That Stupid Little L-Word:

Chapter Fifty-Eight:

"Alice! Oh, thank goodness! Are you alright?"

A wild Kylie has appeared. She plows me over, her arms wrapped tight around my neck. I grunt at her sudden weight and feel Trash-can's arms wrap around me, holding me upright. She squeezes tight, like a python, and then lets me go. Her eyes are glassy.

I grimace and scratch at the back of my neck. Trash-Can eases me back upright and then releases me. "I'm alright," I say.

She folds her arms across her chest and shakes her head. "I didn't mean for you to get so upset. I'm so sorry."

I shake my head. "It's alright, really. I promise."

My mother appears, her expression twisted with worry. "Alice, baby, are you alright?" she gasps as she nears. Her hands find my shoulders and begin to shake. "You gave me a heart attack!"

I wince. "I'm sorry."

She throws her arms around my shoulders and hugs tight. Her lips press a chaste kiss to the side of my head. "Don't do that again, okay?"

"Sorry," I repeat. Guilt floods through me and I duck my head. A hand lifts to wipe at my eyes. I'm so glad I didn't bother to put on makeup.

Trash-Can squeezes my other hand. It kind of startles me; I hadn't realized he had grasped a hold of it. He smiles a wide, reassuring smile at me when I glance at him. It kind of makes me feel better. I can't help but smile back.

"Hi," he says, releasing my hand and holding it out toward my mother. "I'm Eric, a friend of Alice's from school. It's very nice to meet you, ma'am."

My mother blinks and takes him in. Surprise flickers across her features. She takes his hand and shakes. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Alice's mother."

Eric's smile shifts toward Kylie. "Hey Kylie. How are you?" Then his eyebrows wrinkle with confusion. He looks around. "Where's Amanda? I would have thought she would have been here with you."

Kylie laughs a little. "She's searching the other side of the store. I need to go find her and tell her that we found Alice."

Eric nods. His gaze flickers back toward me, and his smile widens. "Do you trust me?"

"Not really," I admit.

His laughter is contagious. "Alright. Go back to the dressing room and change back into your regular clothes. Kylie and I will go find a dress."

I try to smile. The idea of trying on another dress is not a fond one.

Trash-Can squeezes my hand for reassurance. I lock eyes with him and then sigh heavily. My gaze scans over the racks until I find the entrance to the dressing room. Grumbling, I start toward it. My mom follows.

"He seems nice," she comments as we enter the stall I had abandoned. My clothes lay folded on a small chair in the corner. The other dresses that I was supposed to try on remained hanging on a hook attached to the wall.

I grumble louder, the sound still incoherent.

She shoots me a side-eyed look. Her next question is hesitant. "He's not another Seth, is he?"

I almost chock on my spit.

"Eric is nothing like Seth," I snap, my gaze narrowing. "He's ten times sweeter." I frown and struggle to unzip the prom dress on my body. "I don't even think Seth would be doing this right now. If I broke down in the middle of the mall, he'd probably get embarrassed and try to shut me up or something."

My frown deepens as the truth settles in.

Blue-Eyes wouldn't have tried to make me feel better. He never really had, throughout our somewhat short relationship. He had never been there for me when I really needed him.