The Choice (a Painful Past)

36

I hadn't said a word. Instead, I turned and walked back out of the house, slamming the door behind me. Tears cascaded down my face on the drive home, in both anger and sorrow.

This was two days ago. He had tried to call me hundreds of times, but I never answered the phone. He texted me repeatedly, until I just turned my phone off altogether.

I only turned it back on today, to ask Colby if he wanted to hang out.

"I'm sorry." He said, noticing the look on my face. "But, you need to face it. You need to accept what he's done. You don't talk to anyone anymore. You don't go anywhere, unless he's going with you. You do whatever he asks, no, whatever he TELLS you to do, and he's cheated on you so many damn times."

I shook my head. Other girls had told me that Will had been with them, when he was supposed to be with Dustin, or whoever, but they had just been jealous. They wanted to be with him, so of course, they were going to lie on him.

"NO!" I yelled, drunkenly. "He hasn't! This is the only time! The other times were just those stupid little twats lying on him!"

Deep down, I knew it wasn't true. I always had a certain feeling when Will was lying to me. Call it intuition, or whatever, but it was there.

When I would bring it up to him, or question him, he'd get angry and tell me I was crazy, or being stupid.

"Don't be stupid." Colby replied, making me cry harder.

I guess I was stupid.

I felt pretty damn stupid, and if my drunken brain was hearing Colby call me stupid, then it must be true.

"Callie, you know I only want the best for you. I want you to be happy. Will doesn't make you happy. He hasn't in a long time. I don't know why he's got this hold on you, but you've got to look past how you feel about him. He's not going to change."

"But, he might." I whispered, looking up at him and meeting his dark blue gaze.

Usually, Colby's sky blue eyes brought me comfort, but now they were a stormy gray, like a thunderstorm. All they were missing was the lightning. He shook his head, looking disappointed.

That's all I ever did anymore. Disappoint people.

"Let's just talk about something else, okay?" He asked.

I nodded, and wiped my face with my hoodie sleeve.

"Have you made any plans to get your GED?" He asked.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to fight off the next wave of tears. I had quit school just to be with Will more. He kept on and on about how much he missed me being at home, with him, so when the opportunity presented itself, I quit.

I told everyone that it was because of the car accident that I had. It wasn't deathly serious, but I did injure myself pretty badly. So, I missed a few months of school, recuperating.

I tried to get my school work to do at home, but the school wouldn't allow me to make up the work that could only be done at school. My advisor told me that I would have to repeat the year. I wasn't going to do that.

I was angry that they weren't letting me graduate with my class. So, I quit. I had been planning on going back for my GED, but I hadn't done it yet.

Will was always around, so I never had the time.

I shook my head in answer to Colby's question.

"No, not yet. I think I might go set up the appointment this week. Just to get it over with. I'm thinking about attending the community college here."

"Yeah?" He asked, with a smile growing on his face.

He had a really beautiful smile. The kind that just spreads over his entire face, so bright that it would darken any room. I couldn't help but to smile back.

"Yeah." I replied. "I don't know what I want to do yet, but I might as well look at my options, right?"

"Absolutely!" He exclaimed, as he scooted closer to me on the rooftop. "I think that's a great idea, Cal."

I nodded and looked up at the night sky. It was so clear that I felt like I could see every single star that was dotting the inky blackness. The almost full moon was a soft silver that was lighting up the night sky.

It reminded me of Colby's smile. He always made me feel better about things, even if he did lecture me half the time.

It was funny. I was two years older than him, but he sometimes seemed more grown up than I was.

I was 17 now, supposed to graduate with my friends, and go to a university college. I was supposed to live on campus and have a normal college experience. That wasn't in the cards for me now.

I lay my head over onto Colby's shoulder and sighed, as I kept staring at the sky.

"What are your plans after graduation?" I asked.

"That's not until next year." He laughed, sending a deep rumbling through my ear.

It was comforting.

"So?" I replied. "I know you have a plan."

"Well, yeah, but it's dumb." He said, almost sounding embarrassed.

"Tell me." I insisted.

He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke.

"Okay, but don't laugh. I've been filming little videos with my friend, Sam. Sam Golbach. The one you met a few times, with the blonde hair."

"Yeah, I know Sam." I answered. "Go on. What kind of videos?"

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, so that I was nestled into his side. "Stupid ones. Just funny little six second clips. For Vine. You know, that video app. We're gaining a small following. Sam and I have talked about trying to make it big on YouTube, Kian and JC. You watch them, right?" He asked.

I shrugged.

"I've watched them a few times. Will always said that I had a crush on one, or both, of them, so I stopped. It got annoying. But anyway, " I replied, hastily changing the subject. "Really? That's so cool! What's gonna happen if you make it big?"

"You really think I can do it, Callie? My family thinks I'm being dumb and that I should just go to college. I guess I will if this doesn't work out the way we've planned. Study business technology or something basic like that."

"I do believe in you, Colby. You can do anything you put your mind to." I said, softly.

He was silent for a short while, before he finally spoke again.

"Thank you, Cal. You don't know how much that means to me."