Where Do We Go From Here?

Monday came quicker than I had anticipated, and all I could think of during my usual routine of grabbing coffee before going to campus, was how I was supposed to act around Tony. I didn’t see him on Sunday since I was at the animal shelter and apparently Tony went to the Catholic Church near Sunrise Ridge Mall before spending the day with his family. Other than briefly texting each other, I was utterly clueless on how to act when I see him. Should I acknowledge him? Hug him? Kiss him? These were questions that kept pricking at my brain as I waited in the Starbucks drive-thru line.

I remember speaking with Callie Sunday night. I mostly picked her brain about Mike and what happened after he dropped her off. The good news was that Mike did like her. He expressed that he wanted to go steady with Callie. However, the bad news—well, at least according to Callie she considered this bad news—he didn’t try to kiss her. She was only slightly let down by this, but still felt extremely frivolous of the fact that Mike liked her back.

When she asked me how things went with Tony, I didn’t hold back. I unleashed Saturday’s events onto her, spilling how he kissed me (once at the beach and again when Jaime picked him up from my house). With an uncontainable smile taking up her face, Callie repeatedly told me how happy she was for me. She also went on a tangent on how she was right about Tony and I, and felt the need to rub it in my face. I didn’t mind it though, since I was slowly getting whisked away by the thought of Tony liking me.

I remember how I had to take Veronica to her first appointment with Moira after volunteering my time at the animal shelter. Veronica was reluctant the entire ride and kept quiet, something that I was slowly growing accustomed to. Upon arriving to Moira’s office, I noticed that the building was large and painted with vibrant colors that made me question if it truly was the office of a psychologist/therapist or the building for a child’s daycare. Veronica went in after muttering—for the millionth time—on how stupid going to therapy was. I waited patiently for her while brushing up on my homework, which had been well neglected over the weekend. When Veronica came back to the car, she looked just as uninterested and lackluster as she did when we arrived.

When I asked how things went, her reply was “Stupid” before resorting to silence for the drive home. I couldn’t help but think of how Veronica was before her anorexia. She was outgoing and jubilant. In most ways, Ronnie and Jason were so much alike. However, now things have changed drastically and it got me thinking; when did she start changing completely?

After buying my coffee, I drove straight to campus. I still had a semi-completed English paper that needed printing and an unfinished set of problems for my Calculus class. I arrived on campus just in time to see the librarian walk from her car to campus. Gathering my things from the backseat, I walked towards the library with my coffee in hand. There weren’t many people here, just staff and maybe a few other students, but no one I really cared about. Walking into the library, I went to my usual spot in the back and opened up my binder to locate my unfinished homework. I stuffed my earphones in while blasting loudly The Neighborhood. Nodding along to the music, I blazed through my first problem set before going onto the next.

“I knew I’d find you in here.” Tony commented from behind me.

I smiled timidly before saying “Yeah, there are only a handful of places I’d actually go to on this campus willingly.”

Grabbing a chair from one of the other booths, Tony took a seat next to me. “You wanna come over to my house after school?” He blurted out the question, breaking through my concentration.

“I can’t.” I said apologetically. “I have work.”

“Oh, how’s about after you finish work?” He offered.

I sighed. “I’ll probably be exhausted and have to finish my homework.”

Tony chuckled. “You are one busy girl.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s so I don’t have time for relationships and other teenagey things.” I joked.

“What about tomorrow? What are your plans after school?” He asked.

“Nothing really other than I have to take Veronica to see Moira then after that nothing.” I smiled.

“How has your sister been doing?” Tony asked sincerely.

I shrugged because I wanted to say she was doing better, but at the moment her recovery was stagnant. “She doesn’t really talk to me.”

I could see concern flooding Tony’s features as he asked “Were you guys close before?”

“Not really, but Ronnie was never one to keep secrets.” I answered. Feeling the urge to change the subject, I asked “So why do you want me to go to your house?”

“I want you to meet my mom.” He said simply. “And my little sister wants to meet you.”

I felt myself grow completely still before saying “You have a little sister?”

“Yeah, there’s my older half sister—who I’ve told you about, Maria. And then there’s my younger sister—half sister to be exact, Rosie.” Tony answered.

You know how you have these images on what someone’s home life would be like, well, I hadn’t expected Tony’s life to include sisters or half-sisters. It made me curious as to how the half sisters came to be, other than the basic aesthetics of biology and human anatomy coming into play.

“How old is Rosie?” I asked.

Tony smiled. “She turned 8 last month.”

I couldn’t help but allow the shy smile take up my face. “How does your sister know about me?” I asked curiously.

“Because I tell her about you. She calls you my princess.” He replied with a toothy grin on his face.

I looked away from Tony because I couldn’t contain my blushing. Staring at my boring Calculus homework, I felt myself calming down.

“So can you make it for dinner at my house on Tuesday?” Tony asked.

Biting back a smile, I replied with “I’d be delighted to.”

Notes

Another filler? Dammit!

I'll try my best to update again since I've been stalling this story with fillers. My bad "/

Tell me what you think and Thanks for reading! <3