about, beautiful?”

With a snarl he stomps to his bed and covers himself. I laughed, hoisted myself to stand, and jumped next to him on the bed. The lump moved as he grumbled, “You left a mark.”

“I did.” I grinned in victory. I left a mark. I left a mark on Zander! Holy cheese and rice I’m one lucky bastard.

“They noticed.”

I howled with laughter. “What’d they do?”

“What do you think?” He screeched, throwing the covers off to glare up at me. “They pointed it out the entire time!”

“Aw, they’re just jealous.”

He grumbled before hiding himself under the covers once more where he stayed for the rest of the day.

~

Cori and I sat in the grass outside. The sun was finally out, drying off everything that was once drenched. Sadly, today was our last day of the trip. We’ll be leaving tonight around five and to be honest, I didn’t want to leave because…

I was scared that everything I accomplished here would disappear. I was frightened that the relationship I had with Zander would return and he’d go back to trying to avoid me like the plague.

What if he did do that? What would I do? Keep trying?

“Don’t think too hard sweetie. You might hurt yourself.”

I looked at Cori who was smiling kindly at me. Frowning, I look down at my bare feet. Digging my feet into the dirt I asked her, “Do you think Zander will go back to ignoring me when we return to school?”

“Who knows,” Cori answered with a slight shrug. “He may or may not. Do you think he will?”

Did it make me sound bad if I said yes? This voice in the back of my head was telling me that he would. It told me that he’d go back to yelling at me and trying to ignore me, trying to push me away like he once did. It was a scary thought…that I was hoping wouldn’t come true.

“Ask him.”

“What?” I glanced at Cori.

“While you two are packing tonight, ask him.”

“He’ll probably just call me stupid and ignore me.”

Cori giggled, “Yeah, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

“I guess,” I answered with a slight shrug. Just as we finished our conversation a teacher stepped out, ordering us to head back to our rooms and begin packing. With a sigh, Cori and I stand, say our good-byes and head our separate ways.

When I reached our room Zander was already there, throwing his things into his suitcase. I felt the nerves and uncertainty kick in. Biting my bottom lip I go to my suitcase and begin packing. The only sound in the room was our footsteps and it was uncomfortable.

I was surprised when Zander asked, “Why are you so quiet?”

“What? I can’t be silent?” I chuckled, trying to break the tense atmosphere that I didn’t mean to make it. It just…kind of happened.

“No,” Zander answered like it was supposed to be obvious.

“G, thanks.” I rolled my eyes and went back to packing, but Zander must read minds, because he knew I was going to say something else. Sighing, I throw the last amount of things into my bag. “I…I’ve just been thinking.”

“That’s a shocker.”

“Are you going to go back to normal now?”

The question got an eyebrow raised. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to avoid me, push me away, and do what you used to before this trip?” I asked, and the worry was obvious in my voice. Maybe that’s what had Zander frowning and moving over to wrap his arms around my neck. My arms reacted by circling his waist.

“I…I can’t promise that we can…do anything when we go back home. If my dad found out that I liked another guy, he’d flip and I’m…he’s strict, as you know I just don’t want to find out what he’d do.”

“Well it shouldn’t matter! He’s your dad, he shouldn’t care if another guy makes you happy.”

Rolling his eyes Zander sighs. “He isn’t like most dads. But I promise that…I won’t go back to treating you like shit.”

“Pinky swear?” I grinned.

Zander grumbled, “So childish.” But he held up his pinky anyways.

I wrapped mine around his own and laughed.