“Secrets of the Heart”, the conclusion to “Wild Hearts” has taken longer than expected to write. I’m just finishing up last minute details. It will be released in the next few weeks. I’m so excited!
Sneak Preview of “Secrets of the Heart”….
“She accused me of cheating on her,” I spat out. “Our fighting is what caused the accident. I wasn’t paying attention when I should have been. And now, I can’t even play football. Do you know how much that sucks? It’s all her fault!”
“Is it? Were you cheating on her?” my mom asked.
“No!” I didn’t need this from my mom, too. I turned to go back to my room, but she stopped me.
“So, that’s it?”
“Yeah! That’s it!” Even as I said it, my gut turned. I wondered if I had made the right decision.
I continued towards the stairs. “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Christopher! You did this, now sit and face it like a man.”
I don’t know that I’d ever heard my mom talk to me like that before. Her usually sweet disposition was gone. My dad was always the hard-ass, not my mom.
I turned back and plopped into the chair. The last thing I wanted to talk about with my mom was the reason Tori thought I was cheating. The reason I ended things today. My own guilt weighed heavily on me, but Tori should have known better. She should have known I wouldn’t do that to her. Her insecurities were killing me. “Why are you drinking?” I asked her, as I sat down, trying to take the attention off myself. “You never drink.”
“I guess it’s because a girl, who’s like my daughter, left in tears today. Because my son,” she tipped her glass at me, “decided it would be a good idea to get drunk and destroy her. I’m gonna ask you again. Did you cheat on her?”
“No!”
“Then why the fuck was Susie standing on my doorstep today?” My eyes widened and I pulled back in shock. I had never heard my mom use that word before. “Because I’m trying to figure out why the girl who took your virginity, and half of the football team’s, was at my house.”
I leaned forward on my elbows and blew out a breath. “How do you know about that?”
My mom laughed. Yes, actually laughed at me. “Oh please, Chris. Just because I pretend to not know what’s going on, doesn’t mean I don’t. People talk. I know all about Susie Deluca. Why was she here?”
“She likes me, okay? She’s been trying to get back with me for a long time. I told her no. I can’t control that she showed up here.” Lord knew Susie had a mind of her own and a determination to match. Her timing today had been impeccable.
“And why would Tori think you were cheating on her?”
I sighed and dropped my head to the table, “Why are you asking me about this?”
My mom took another long drink of her wine and set it back on the table. “Because I’m your mother and I want to know. I think after what happened here today, I have a right to know.”
I didn’t want to get into this with my mom, but there was no way she was going to let it go. “Fine! On my birthday, Tori saw Susie kissing me at my locker. I didn’t kiss her back though.” That was my story and I was sticking to it.
But truth be told, I should have known better. Tori would have never blinded my eyes. She would have spun me around and pushed me back into my locker. That was the fire Tori and I had. There was no pretending with us.
I should have told Tori right when it happened. I shouldn’t have hidden it from her. I lost her trust, when I didn’t tell her the truth. If I had done that, Tori wouldn’t have been upset with me. We would have never have fought in the truck. I would have seen that damn deer. We would have never gotten in the accident.
It all came back to that fucking kiss.
My mom pursed her lips and nodded her head. “Sooo, let me get this right. If you saw some guy, who Tori had a past relationship with, kissing her…and said guy randomly showed up at her house… you wouldn’t think that she was cheating?” I stared at her like that goddamn deer stared at my headlights the other night. She tapped her fingers on the table in an annoying rhythm. “Well? What would you do? His lips pressed tight to hers?” I kept quiet. The picture she was creating in my mind was pissing me off. All I could see were Matt’s arms wrapped around Tori and his lips on hers. “Come on, Chris. Some guy’s hanging all over your girlfriend, kissing her.” The rage inside me built. “What would you do? What would you think?” she kept prodding.
I pushed away from the table and stood up, knocking the chair to the floor. I pulled at my hair, “I’d knock the shit out of him! And yeah, I’d think she was cheating!” I yelled. My chest heaved and a fire burned inside me.
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