fifty nine

                                    

                                          
"Are you leaving?" David asked, grabbing my wrist as I tried to walk away from the lunch table. 
                          
"Yeah," I replied, taking my hand back so we didn't look too grossly couple-y in the middle of the cafeteria. "Tonight, I'm going to Todd's to work on that paper Mrs. Austin is making us write about our junior year experience."
                          
"Why don't you work on it with me?" he frowned, and I rolled my eyes.
                          
"Because Todd asked me to work on it with him first," I answered with a small and annoyed smile. "Anyways, you need to go before you're late to class on your second to last day of school. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" 
                          
"Yeah," David replied, leaning forward to quickly peck my lips. "Bye. Love you." 
                          
"Love you too," I waved, then made my way to the car. Since Todd didn't get out of school until an hour after I did, I took my time changing into some joggers and a t-shirt. I also ate a sandwich with my grandma and let her tell me all about her late night of bingo with some of her old work friends. Apparently, she dominated every time. My grandma had a way with bingo. She left the game two hundred dollars richer.
                          
I helped clean up the kitchen and then decided Todd would be home, so I said goodbye to my grandma and walked down the street to his house. His car was parked in the driveway, so I knocked on the door and made my way inside.
                          
"Hi, Mona," Todd's mom smiled from the kitchen, where she was whisking something in a bowl. "You look tired."
                          
"Because somehow my teachers all decided to wait until the day before the last day to give us work when we've been doing nothing all week," I laughed, making my way into the kitchen and taking my usual spot on her counter. "I have a headache just thinking about the three last day assignments I have to do tonight. I'm already in summer mode." 
                          
"Yeah, I'm afraid Todd's the same way," she giggled, setting down the eggs so she could add the flour to them. "He went to Ella's to pick up some baskets, by the way. She hoards. And she talks a lot, so he may be a second."
                          
Ella was one of Todd's talkative neighbor. His mother loved making baked goods to pass out around the neighborhood, but she never got her baskets back from Ella unless Todd went to retrieve them. I was sure she just had a crush on Todd, but I'd never admit that theory. It was a little weird, even for me. 
                          
"Yeah, it'll probably be twenty minutes before he gets back," I nodded my head. "What kind of cookies are you making?"
                          
"Lemon poppyseed."
                          
"Oh my god," I groaned, throwing my head back at just the thought. "You just want me to be six hundred pounds, don't you?" 
                          
"I pride myself in making the skinny girls fat."
                          
I would've never told anyone, but my heart swelled when she called me skinny. 
                          
We talked for maybe ten more minutes about school, the future, and Todd until he showed up, red faced and arms stuffed full with baskets. "Never send me over there again. She kissed me on the mouth. The mouth, Mom. Her old wrinkled lips touched mine. I need to take a shower." 
                          
After almost five minutes cackling at Todd's expense, his mom finally sent us off to work on our school stuff. 
                          
Todd and I sat on his floor talking and working on our essays about junior year. I asked, "Do you think I should write about Houston, or just when I got here?"
                          
"I think she's probably going to shred these papers in front of us the second we turn it in," Todd replied honestly. "Write whatever the fuck you want. I bet I could write Heil Hitler in here, and she wouldn't even bring it up." 
                          
"You've got a point," I sighed, placing my binder down on the floor. "Do you have a scratch sheet of paper anywhere? I need to fix my pen. I'm completely out." 
                          
"Yeah, my bookbag," he halfheartedly gestured to his bookbag, and I dug around in it, pulling out an empty, yellow folder. Written with sharpie on the front were two words, MONA HOMEWORK.
                          
"What is this?" I turned the folder towards him, and his eyes widened. He quickly snatched it out of my hand and placed the folder behind him.
                          
"Nothing. The paper's in the—"
                          
"I don't give a fuck about where the paper is," I interrupted him. "What is that?" 
                          
"Seriously, Mon, it's nothing," he sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "Don't worry about it. I'll just get you another pen."
                          
"Todd," I frowned, raising my eyebrows at him until he cracked.
                          
"I... um, when you were in the recovery center, I was the one who brought you your homework." 
                          
"You..." I frowned, not even able to find the words to say. "How did you even know I was in the Wright Center? I never told you that." 
                          
"I knew you were anorexic, and when you disappeared, I asked your grandparents. I brought your homework so I could check up on you every day." 
                          
"But... when I told you I was on a diet, you believed it. You didn't question it." 
                          
"I saw what happened when David questioned it," he shrugged. "I knew it made you uncomfortable to talk about it. It wasn't helpful to berate you about things you were struggling with."
                          
"So let me get this straight," I frowned, placing both of my hands on the floor to show I meant business. "You drove two hours every day for three weeks to bring me my homework, and then let me believe it was David for a month and a half."
                          
Todd nodded. 
                          
"Why?"
                          
It was a question I knew the answer to. I knew why he devoted 40 hours of his life to me during that time. It was obvious to anyone. Everything else seemed to fall into place. All along, David's suspicions were true. He did have a reason to find it uncomfortable that I was hanging out with Todd. Still, though I knew, it still shocked me to hear it come from his mouth. 
                          
"Because I love you," was his answer. It stopped my heart for a second, enough time for him to continue.
"I've liked you for a long time now, but I never thought I'd get a chance, but now—"
                          
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah," I stopped him, holding up one of my hands to try and get him to shut up. "I— Todd— I have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who also happens to be one of your best friends. You can't just say this stuff to me." 
                          
"But you won't be together forever," Todd tried, and I shook my head.
                          
"That's the thing, Todd. I think we will be," I frowned, awkwardly picking at the carpet instead of looking at his devastated face. "I mean, I love him. I think we're getting married one day. I can't imagine my life without him."
                          
"Oh my god, he's fucking cheating on you!"
                          
The words seemed to shock even Todd, the one whose mouth they spewed out of. He started at me with a dropped jaw and eyes widened, waiting for my next move.
                          
"What?"






                          
I told yall u werent ready. 
                          
Xoxo abby