The Twists and Turns of Love

When they were both seated, over a warm cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll, Sarah suddenly didn’t want to explain the whole Eric story. Here was her chance to meet a new guy and she was going to talk about Eric? No way.

“So, now’s the time to tell me that really long story of yours,” he smiled, taking a bite out of the roll.

“Well, you know, maybe I exaggerated just a little,” Sarah replied, half smiling.

“Ok, short or long, do I get to hear it?”

“Of course,” she managed to say.

She grabbed her cinnamon roll to stall, while thinking of how to deform her story into something else. As she grabbed the sticky dough, she wished she would have chosen something easier to eat. Something that doesn’t make you look bad, like a cookie.

As she tried to eat it daintily, Brandon stared at her, waiting for the story. Feeling more self-conscious than ever, she took a tiny bite and put it down.

“Long story short, I got caught up in other things and my grades started going from bad to worse and they kicked me out.”

“They kicked you out?”

“Yeah,” she replied, staring down at the table.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you upset.”
“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not your fault I got kicked out.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to stay here.”

“Really? That’s great,” he said smiling.

“It is?”

“Of course it is. I’ll get to see you more often.”

She had no reply for that. It was definently a sign that he liked her. The problem was: how did she get across that she liked him too?

He was looking at her, waiting for a reply.

“I don’t know…” she stuttered.

He seemed disappointed as soon as the words left her lips.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see you, just that we might not see each other that much, but I mean I do want to see you but you never know what can happen…”

Oh great, she had started ranting. Now he would definently not want to see her again.

To her surprise, he just laughed. He had a nice laugh, the kind that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“You’re my neighbor,” he said, “Of course we’re going to see each other often.”
She laughed too. Of course. He was her neighbor.

As they both laughed, the little bell on the door rung, indicating someone had entered. It had a nice sweet sound to it.

“Sarah?” someone said from across the room.

Both Brandon and Sarah quickly looked to see who had said it.

As soon as she saw who it was, she wished she hadn’t looked. They seemed just as amazed as her.

“Is that Claire?” Brandon asked, a little confused.

“Yeah,” she replied absentmindedly. She was the least of the problem.

“Do you know that guy?”

“Yes,” she said again, through gritted teeth.

Sarah just stared at Eric and he stared back.

“Is he her boyfriend?”

“No!” Sarah snapped, throwing Brandon a mean look.

He seemed taken aback, and a little scared too.

“Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s just fine.”

Sarah kept her eyes glued towards the door, watching their every move, and crossing her fingers they wouldn’t see her or would ignore her. It would make things so much easier.

But they were going towards her.

When they finally got there, after a lot of staring and awkwardness, they didn’t know what to say, it seemed.

“Hi,” Eric said, trying to start the conversation.

“Hi,” Brandon replied, all friendly, obviously not realizing the tension present.

“Hi,” Sarah murmured.

Claire smiled at her, and she realized she wasn’t mad at her at all anymore. All she wanted to do was hug her and for things to be normal.

“What are you guys doing here?” Sarah finally asked.

“We came to get you,” Claire replied, half-smiling.

Brandon didn’t seem to be too happy with that.

“And why exactly does she need to leave?” he asked.

“Because she left her life. This isn’t her place anymore,” Claire snapped.

“Guys, calm down,” Sarah said, trying to avoid an argument.
“Well are you coming back with us or not?” Eric spoke up.

“I- I don’t know.”

She couldn’t just make a decision out of nowhere. Sure, it would be great going back with Claire, but there were others things to worry about too. Like her school, or the fact that Eric was acting cold and distant. It only made matters worse that she barely knew him. And then there was Brandon. He was right there. She couldn’t just leave him there from one moment to another just because they had come.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Claire asked.

“I mean I need to think this through before I make a choice.”

“What do you need to think? You’ve got us and your dreams over there. Can this place give you any of that?”

“Claire, this is our home. Don’t you remember that?”

“Don’t you remember what life was like a few weeks ago?”

“Yeah. It was great. Until...”

As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back. She hadn’t meant to say it, even though she had thought about it before.

Eric seemed to know what she meant right away.

“Eric, I-”

“Save it, Sarah. I’m done with all of this. Have a good life.”

He stormed out of the place, and Claire moved to go after him.

“Claire. You’re leaving too?”

“Yeah… I don’t recognize you anymore, Sarah.”

She was left alone with Brandon once again.

“What was that about?”

“Drama. And lots of it. Don’t worry, I think I won’t have to deal with it anymore.”