Chapter 11
We take my car. Peter is the perfect gentlemen, allowing me to drive. Since the weather is beautiful, I leave the top down.
“Where to?” I ask. But he doesn’t answer. Instead, Peter continues to give me directions to his mysterious location.
“Turn left,” Peter tells me. I turn left, driving past the high school that has tormented me. I can’t conceal a shudder.
“Your former school.”
“I’m glad I’m being home schooled,” I admit. Peter chuckles.
“It’s weird that I’ve seen you every day at school and never had the guts to talk to you,” he confesses. Not remembering Peter’s face from school doesn’t surprise me. We have over a thousand kids in school. Since we had no class together, there wouldn’t have been an opportunity for us to interact.
“Keep going straight” I follow his directions.
“Where are we going?” I ask. Peter ignores me and asks a question that makes me uncomfortable.
“Why don’t you cheer anymore?” I don’t want to talk about it. That is an old life full of fun and joy. Just thinking of the fact that my friends aren’t mine anymore makes me want to cry. But Peter is staring at me with intense eyes. They are looking into my soul, wanting to be let in. I can’t resist him. Admittedly, it’s difficult to drive and talk about my past at the same time. I pull into the parking lot of a coffee shop and look at him.
“Life was perfect freshman year. Then again, it had always been perfect. Ivy, Teresa, and I were been best friends since kindergarten. We were all really close. We all tried out for cheerleading and made it. All of us started dating football players. Everything was perfect. That was until I started falling for Teresa’s boyfriend James. At that time I was with Derrick. He was attentive, but he was a trophy boyfriend,” I begin. It struck me that Peter might think I’m a bad person after this. My therapist, Dr. Sharp has told me that this incident hadn’t made me a bad person. But I am still not sure about that. In my own way, I acted just like Peter’s friend had.
“What’s wrong?” Peter gently asks me. He realizes this is difficult to talk about. If Peter followed gossip, he would have heard a trickle of the story. But once words were passed around… Let’s just say it is a lot like playing telephone. The phrase changes every time.
“It’s hard for me to talk about, especially, since the story isn’t flattering,” I admit. Peter nods.
“It’s alright. It’s all in the past Chelsea,” he soothingly assures me. Part of me is angry. I don’t deserve someone so beautiful, so willing to hear me out. Peter is a gem and I’m a lump of coal. He is everything good and I’m selfish. For once, I truly understand why Malcolm couldn’t stand me in the beginning. I am selfish.
“Peter, there’s something you have to know about me.”
“What?” he asks.
“I’m a terrible person. All I do is hurt people. There is no good in dating someone like me. You have been hurt enough.” My admission is accompanied by a stream of tears. Peter puts his arm around my shoulders and I lean into him. He lets me cry it out for a while. When my tears subside, I force myself to continue.
“This thing between Adam and me is proof. I…”
“Chelsea, I don’t want to hear about Adam. I want to hear about what happened,” he encourages.
“I fell for James. James fell for me. But neither of us wanted to hurt Teresa. We ignored our feelings until home coming of sophomore year. Teresa couldn’t go because she had just gotten her appendix removed. Derrick couldn’t go because he had been suspended for fighting. We hung out and danced for the entire night. James offered to take me home. I agreed. Before we went home we took a detour. O’Malley’s parking lot was fairly empty when we had a make out session. Apparently, Ivy saw us because she had been there with her own boyfriend. I didn’t know at the time. I went home and nothing happened over the weekend. Monday was weird. My friends on the cheer squad were acting funny when we did a routine drill. I’m the girl that usually got tossed. I was thirty pounds lighter two years back. Something went wrong and I wasn’t caught. I fell, broke my ankle and couldn’t cheer for the rest of the season. Soon after that, Derrick broke up with me. The word slut was spray painted on my locker and it all went downhill from there. I had always been a bit emotional at times. The abandonment of all of my friends made me worse. Mom started making me go to therapy. It helped a little. But school became a nightmare for me. People always saw fit to poke fun at me. Derrick and Teresa, now a couple, became my biggest tormenters. Ivy, who slept over my house every weekend, started trashing me on Facebook. Adam was the only thing that kept me together,” I finish. Understanding fills Peter’s eyes.
“That’s why you allow Adam to treat you like crap. It all makes sense now,” Peter says.
“Adam is with Ivy. That pisses me off to no end. It sounds petty but I hate the fact that he’s with the very person that rejected me,” I bluntly admit. Peter chuckles.
“You’re with me. Isn’t that enough?” His expression is playful, but I can see the question in his eyes. Isn’t Peter enough? Can I resist the temptation of going back to Adam? I had no idea. But I sure hope I get over this stupid obsession with Adam. Even the thought of losing Peter makes me feel empty.
“You are enough, Peter. You’re my best friend. I feel like I can tell you anything,” I confess. Peter grins.
“I feel the same about you,” he says.
“Peter, for about two seconds, Adam and I were back together.” I tell Peter about this afternoon. His face closes up for a second when I tell him about the diner. But then, his eyes light up when I recount the grocery store.
“So, you couldn’t let me go?” Peter asks.
“No. I can’t let you go Peter. That's what makes me an awful person. If I were decent, I would call it off with you and give us some time. But I’m too selfish. Peter, you make me want to be a good person. I’ve never met someone like you before.” That is stupid. I’m stupid. Why would I say something like that? Showing weakness is something I’ve never done before. Showing weakness exposes vulnerability, and people use that to their advantage.
“Chelsea, how will I know you won’t run back to Adam when things get tough between us?” Peter softly inquires.
“I won’t. The thought of leaving you makes me sick.” My voice quivers when I bare part of me.
“Let’s not talk about this right now,” he says before placing a kiss on my forehead. I smile.
“Where are we going?” Peter affectionately ruffles my hair and says, “Nice try.”
Two minutes later, we arrive at the beach. Peter gets out of the car and grabs a bundle from the back seat. I hadn’t noticed what he had put in the car. But now I notice that it is a picnic basket and a blanket. He smirks as we make our way onto the sand. People are milling about. Some are going for an evening swim. Some people lie on beach towels and read books. Peter picks a spot away from the crowd and spreads out the blanket. I take off my sandals and let my toes sink into the sand. Peter does the same. We both sit on the blanket and he pulls food out of the basket. He hands me a wrapped sandwich.
“I made you a salami, bologna, and cheese sandwich. There’s mustard on it,” he explains. That makes me smile. He actually remembers how I like my sandwich. I unwrap it and bite into the goodness. Yum! He even remembered to put pickles on it. I munch happily while Peter begins eating his own sandwich.
“I myself like peanut butter on my sandwich.”
“Jelly?”
“No. No Fluff either. Just Peanut butter.” He says. It seems that I am hungry. I inhale the sandwich in a matter of minutes. Peter, who eats slower laughs.
“It isn’t like your food is going anywhere. I can’t stand bologna” he teases. I laugh and push his hair out of his face. He sighs, reaches into the bag and tosses me another sandwich. I’m hungry so I continue eating.
“Peter,” someone calls. It doesn’t surprise me that one of his friends would be here. It’s a nice nig
ht. But I can’t help but feel dread. Peter, on the other hand, looks at ease. He’s just so nice. Teresa Gibson strolls over to us dressed in a pink bikini. Her dark hair is wet and her eyes are filled with joy at seeing him. She gives me a glance and sits by us. I want to tell her to go away. But I don’t. Instead I dig into the smart food that Peter places on my lap.
“How are you feeling?” Teresa asks. Peter grins.
“Fine. I’m in remission,” he announces and she genuinely looks relieved. She stares at me, the picnic basket and the blanket and hatred briefly flicks across her face. But then, she relaxes.
“Chelsea, you don’t work at O’Malley’s anymore?” Teresa asks.
“I moved to Gately,” I respond, wanting so badly for her to go away. This feeling increases when Derrick joins us. Peter on the other hand oozes calmness. He really is a saint.
“Peter,” Derrick says, giving him a nod. The two of them haven’t interacted. I can tell. He seems nonchalant about the whole thing.
“Happy birthday, Chelsea,” Derrick says, his blue eyes filling with confidence. He doesn’t hate me, though he should.
“Thanks,” I say giving him an awkward smile.
“Why are you moving to Gately?” Teresa asks. She is the nosy type. We haven’t been friends for years. I have no idea why she even cares. A glimmer of guilt spreads across her face. But it quickly fades. I have no idea why.
“I…”
“Chelsea!” Ivy says as she appears, hand and hand with James. Now that’s strange. Isn’t she supposed to be with Adam? The same confused expression flits across Peter’s face. Peter gets a text. He pulls out his galaxy and texts back. Trouble is coming. The hostile look on James face tells me so.
“Ivy,” I choke out.
“Hi Chelsea. What do we have here, a picnic with the Christian?” Peter looks at Ivy with disbelief.
“That’s the best you could come up with?” Peter asks. James clenches his fist.
“Maybe you’re desperate to get some. That could explain why you’re with Chelsea.” And here it goes again. Ivy and her slut jokes. How classy? But I’m not going to let it bother me. Nope. Not tonight.
“Ivy, I forgot the wine coolers in the car. Would you please get them?” James asks. Ivy leaps to her feet and runs to do her new boyfriend’s bidding. Part of me feels guilty. I have abandoned Adam and so has Ivy.
“So Peter, I’m sorry I couldn’t make Hope’s charity event. I was at cheer camp. I’ll be sure to donate,” Teresa assures. James and Derrick look interested.
“Who’s hope?” James asks. Peter relaxes and tells the story. Ivy returns at the tail end of it. She scowls at me. She hands the six pack to James who sighs.
“Would you two like one?” Ivy frowns at James. What’s his game?
“Christians don’t drink,” Ivy hisses. Teresa appears as if she has enough.
“Ivy, shut up. Leave Peter alone. He’s actually a nice guy,” she snaps. Ivy glares.
“Anyone with Chelsea is desperate. Just like Adam,” Ivy says. Surprisingly, Teresa glares at her.
“You’re with Adam. I saw you myself,” Peter says. The shock that wipes through Ivy’s friends makes me want to chuckle. It’s apparent that no one knows that she’s been hanging around Adam.
“You’ve been cheating on me?” James asks, confused, more than anything else. Ivy does the only thing that she is good at during a confrontation, she runs off. Teresa sighs.
“Of course she would do that. Ivy’s always hated you, even when you two were friends,” Teresa says taking a swig of her drink. I nod at her in understanding. James looks sad and agitated all at once. I want to say something to comfort him. I want to tell him to leave Adam alone. He probably didn’t know that Ivy was seeing someone at the time. Well, karma has gotten both him and I and it came in the form of Ivy.
`“What some food?” Peter offers, just to break the silence. Derrick, who eats everything nods. Peter hands Derrick a sandwich and some chips. Peter passes me a bottle of lemonade and he pulls out a water bottle. My boy knows me so well.
At first, the conversation between us is awkward. But because Peter has a likable personality, he has as all laughing. Peter grins as he hands me oatmeal cream pies. I’m officially in love. I bite into the goodness as my boy eats carrots and strawberries.
“You two have completely different eating habits,” Teresa notes. I sigh.
“Peter eats healthy and I…”
“Eat everything that’s junky. Chelsea, vegetables are delicious,” Peter tries to convince me. I screech as he tries to feed me a carrot. He eventually tickles me.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” I’m laughing so hard that it hurts.
“I won’t relent until you try a carrot,’ Peter warns.
“All right. All right.” He releases me and when I sit up he feeds me a carrot. I reluctantly agree that it tastes pretty good. “You’re a jerk,” I say, tossing him a smile. Peter smirks.
“Sure I am. But you love me anyways.” Our eyes meet and heat fills my cheeks. I’m halfway there. He is such a blessing. Staring at Peter makes me want to go back to church.
“I want to go into the water,” Teresa announces. Knowing that she wants to talk, I follow her. We both rush in the water and I hike up my sun dress as the cool water reaches my calf.
“Chelsea,” Teresa says, her brown eyes searching my face.
Yes,” I ask.
“I’ve missed you. After I found out about James, I was hurt. But, truthfully, I was over it a few weeks later. James and I were not compatible. But Ivy couldn’t drop it. I…”
“You guys didn’t catch me,” I remind Teresa. A tear falls down her cheek as she shivers.
“I’m sorry. That was all Molly’s idea. At the time, I was mad at you. But…” She stops talking and sighs. “Aren’t we even? You stole my boyfriend, I broke your leg.”
“What do you want from me?” I demand.
“Chelsea, I want to make peace with you,” she tells me.
“Why?” Teresa frowns.
“Look, the only way Tiller will date me is if you are okay with it. He told me to talk to you,” Teresa confesses.
“I thought you are with Derrick!” The shock steals my breath.
“No. That’s just a rumor. He’s single. I started talking to Tiller on Facebook last year. He and I connected. He told me about the trouble you’ve had at school. I had no idea how much we were hurting you.” Regret fills her face. I on the other hand don’t believe it for a moment. Tiller is officially dead to me.
“I…” Warm arms wrap around me and I’m dunked in the water. When I surface, I giggle. Peter laughs. I’m soaking wet. Teresa smiles at us before splashing us. She has just begun a water war. We spend the next twenty minutes wearing each other out. Everyone for themselves. Derrick and James participate and we’re all laughing. My guard is completely down. Peter does that to me. But I’m still unsure how to react about Teresa. She has been nice. But where has she been on the days that I had been ridiculed by everyone? Why hadn’t she reigned in Ivy? I can’t think right now. I’m having too much fun. Peter scoops me up and swings me around in the air. I laugh and he gives me a soft kiss.
“Time to go,” Peter says, staring at the darkening sky. I say goodbye to the others and he carries me to our blanket. Gently, he wraps me in the blanket and helps me into my sandals. We make our way to my car where he pulls a beach towel from the back and dries himself off before wrapping the towel around me and unlocking the door. He had kept the keys in the picnic basket.
“Can you drive?” I ask. The request is purely selfish. All I want to do is sit and stare at him. Peter nods and after getting me settled, he gets into the driver’s seat and drives to his house. Danny and Malcolm are on the porch. We both hop out of the car and I pull off the blanket and hand it to him. He takes it and I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his.
“I’m going to miss you,” Peter whispers when our lips part.
“I??
?m going to miss you too,” I admit. Peter smiles then he grins.
“I need to give you your birthday present,” he announces. “Hang on.” Peter rushes in the house. It takes him ten seconds to run back out. He has three boxes of various sizes in his arms. One is a square box about two inches wide and thick. The other one is a box as big as an eight by eleven sized piece of paper. The third box is only slightly bigger than the second. He gives me the boxes. I kiss him on the cheek and place the boxes in the back seat. Danny kisses Malcolm and we get in the car. I wave goodbye to the two brothers and take off.
“How are things with you and Malcolm?” I ask Danny as I turn on the highway. She looks genuinely surprised that I care.
“Good. We’ve been taking things slow. After what happened with Matt, I don’t want to rush into anything.”
“What happened with Matt?” I ask. She sighs.
“He cheated on me with my best friend Laurel.” Her admission makes me spill. I figure if anyone knows what Teresa is going through it’s her.
“She purposely broke your ankle?” Danny is furious by that fact.
“She thinks that we’re even,” I say.
“But she hardly liked James. I don’t think you are,” she protested.
“What do you think?” I ask. “Should I tell Tiller I’m cool with them dating?” Danny frowns.
“I’m not sure. On one hand Tiller and Teresa should be together. On the other hand, can you deal with seeing her whenever Tiller visits?”
“I’m not sure,” I admit. Danny sighs.
“Answer that question first, then you’ll be able to make that decision.”
When we get back to the mansion, I shower and change into pajamas. Eliza, Carmen, Danny, and Tia spend the night with me. First, I open all of Peter’s presents. He got me everything I wanted, clothes, perfume, and a gift card to a coffee shop. I call him before we watch the first movie, tell him goodnight and thank him for my presents. Then, we eat junk food and watch a ton of lifetime movies. In between movies, I tell them about my predicament. Everyone is disappointed that I cheated on Derrick. Even Tia scowls at me. But it’s Eliza who comes up with a point that sticks with me into sleep.
“Do you forgive yourself?” And as my eye lids droop, I realize that I honestly don’t know the answer to the question.