I pull away from Nicole's house and slam my hands onto the steering wheel.

What the hell was I thinking? I kept saying, 'Go slow, William.' Do I listen to myself? No! She's not like other girls. I'm glad she told me that it wasn't over for us. I'm such an idiot!

As I degrade myself, I hear my phone's text notification. I hope it's Nicole, but it's not; it's Tessa.

I wait to read it till I'm in my driveway.

Can you meet me at Bubba's? It's an emergency!

It's Monday, and I'm waiting for Nicole at our usual spot with the gang. I worked the weekend, so we've only been texting each other.

I see Nicole approaching and can't help but smile. She walks up to me and kisses my cheek.

Tessa walks over to where we're standing and hands me an envelope with my name on the front. I take it from her and put it in my pocket as she walks back to her group of friends.

Nicole looks at me, her smile fading. I shrug my shoulders, letting her know I have no idea why Tessa handed me a note when the homeroom bell rings.

I smile at her and kiss her cheek before heading to class. "Have a good day!"

"You, too," she mutters and turns towards her homeroom class.

I walked to my homeroom, wondering what the hell that was all about. Tessa smirked at me after giving William that envelope. I couldn't get it out of my head all day. While dating, he never specifically asked me to be his official girlfriend. I try to put it out of my mind and go to cheerleading practice.

After practice, I got a call from William.

"Hey beautiful, what are you up to tonight?"

I grin like an idiot when I hear his sexy voice. "I have homework to do; why?"

"I'm getting off early and want to know if you can meet here at the store around 6:00. We can go out for pizza, and I promise not to keep you out late—just dinner," William pledges.

I smile and say, "Okay, I'll have my mom drop me off."

He doesn't try to hide his excitement. "Awesome! I'll leave my car unlocked. Text me when you arrive, and wait in my car while I clock out."

"Will do."

I look forward to asking William about Tessa's note because he has some explaining to do.

My mom drops me off at the store a little early. I walk over, get into the passenger side of William's car, pull out my phone, and text him.

Hi! I'm here a little early. Take your time. I'm patiently waiting in your car.

He's quick to respond.

Okay, I'll be out in 15.

I'm sitting there scrolling through my Facebook and sneezed. My nose runs slightly, so I look for a tissue or fast food napkin. When I don't find any, I open William's glove compartment. Staring me in the face is the envelope Tessa gave William this morning.

Forgetting about my runny nose, I pull the envelope out of the glove compartment and notice the envelope is open. For about half a second, I consider stopping myself from reading Tessa's note to William. Of course, my curiosity gets the best of me. William won't be out of work for another ten minutes, so I pull out the note.

William,

I want to let you know that I'll never forget last night. It meant more to me than you could ever imagine. You seriously are the best. I'm so happy to have you in my life. You're a fantastic guy.

Love,
Tessa

My heart stops. Oh my God! Again, I know I'm not his girlfriend, but damn, this is breaking my heart. Anyone but Tessa! My chest tightens, and I can't breathe.

He ran to Tessa when I didn't give him what he wanted that night. How could I believe the lies he told me about respecting my boundaries? I'm such an idiot.

I quickly text my mom to pick me back up, get out of William's car, and walk towards my house. I told my mom what I was doing and asked her to look out for me.

I was so shocked that I left William's glove compartment open with the note on the passenger seat. Screw him; at least he'll know his dirty little secret is exposed.

Luckily, my mom was close to my location. She'd stopped a block away to grab fast food dinner for my dad and herself. She pulled up to the curb, and I jumped in with tears flowing down my cheeks.

"What happened?" Mom asks me with concern.

Through my tears, I tell her the entire story.

"Awe, Honey. I'm so sorry."

I start crying uncontrollably. The ache in my chest is overwhelming.

My mom drives the rest of the way silently; her presence is comforting.

I feel my phone vibrate. William is calling me, but I let it go to voicemail.

My phone vibrates again. It's a text from William.

It's not what you think! Please call me!

I ignore him.

We pull into my driveway. I bolt into the house and run to my room, taking two steps at a time.

I can hear my dad as I slam my bedroom door.

"What the hell happened?"

Several minutes later, I heard the doorbell. There's talking, and the door shuts.

A moment later, my mom is at my door knocking. "Nicole, can I come in?"

"Yes." I barely get the words out between sobs.

My mom opens my door. She comes over, sits on my bed, and rubs my back.

"That was William at the door. He wanted to explain the note, but I told him to give you time and asked him to leave. He looked distraught."

"I don't care. I'm not even sure why I'm so upset. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend. Why Tessa?" I cried. "She's been nothing but horrible to me since I got here. I thought he cared about me more than that. I never want to see him again; Tessa can have him!"

"Honey, give it some time. Maybe you'll feel differently in the morning," my mom says before patting me reassuringly.

My mom kisses my head and leaves my room. I shove my face into my pillow and cry myself to sleep.

The following day, I woke up with puffy eyes and realized I hadn't done any of my homework the night before. I look at the clock, and it's 9:30. My mom must have let me sleep late—my stomach growls. I never ate dinner last night, and I'm starving.

I walk down to the kitchen and find a note on the counter.

Good Morning Honey,

I hope you're feeling better. I called you off school today, and I'll be home this afternoon.

Love You!
Mom

My mom is the best. I get myself some cereal and milk, then sit at the bar to eat.

After breakfast, I shower and get dressed; my eye goes to my phone. The screen indicates that I have ten unread text messages. I take a moment to glance at them. They're all from William, begging to talk to me.

I throw my phone back on my dresser and start my homework.

A few hours later, my mom got home. She knocks on my door before walking in. "How are you doing?"

"Better; putting my mind on my homework has helped."

She raises a Wendy's bag. "I brought you home some lunch. Do you want to join me downstairs?"

I smile at my mom's thoughtfulness. "Sure, just give me a second to wrap up here."

She turns to leave and says, "I'll get everything ready."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, Sweetheart," she calls over her shoulder.

I come down a few minutes later and join my mom for lunch.

We're finishing up when the doorbell rings.

My mom gives me a knowing look. I look at the clock and know William should be at work by now.

"I'll get it, sweetheart."

Mom goes into the living room to answer the door.

I call out to her, "Thanks, Mom. If that's William, I'm not ready to face him."

Mom opens the door, and I hear Chris' voice. What's he doing out of school?

"Hello, Mrs. Myers. Are Nicole and William here?"

"Nicole is here, but not William."

I come out of the kitchen.

"What's going on? Why are you out of school?"

Chris looks concerned. "William's dad texted me. He's worried about William. He never showed up for work. They let me out of school to look for him since his dad could not leave the store. William signed out of school an hour ago. His dad said that he was not himself last night or this morning. His dad also said that he didn't think William slept last night, but he still insisted on attending school. I didn't see you today, so I assumed he was here. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

I thought for a moment. "Let me help you look. I'll take the lake. You look in town."

"Okay. Text me if you find William, and I'll do the same."

"Sounds good."

I know right where to look for him. I begin to walk to the lake. When I get there, I go directly to the pier.

There's William, sitting at the edge of the pier. The exact place we spent our first date. I walk up to him, but he doesn't hear me approach. I place my hand on his shoulder, and he looks at me. When he realizes it's me, he jumps up, practically knocking me into the lake. He grabs my arm to balance me.

I bit my lip nervously. "Hi."

"Hi."

His beautiful green eyes are swollen and red.

"Were you crying?"

He wipes his eyes. "No, it's allergies," he said unconvincingly.

I smile at his unbelievable answer. "Sure it is."

"I'm sorry." We say at the same time.

"I promise that note from Tessa is not what it looks like. Can I please explain?"

I nod. "Yes, I'm ready to listen."

William sits back down on the edge of the pier. I join him, keeping my feet out of the water.

He takes a deep breath. "After I dropped you off on Friday night, Tessa texted me."

I tense up but let him keep going.

"She said it was an emergency, and I knew what that meant. See, Tessa doesn't have the best family situation. The only reason I'm telling you about Tessa's business is that you mean so much to me, and it's not worth losing you over."

"Go on," is my simple reply.

He continues, "Well, Tessa's dad is a miserable prick when drunk. Unfortunately, he's always drunk. He got out of prison on Friday after spending six months there due to his third drunk driving arrest. He headed right to Tessa's house. Tessa's mom called her in a panic, and she texted me."

My eyes widen in shock. "I had no idea."

"As you can imagine, it's very embarrassing for her. I saw her father's violence firsthand when we dated two summers ago. I've become her first call when things get out of hand with her dad because I can usually diffuse the situation. For whatever reason, he listens to me." He shrugs. "Her note to me was letting me know how much she appreciates me handling her dad. Nothing more. I promise."

I lower my head. "I feel like a complete idiot. I shouldn't have invaded your privacy. I'm so sorry for the way I acted. We aren't even boyfriend and girlfriend; I had no right to shut you out. I was just so hurt. My heart broke when I read that note."

William lifts my chin. "What were you doing in my glove compartment?"

"Looking for a tissue," I smirk.

We both laugh, and he pulls me into a hug. I hug him tightly; I never want to let him go.

"Nicole?"

I look up into his mesmerizing eyes. "Yes?"

He looks deep into my eyes before saying, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I melt into him and squeeze him tighter.

"I would love to be your girlfriend."

A/N What's fact or fiction? Post your answers in the comment section, and I'll confirm or deny them.