Page 8 of Lost In Emotion

When my mom liked to pretend she was a good mom and actually pay attention to me, she would try to set me up with the sons of her friends at the country club. I always managed to get out of it, but she had a particular kind of man she wanted me with, and Justin wasn't it.

I slipped on my jeans and grabbed a jean jacket before heading back out of my bedroom door. I didn't hear anything, so they probably didn't find Justin downstairs. I bounced down the stairs and smiled when I saw him standing there in the dim lighting of the kitchen. I wanted to kiss him, but we had to get out of there ASAP.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and almost dragged him out of the house.

We got into his car, and I must have been holding my breath because when he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, I let out a sigh.

We were headed to a party at one of his bandmate's houses. He was quiet the whole ride. He held my hand like always, but he didn't say anything. When we got there and parked the car, I stopped him before getting out.

"Is everything okay, Justin? You got really quiet."

"I'm fine." He got out of the car, leaving me sitting there. He didn't come to open my door, and I wondered what I'd done to tick him off.

I got out, and he was at least waiting for me at the back of the car. When I tried to grab his hand, he casually moved it out of the way, and my heart dropped. But, of course, Sarah wouldn't be at this party either, so if Justin ignored me, I was pretty much on my own.

We went into the house and said hi, smiling and acting like everything was okay. I even grabbed a beer. Justin noticed and raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn't say anything. At least he saw I was drinking.

The party eventually made its way outside, where there was a huge bonfire. Justin sat down but didn't pull me into his lap like he usually did at things like this. Instead, I sat in the chair next to him and listened to the conversation around me. I had met most of these people numerous times, but I didn't know any of them well enough to have an honest discussion.

After my second beer, I felt emotional and wanted to go home. I wanted to call Sarah and cry to her about how Justin was treating me tonight. I stopped drinking and switched to water.

Around midnight, Justin finally turned to me. “Are you ready to go home?”

I bit my lip to fight back the tears and nodded. He stood up and waited for me to get up but didn’t take my hand as we made our round of goodbyes. We walked to the car in silence.

He'd quit drinking after his second beer hours ago, so I knew he was okay to drive. He never had more than two beers at a party. Watching his dad get wasted and act like a fool taught him that alcohol wasn't worth it.

He didn't say anything as he drove towards my car stuck at Blockbuster. When we pulled into the parking lot, I finally broke the ice.

“What’s wrong, Justin?”

“Nothing,” he replied, not even looking at me.

“Bullshit. You haven’t said more than five words to me since we were at my house. Did one of my parents find you and say something?”

He didn't reply, staring ahead. Finally, he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Tiffany, what are you doing with a guy like me? We know you're from a different world. Your friends probably wouldn't like me, and your parent's definitely won't approve of me."

"Sarah likes you. That's all that matters." I crossed my arms over my chest. I got an excellent education at my school, but the kids were preppy pricks that didn't like anyone that wasn't like them, so Justin was probably right. He was right about my parents, so I couldn't really argue with him.

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” He shrugged. “We’re just too different.”

I sat in silence, tears falling down my face. "You can't be serious, Justin. I like you. Isn't that all that matters? Not what everyone else thinks?" I couldn't believe this was happening. In a matter of minutes, our relationship had changed entirely. Was Justin not the man I thought he was?

“It makes things a lot harder. You deserve better than some grit that works at a roller rink and lives in his mom’s basement. I’m sorry, Tiffany.”

“Fine. Thanks for showing me what an asshole you were before it was too late.” I reached for the car handle and got out, slamming it behind me. He drove away before I was in my car.

I got in and put my forehead on the steering wheel, sobbing. I was ready to give my virginity to this guy, and he just dumped me out of the blue.

I felt sorry for myself for a few more minutes and started the car, driving to Sarah’s house. Thank goodness we already had plans for me to do that. There was no way I could go home tonight and be alone. Not after Justin shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.

8

JUSTIN

Ican’t believe I just broke up with Tiffany.

I got home from dropping her off at her car and went right to my bedroom despite my mom trying to talk to me. I was in no mood to talk to anyone.

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