Page 105 of Every Broken Promise
My everything showerwas not scheduled until self-care Sunday, but here I was making sure I had shaved and was squeaky clean because a boy was going to climb through my bedroom window.
How did I get to this point?I wondered as I brushed my teeth.
After leaving the auto shop, I felt more at ease with myself despite being mortified. I mean, if I was going to be in Tyler’s life then I should be getting used to having his family members watching us embrace.
Did that make us friends with benefits now? My boyfriend? Did I want him to be my boyfriend?
In all honesty, it felt anticlimactic to the hype I had built around that one word. In my head it all seemed a bit more magical than what was happening now.
After I was done showering, and I smelled goodeverywhere, I took my laptop and walked to the living room so I could chill a bit with my parents. This usually was the time I took to listen to their day while I scrolled Facebook neighborhood groups and got updated on the cam apps.
Honestly, being with them had been like a security blanket. It didn’t matter how old you were, or what problems you had, but if you had a good relationship with your parents, being with them just made everything better.
Today, however, I began to finish up my article onDelicia’s. The more I wrote, the better I felt about my writing and being a part ofThe Herald. This is what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to make people feel good and bring a sense of belonging into our communities.
“Can you guys read this and tell me if you like it?” I asked my parents as I slid my laptop toward them.
While they began to read, I took out my phone and pulled up my work app so I could let Ronnie know I wouldn’t be there tomorrow either. I was almost out of sick days, but since I didn’t get sick often, and I hoped this winter did me good, I wasn’t too worried about wasting them. Our work app was awesome, and it avoided me having to text anyone directly. Unless it was Orianna, I didn’t mind texting her. I pulled up Ronnie’s contact info and left him a message.
Me:Hey Ronnie, sorry to bother you at this hour. I am still not feeling great. I will stay home tomorrow. I already contacted Grace, and I’ll be sending her my article.
He answered right away, which made me cringe after I read his reply, acting like I missed work every other week.
Ronnie:Oh, another sick day?
Me:I want this bug to go away. On the plus side I don’t get sick often. Lol
Ronnie:At least you won’t be sick for our night away. Let me know if you need anything. I’m more than happy to stop by.
Me:Sounds good.
I put my phone away, and the only reason I didn’t overanalyze that interaction was because my parents started to congratulate me.
“Oh, June bug,” my father began. “This is a lovely piece.”
“Lupe is going to love it,” my mom added.
My cheeks flushed as I felt myself beam with pride at their words. Pretty soon everyone around will read my article too, and I just hoped they loved it as much as my parents had.
When another text message came through, I froze thinking it might be Ronnie again. I brought the phone up, and then sighed in relief when I saw who texted me. Irony was staring back at me.
Tilemaker:Can’t wait to get out of work.
Me:Error 478: The number you are trying to contact is no longer in service.
I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning like a maniac.
Tilemaker:You better be joking, beautiful.
Tilemaker:I’ll go knock on your front door and tell your parents I can’t stop thinking about you.
Tilemaker:That you hit it and quit it, and I know they raised you better than that.
Me:Don’t you dare!
Tilemaker:Oh, look, no error after all.I’ll see you soon, beautiful.
My heart raced, and I wondered what he meant by soon. Like five minutes soon, or one hour?
