Going Down In History

The rest of the time spent was talking to my mom. Chris didn't say anything or even look at me the whole time. As soon as his lunch was finished he walked off to go sit in the car, leaving me to talk to my mom alone. I was glad for the awkwardness to go away but I was worried what she would say.

"Charlie—" My head turned to her from its current place that was watching out the window to Chris's car where he sat with his head in his hands.

"Mom I already know what you're going to say. He wants you to come back and live with me so he can go off on his own. It's only for the best and I agree with him." Tears were brimming my eyes and my air quotes seemed childish even to me.

"No." She said softly. I looked into her eyes for the first time all day and what I saw surprised me. She was sincere. My mom was hardly even sincere.

"No what?" I knew what she was going to say but the words were now jumbling around in my head, refusing to put themselves together to make any sense.

"I don't want you to come home." My jaw dropped and I couldn't speak. Was this really my own mother? The same mother who had tried convincing me for a month straight to come back home. She must have seen my confusion so she continued. "I can see he cares about you. I mean, why else would he tell you to go home? Charlie, I don't care if you stay with him. I'll even put money into your bank account so you can go in peace." She rested her head on her hands and kept looking for a reaction.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you hated him." Nothing made sense to me anymore. I wanted to go out and comfort Chris, but I didn't want to leave my mom just when she was starting to be nice.

"I don't hate him. I hated the fact that he took my only daughter from me. I wasn't much of a mom anyway though. I can see now what I was too blind to see before. You're grown up and I won't stop you from doing what you have to do." She stood up to leave, but not before I stood up and gave her a hug.

"Thank you mom. I love you." Tears were rolling down my face now. I knew she still wasn't okay with the fact that Chris used to be my teacher, but she was coming to the conclusion of how we felt about each other.

"I love you too cherry pie." Usually I would hate this nickname, but under the circumstances, it only made me cry more. She turned and left without another word to me. Now I had to face Chris.

I walked out to his car and got into the passenger seat. He was slumped over the steering wheel in deep thought. I don't even think he heard me open and shut the door. Then again, he started the car and started driving back to our apartment, so he did hear me, just didn't want to speak.

The drive was silent and uncomfortable. I stared out the window, trying to think of things to make the silence die, but nothing I thought of would be of any use. Chris didn't say anything either, just drove. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and he didn't look at me once, though I could tell he could see me anyway.

He escaped the car quickly when he parked. Chris was practically running inside and I followed him. I knew he was afraid of what I was going to say. I would have to keep my voice level and my emotions in check.

As soon as I got inside of the apartment, I found Chris who was sprawled out on the bed. He was staring at the ceiling, trying to concentrate on it as I walked to the side of the bed.

"Yell at me all you want. I won't change what I said." Those words stabbed at my heart. I took a deep breath, but the ache wouldn't go away.

"I don't care what you said. I'm not leaving you." I folded my arms over my chest, afraid that he could see the effect he was having on my heart.

"Charlie—" He sat up finally and looked at me. He looked upset and angry, but I could see he was pulling an act. "I don't want you to come with me." My heart snapped in two. My arms dropped to my side and I couldn't speak.

"Wha.. what are you saying?" I couldn't keep my emotion anymore. The tears were pulling down my face and my heart and stomach was aching beyond control.

"I want to go by myself." He was sure to keep his voice level. There was no emotion on his face but a ton in his eyes, I was too blind to see it.

"Fine!" I snapped. I was angry now. I ran to my dresser and started throwing clothes into a duffel bag I had bought last week. When it was filled with clothes, makeup and other things I might need, I walked to the door and intended to not look back. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Chris there.

"It's for the best." He was good at not showing his emotions. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. He almost fell to one side but keep his balance. He stood back up, one hand caressing his cheek and looked at me. Tears were now in his eyes but I didn't care. I spat in his face before I turned and walked out the door.