Magnolia

I saw him standing in the doorway of the living room, but because I wasn't expecting him at that moment, it seemed unreal. Was that really Presley, standing there looking as gorgeous as I'd ever seen him? God, he looked good in that gray sweater. He was so tall but didn't look as thin right now, for some reason. The way he was looking at me was something special. It felt like he was trying to tell me something, just by that sweet smile.

   I was staring, and suddenly realized that was weird. Standing up from the sofa, I heard Yasmin giggle. Presley was suddenly walking towards me and wrapped his arms around my body, as soon as we were close enough.

   "Sorry I didn't text... um... Yasmin's boyfriend was outside when I pulled up... he told me to come on in."

   "Oh. Right. That's okay," I said, looking up at him. He kissed my head and then let me step back. "So... let me introduce you. That's Pope, and Daniel, and Brittany, and... Yas."

   Presley smiled and waved across the room, looking a bit overwhelmed. All of Yasmin's friends waved back, barely paying attention to us. But Yasmin was staring.

   "Hey, Presley," she called out, cheerfully. She was already drinking, two beers in. And she was spending the night with Jakob, again.

   "Hey," he said back, smiling over at her. But then he leaned down so his mouth was at my ear.

   "Hi."

   "Hi," I repeated, then added, "how was work?"

   "Oh, good. I mean, normal."

   "That's good."

   He nodded and looked around the room again. I reached for his hand and pulled him over to the sofa I had been sitting on, and we sat down beside each other. Right away, he slipped his arm around me, pulling me close.  It was as if this was his first response, getting me closer to him.

   Brittany and Yas were having a heated conversation about some TV drama and then as soon as Jakob was inside again, he turned on the large flat screen and started some crazy battle video game. Halo? Or something. There were weapons and people getting shot. Daniel moved fast to grab the second remote, and when they looked at Presley, he shrugged.

   "You wanna play?" Jakob asked Presley, carefully.

   "Yeah, sure," Presley answered, glancing at me.

   I smiled at him because I knew that not only was this evening about me, it was for him, too. He'd missed out a lot because of being sick. He lost friends and isolated himself. I'd never been sick, but I knew we both needed this.

   An hour later, Yas, Brittany and I were in the kitchen. The boys were still playing on the Xbox and I could tell Presley was having fun by all of the cheering and booing and laughing coming from that room. Just being at a get together with friends, with him, was everything to me. My heart felt big and wide open.

   "So, how old is your boy?" Brittany asked me, leaning back onto the counter.
She was short and thin and actually seemed younger than us, but she was a senior, too. I didn't know her well but Yas and her had gotten close the previous year. She had dated Daniel off and on, for awhile. Right now they were on.

   "Eighteen," I said, without thinking.

   Yasmin did not know what I'd found out about Presley. I hadn't told her that he'd been sick and was behind a year in school. She looked at me, curious. She was on her third beer and didn't seem upset about this, though.

   "Where'd you meet him?" Brittany wanted to know. "He sure doesn't go to SCH."

   I shook my head and hopped up onto one of the stools near the kitchen island. "He doesn't."

   I saw the look in her eyes and she realized I wasn't going to tell her how we met. She probably assumed he had already graduated, by his age. Then she nodded and moved on. "Well, he's cute. And I see how he looks at you. It's cool you're finally letting loose a bit."

   I eyed Yasmin, who was holding back a laugh. "She's trying."

   The truth was, I wanted to let loose. And things felt so good in that moment that I accepted the can of beer that Jakob offered me, a few minutes later. It tasted pretty gross but I finished it anyway, and then when Presley pulled me down into his lap on the sofa, I melted into him, letting anything I was worried about go, completely.

   He kissed my cheek and mumbled something about how fun this was, and I nodded, saying nothing. Hanging out with friends and my boyfriend on a Friday night was exactly what I didn't know I needed in my life. I liked the way my heart fluttered a bit too fast as Presley nuzzled his face into my neck. I liked hearing Yasmin giggle as Jakob tickled her, across the room. Now the video game was off and there was a movie starting, and the group of us just fell into each thing as if we did this all the time. I wanted this to be my normal.

   But things went downhill, and fast. I didn't hear my phone ringing, as it was in my hand bag on the other side of the room. I didn't know that my mother was calling me frantically, for the last ten minutes. I didn't know until Yasmin's phone rang, vibrating on the table in front of us.
She looked at me, trying yo hide the look of horror as she answered.

   "Hi Ma, yes, she's with me... yeah... we're fine. Oh. Crap."

   I swallowed hard and tried to pretend it wasn't what I thought, but of course it was.

   "Yes. Okay, yep. Love you too."

   As my best friend slowly lowered her phone from her ear, all eyes on her, she stood up and reached for my hand. After pulling me towards the front hall area of the house, away from everyone, Yasmin whispered, "Your mom knows you're not at my house."

   "What?" My voice sounded strained as the word came out.

   "She called my mom and asked to talk to you, after you didn't answer your phone. My mom tried to cover for you, but-"

   "Oh my god," I spat out, pain shooting through my body. "No."

   "I'm sorry, Lia. Um, my mom said you should get home..." My best friend looked horrified and sad and annoyed all at the same time.

   "Yeah... right..." I said slowly, already turning away from her.

   I walked back towards the room where everyone was still sitting. Avoiding Presley's eyes, I crossed the room and grabbed my hand bag. He jumped and followed me back towards the front door, but I still didn't look at him.

   "Thanks for having us, Jakob," I said as calmly as I could, looking over my shoulder.

   Jakob just nodded and I saw Brittany wave before I spun back around, to go outside. Presley was on my heels.

   "What's wrong?" he asked, following me down the steps and to the sidewalk.

   I couldn't talk without crying, so I stayed quiet, and just stood by his car, holding my breath. I was a ticking time bomb, trying hard not to explode.

   He came right up to me and grabbed at my arm. "What, Mag?" I could hear the uncertainty in his voice, and I hated it.

   "My mom knows I'm out. She called me a bunch of times and then called Yasmin's mom." Somehow, my voice stayed steady. I did not want him to see me cry.

   "Okay... maybe it's fine... maybe..." He let his voice trail off when he saw my face.

   "It's not fine. This was a horrible idea. I can't believe-"

   He wrapped his arms around my body and squeezed, holding me so tightly that I couldn't breathe for a second. It was a perfect moment, the calm before the storm. And then my phone was vibrating.

   I flung open the passenger side door of Presley's car as I pressed the button to answer the call. Presley walked around to the other side and got in beside me, starting it right away. He reached over to turn down the radio as I said hello.

   "Magnolia Isabelle, what in God's name do you think you're doing?"

   "Mom," I said, trying to snap her out of her reign of hell. "I'm fine. I'm on my way home."

   "You lied to me. You told me you were at Yasmin's house, and I noticed her car was not in the driveway. I... I cannot believe this." Her voice was so emotionless, but full of disappointment. It was the only emotion she had, for me.

   "We just went for a drive," I spat out, hoping that was what Yasmin's mom had told her. I hadn't thought this through, clearly. I hadn't considered what would happen if my mom noticed Yasmin's car was gone. I was trying to stay calm, but the tears were right there, on the brink of spilling out.

   "If you are not home in ten minutes-"

   "It'll be less than ten," I interrupted, then hung up.

   Presley looked at me for a second before looking back at the road. My heart was beating so fast but it wasn't because I was excited or nervous or happy. It was because I didn't hear the end of my mother's threat, but I knew it was not good.

   "I'm sorry-" he began, but I shook my head to stop him.

   "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters now. I was careless. I stupidly thought that maybe things would get better, but that's not possible now."

"Mag." His voice was so defeated but he reached over to try to hold my hand, anyway. "I promise we will be okay. I'll do anything-"

   "There's nothing you can do. At least right now my parents don't know about you. That's for the best." I was just spitting out words, out of fear and anger. He didn't deserve any of this.

   Presley looked heartbroken, and I had to look away. "No, you are not doing this."

   "I don't have a choice!" I yelled, but it was more dramatic than I meant it to be. "Please, just drop me off at the corner."

   "Mag," he tried again, brushing his thumb over the top of my hand.

   Tears were pouring down my face and I didn't bother wiping them away. I didn't say anything else and when he pulled up to the spot he'd dropped me off at just the night before, I threw the door open as fast as I could.

   "Please, don't just leave," Presley begged me.

   Maybe doing this now was best for us both. Maybe hurting him now would mean he could forget about me. I definitely wasn't thinking straight, but I only looked back for a second, tears blurring my vision, before getting out and slamming the door closed.