Wrong number. (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Four

STACY

Thursday morning I felt awful. The pit in my stomach was weighing me down. The events of last night raced through my mind and I ran to the bathroom.

The contents of what I ate yesterday escaped my mouth and dropped into the toilet. For the first time, I wasn't making myself throw up. My anxiety was.

I lied to my parents last night. I lied right to their faces and went to a party. What was supposed to be a "study group at Emma's house" turned into a party at Kyle's.

I didn't drink.

I didn't smoke or vape.

I didn't even eat or drink anything given to me, in fear of partaking drugs. I just sat there. Alone. Kyle came up to me a few times and we had small talk but I decided to leave after I was asked for my number too many times and given a few.

Boys were looking me up and down. Girls were looking me up and down. The pool outside looked like a good way to disappear from this reality. Why did I go if I knew I was going to have a horrible time? I wanted to know what Nick enjoyed before I chained him up. What was so hip about these parties? The girls, the booze, and music. I couldn't figure out what he liked so much about all of it.

I quickly left but got caught by my ex-boyfriend.

"Stacy! What are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving. Don't worry, I don't want to ruin your party."

"Stacy," he grabbed my arm before I could reach the front door in the foyer of Kyle's house. "What are you doing here? Really? This isn't you,"

"I know it's not me. But it's you. I just needed closure."

"Closure?"

"I needed to know what I was keeping you from." I looked down with embarrassment.

"Ba—Stacy, you don't belong here." I yanked my arm from his grip.

"I said I was going! Gosh. I got my closure. It's the fact that you're just as crude and lascivious as the average teenager. I don't know what you see in this kind of a party but I'm sorry I wasted your nights and evenings with my boring family and me."

"Are you dating anyone?"

"Well that's out of the blue."

"Kyle said you'd come to a party like this, and I didn't believe him. But you're here. He also said that you already moved on. Is that true?"

I looked at him for a few seconds, not giving him the satisfaction just yet.

"I'm not," I finally answered. "I'm going on a mission. I don't need the distraction."

"You're going on a mission? When you're nineteen, right?"

"Why would you care? I don't want you to. Stop contacting me or looking at me. I want nothing to do with you Nick." I opened the front door and walked to my car.

Once I got home, I went straight to bed.

Now I was puking my guts out in the only bathroom upstairs (besides my parents' master bathroom).

I confessed to my parents and they grounded me. Phone and TV privileges. I didn't mind one bit. If they really wanted to punish me, they should have taken my running shoes, which had become just as close to me as a phone or favorite book.

I had AP quizzes coming up at the start of May, and that month was only a day away. Yep, it's been seventeen days since Nick told me goodbye. I don't mean to count, but I just can't help it.

I sat in the car at seminary and didn't expect Nick to join me.

He hopped into the passenger seat and I protested.

"What are you doing?"

"Why were you at that party last night? This isn't you, Stacy."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I still care about you!"

"Obviously you don't. You broke up with me because you thought you weren't good enough. Bull crap."

"We need to talk."

"You know, you said you wanted to follow me anywhere. What happened to that? Did you suddenly realize that I wasn't good enough for you?"

"Stacy! You don't get it. I love you! Okay! God damnit!"

I scrambled across the console and grabbed Nick's face. Then I kissed him.

NICK

Everything else disappeared. I was transported back in time. I was back with my girl. Her soft lips pressed against mine. Her dainty hands squished my face together.

I pushed back, allowing her to be more comfortable. Our lips conversed and I didn't want to stop. Her fingers ran through my hair as I placed my hand on her back and my other hand on her knee. I became extremely tempted to just yank her over onto my lap and it took every fiber in me to hold myself back.

"Are you still going on a mission?" I asked between our messy kissing. She then stopped and I knew I should have asked my question after our lips tired. Mine were hot and ready and already missing hers. Hers were swollen and red and alluring. "Don't answer that." I simply said and slammed my lips against hers again. She kissed back. Oh how much I missed her. Has she been missing me as much as I have been missing her? Please say she has. Maybe I wasn't the one more in love in our relationship. I was the one who broke it off. Maybe we love each other just as equally. I hope she has been miserable without me. "No," I said out loud. Stacy stopped. Crap. No, don't stop!

"What is it?" She asked with desperate eyes. She was breathing hard and I quickly glanced at the closed windows which were not yet foggy.

"No, I mean. I just said that out loud. I didn't mean I wanted to stop. No, I don't want to stop."

"Then why did you break up with me?" Her expression turned sad and I frowned.

"Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But you want a return missionary. You want to get married in the temple. I can't give you that—"

"Who says you can't?"

"What?"

"Do you have faith in God?" I stared at her, unsure of what to say. "I won't settle for less." She added. "But I want to be with you the rest of my life as well. I know you are capable of becoming better. If you loved me as much as I love you ... you'd do your best to become the man I need. I don't want to force you into anything. I can't make you want to be a member of the church. But Nick, after all this time of reading the scriptures and going to seminary, haven't you learned? Haven't you realized that Christ's grace is sufficient?"

I looked down. "I'm scared, Stacy. The sh—crap I've done is definitely unforgivable."

"So break up with me? Do you know how many nights I stared at our past text messages? Do you know how much I've been running to the point where I can no longer breath or feel my legs because it blocks you out? No, you don't. I don't know the pain you have been putting yourself through either but I can guess. When you called me a week ago, you sounded so sad. I wanted to run to your house and hug you but I held back and pathetically listened to you sleep. And that has been the only peaceful sleep I've had since you broke my heart, Nick. I miss you. Call me needy. Call me selfish. But isn't that what Love is? Isn't Love selfish and needy?" I cupped her cheek and she nuzzled into it.

"Why did God give me one of his angels?" She giggled. "Okay, I'll try. I want to be better for you, under one condition." She looked up at me. "I want you to call the missionaries and set up a meeting for me on Saturday at my house. And that's only if you come and join us and if you bake me more of those oatmeal cookie thingies." She giggled again.