Trusting the Unknown

“I’m scared to be with you,” Adelyn revealed as she looked away from her new boyfriend. She couldn’t look at him now; it was way too hard.

Tyler sat for a few moments, staring off into space. Then he slowly regained his sense of reality and spoke with the utmost confidence. “I would never hurt you, baby.”

“Promise?”

Tyler stood and wrapped his arms around Addie’s waist. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, making her shiver. “I promise.”

Tears pricked at the inside of both of Adelyn’s eyelids. How could he do this? Tyler was everything she had ever wanted and more! He promised! It was a lie. Everything. Every little word, smile, hug, laugh…all of it. She gathered up a small amount of self-esteem and walked away. And would you know it, Tyler never even noticed that she was standing right in front of him the whole time.

The Earth stood still. Addie was sprawled out in the grass behind her house with her phone resting in her open right palm. She barely twitched when her phone vibrated. The screen read: New Message from Tyler. She moaned and pressed the “read” button. It said: “Where were you after school? I was looking for you.” She hated the impulsive habit he had to spell the words out completely. Addie threw her phone as far away as possible and closed her eyes, allowing the scenery to dissolve.

School the next day wasn’t good. Tyler seemed to be everywhere. Addie would hide when she could, but after eighth period, he caught up with her.

Addie secretly cursed to herself and put her head down. “Can’t you just leave me alone?”

Tyler jogged up to her side and looked at her questioningly. “What’s wrong?”

Adelyn tried to walk away, but Tyler pulled her back by her hand. “You know what you did!” She jerked her hand out of his grasp.

“What are you talking about?”

Addie phased into a complete monster of rage. “I saw you kissing her! I saw you with Rachel!”

“Addie, calm down. You’re making a scene.” Tyler looked around at the crowd of people stopped in the hallway.

“Oh what now Tyler? Am I too much of an inconvenience to you? You promised me!”

Tyler stood with his mouth open, not knowing what to say. The crowd was motionless.

“We’re done,” Addie yelled. “Have a great life!” She ran down the stairs and crashed through the front doors. The tears blurred her vision. A couple of seconds later, she bumped into something hard, yet full of tension. It surely surprised her, because the whole school was still inside jabbering about the latest current event. Addie bent down and picked up her belongings with the stranger at her side.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t see you.” Tears were still free-falling from her face. She stood up and the boy followed. She immediately noticed how tall he was. Not to mention, he had the most beautiful ocean-colored eyes she had ever seen. His lop-sided, innocent smile entranced her, but it wasn’t a sign of happiness. Just as he was about to say something, the crowd began to emerge from the front doors.

“Um, I have to go. I’m sorry again.” Addie jumped into her mom’s SUV, thinking about the boy with the crooked smile. She wondered why he looked so broken.

Wednesday was indescribable. Although undoubtedly it belonged in “The Worst Day Ever” category. Wandering eyes followed Addie wherever she went. She was being strong. She held her head up. But inside she felt hurt, lost, confused, and most of all, destroyed. The hallways seemed like long, dark corridors that exposed her inner emotions instead of brightly-lit beacons of hope. A big, dark rain cloud stayed in place above her head for days. It was a long rest of the week as well. By Friday, things had gotten worse. The initial shock of the break-up had passed and now all Adelyn felt was straight pain. In most of her classes she sat down, not speaking. When she saw Cheyenne and Ellie with their boyfriends, Gavin and Landon, she wanted to scream. They all had someone who loved them, held them, and cared for them. And Addie, she felt as if she had nothing except the memories. Those haunted her more than the pain. Fifth period, Adelyn went behind the counters in the science lab where no one could see her and pulled her knees into her chest. The flashbacks were impossible to hold back.

The sun shone brightly on the fresh cut grass as two teenagers lay together. Tyler grabbed Adelyn’s hand and held it in both of his. He rolled over on his side and propped himself up with his elbow.

“You’re beautiful,” Tyler said, causing Addie to turn quickly. “I’m so happy I’m with you.”

Addie turned a bright shade of pink and stared back up at the sky. She closed her eyes and inhaled the cold winter air. “Am I dreaming? Because if I am, please wake me up. There’s no way that you’re so perfect.”

Tyler winced. He knew he wasn’t perfect. Usually he could lie and agree to whatever a girl would say, but this time it was different. This time, it…hurt. Did he actually care about this girl? Who was he kidding? Of course he didn‘t care; he was Tyler Stone. “I’m not,” he muttered.

“Yes you are. And nothing you do or say can make me change my mind.” Addie leaned in closer and laid her head on Tyler’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her. The only thing left to hear after that were the soft sounds of their hearts beating as one.

Ellie shook Addie by the shoulders, making her come back down to Earth. Adelyn heard her voice from a distance, as if she were underwater.

“Addie, are you okay? Why are you crying?”

Addie reflexively reached up and touched the spot just below her eye. She felt wet tears douse her face.

Cheyenne rounded the corner and kneeled down beside Addie. She rested her palm on Adelyn’s arm. “Ade, what’s wrong?”

Adelyn turned to face her two friends with tear-filled eyes. “It’s my fault. If it weren’t for my dumb overreaction, Tyler and I would still be together.”

“He cheated on you! I hardly think that that can be counted as your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself for this. You deserve way better.”

Addie furrowed her eyebrows, heat rising to her cheeks. “But I wanted him! He was everything to me. Everything!”

“I don’t understand. Why?” Ellie asked, confusion clear on her features.

“Because I was starting to fall in love with him!”

Ellie and Cheyenne were surprised by her outburst. The last thing they had ever wanted was for Adelyn to fall so hard for such a jerk. They didn’t know what to say after her shocking confession.

Addie began to bawl. Ellie took her in her arms and allowed her to cry on her shoulder. Adelyn was in worse shape than they could have ever imagined and there was nothing they could do to fix her wounded heart.