Trusting My First Love

Chapter 17: Ditch day

Charlie's POV

I am surprised to say that my mother hasn't said anything about the whole Matt thing. I went the whole weekend paranoid that I would be in for another lecture. I even mentally prepared myself what to say in response, but I never needed it. That could be partially because I've been avoiding her like my life depended on it.

Now Monday is here, and I'm feeling a different kind of paranoid. My hope is that everything will go back to normal and that Matt and l I will just go back to barely speaking to each other. But something tells me that won't be the case.

The only thing that I'm remotely looking forward to is the hope that Matt was right and that Sally and Sophie will be too busy with the stupid dance to give me any sort of attention.

I was waiting on our front porch for Braya to pick me up like usual. I was lucky once again because my mom and dad had taken off before I was even up, making the whole avoiding thing a lot easier.

She pulled up like she always does, only this time she was eyeing me up and down. She almost looked confused in a way. "Why do you look like s**t?"

I looked down at myself. I really didn't think I looked all that terrible. But then again, I'm not usually the one to wear athletic clothes to school. "It's not that bad."

She gave me a look like I should have known what she was talking about. "No, but your hair is."

I didn't even want to look in the mirror. Braya isn't high-maintenance. So, if she is saying my hair is a mess, it most likely is pretty bad.

I felt around the top of my head and tucked any loose strands into my messy bun. "I haven't been sleeping very well. I just have a lot on my mind, okay?"

She gave me a quick glance before putting her eyes back on the road. "Did your mom give you crap from almost getting all kissy face with our future alpha?"

I should've known she was going to bring this up again. I have a feeling she's going to bring this up every day until something happens between us. She really would be the most supportive friend if something did happen.

While she's all happy and joking, I'm just over here having anxiety and hoping that something doesn't happen. If he ends up being my mate, then so be it. But until then, this whole avoidance thing is working for me. I might as well try it with Matt.

We pulled up the school in our usual parking spot, only for me to feel like something was different and really off. We always ran a few minutes behind most of the kids. Today, however, there was a large number of them outside. Usually, most have moved their way inside by now.

That's when I saw him. He had the same moody look that he normally does. He was around a large group of guys. Including Eddie and Ezra. While the rest of the group seemed to be laughing at something, Matt remained with the same cold-stoned face. If I hadn't seen him smile this weekend, I would have thought it wasn't possible. It was actually making me wish I could see it again. It made me feel like maybe I saw a glimpse of who he really is, and maybe this side of him is just for show?

I hated how he towered over everyone else. It made it way easier to notice him. Even if he wasn't tall, he would still be noticed by any female in this school. But right now, my eyes were glued on him. I was just as bad as them. It was hard to look away. He was the definition of handsome. I hate that it's bothering me so badly, especially when it never did before.

I crouched down so fast after our eyes locked. I was obviously staring at him, and he completely busted me for it. Now i just wanted to sit and become one with this car seat. Apparently, I'm two again and think covering my face with my hands will it make it harder for him to see me.

Braya snorted so loud. "I hate to tell you this, but your lover boy is making his way over here."

I uncovered one of my eyes. "Please tell me you're joking?"

She shook her head. "That's what you get for practically eye f*****g the guy."

I uncovered both of them now. I was a stuttering mess. "I, I did not. I wasn't doing that."

Braya started laughing at me in my dispense. "Right, whatever you have to tell yourself. You can't lie to me."

I flipped her off at the same time someone knocked on my car window, making me jump up in my seat. I yelped out "s**t" way too loudly.

I looked up to see Matt looking at me with a half smirk, and my awkward ass just waved.

He opened my car door when he saw that I wasn't going to move another inch.

He shocked me by reaching for my hand and helped me out of the car. Now i felt even more awkward just standing outside of Braya's car and saying nothing at all.

I was too embarrassed to say anything and way too embarrassed to look up at him. I was praying to myself that he would say nothing about me staring at him. I hated the idea of him thinking I'm like every other girl in this stupid school. Hell, more like everybody in this town and the next one over.

I made an even bigger fool of myself when I realized my hand was still holding onto his. I managed to smack the back of my hand on the car from pulling it out of his grasp too fast. I shook my hand out and cried out in a strained voice. "Ugh... shit."

The way he said my name so low and so soft intrigued me enough to look up at him finally. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and he had a look I couldn't quite figure out. "Charlotte, is everything okay?"

Oh goddess, what do I say to this? Do I tell him the truth or just play it off like everything's fine? Why couldn't he just ignore me like he did every other time. I should've known after this weekend that everything would be different. "I'm fine. Is there something you wanted?"

His face relaxed after I told him I was fine, but it quickly turned into a more nervous look. It's weird to see him not looking confident. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day with me?"

Okay, now I was feeling more nervous than embarrassed. "When? Like right now?... Wait, are you asking me to skip school?"

I hated the way he was smirking at me right now. It was like he was trying to fight back a laugh. "You've never pretended to be sick or blow of school to do something with friends?"

I heard Braya snort from the other side of the car. I honestly forgot she was out here with us. I gave her a death look. She waved her hand up at me. "I'm going to head to class. You kids have fun. Just text me if you need me to cover you with your mom."

I gave her a small nod. I'm not even embarrassed that she witnessed me acting like an i***t. I'm more worried about her giving me even more s**t over the whole Matt thing. I can already tell by the way she's gloating that I am most definitely in for it.

Matt used his thumb to point over to his car. "I'm taking that as a yes? My Mustang is over here."

I felt like I didn't really have a choice now. Okay, maybe my heart was pulling me to go, and my head was screaming not to. I guess this just made it easier. "Yeah, let's go."

He opened the door for me like a gentleman. He keeps surprising me the more time I spend with him. As soon as he shut my door, I saw Sophie and Sally giving me the worst look anyone could possibly get. I have a feeling that even the stupid dance won't distract them from this.

Now I'm not sure if I should worry more about them or my mother finding out. I swear even when I'm not causing trouble, it finds me.

Sitting in one of Matt's families' very expensive cars only reminded me how different our lives are. It was making me question if my being here with him is really a smart idea. It hit even harder that it only took thirty seconds in his car to remind me of that.

I had no idea where he was taking me or why he even wanted to. "Matt, what's going on? I mean, why did you ask me to ditch school today?"

I noticed he was gripping the stering wheel a little tighter than before. His knuckles were starting to turn white. That's when he said something that nearly took all the air out of my lungs. "I can't stop thinking of the other night. I can't get you out of my head..... You're all I think about."

Out of all the things I was expecting him to say, this wasn't it.

I just stared out in front of me. Once again, I was speechless. I didn't know what to say or how to react.

Luckily, he continued talking. "Even when your mother basically threatened me to stay away from you, I knew that i was doomed. She can be a scary lady, and I really did try to think of her side in things. I just kept overthinking everything, and It didn't take me long to realize that I don't want to stay a way from you. It was only two days that I went without seeing you, and I stopped myself from showing up at your house at least a dozen times. I know I must sound crazy. I just don't know how to explain it."

I felt like I was hit by a truck. I know my mother can be obsessive and controlling. I just never imagined she would take things this far and threaten Matt over something she has no idea about. To top it off, she did it behind my back. Maybe I wasn't the only one avoiding her. Maybe she was avoiding me as well.

I guess I was as white as I looked because Matt's voice turned panicked. "She never talked to you about our conversation, did she?"

I shook my head. "No, she never said a word."

He started to pull the car over, but I stopped him. "No, just keep going. You're headed to the beach, right?"

"Yeah, but we don't have to go now. I feel like I've already ruined the day."

I was in shock. There was no denying that. It just felt wrong to head to school or even worse going home. I'm actually glad Matt was the one to tell me. It gave me a chance to calm down and process everything. Maybe even come up with a reason why she would do this over basically nothing.

I reached over and squeezed Matt's forearm. "Please don't take me back. Let's just enjoy the day. If that's okay?"

He seemed confused, but it was clear that he was trying to be understanding. "If that's what you want?"

I gave the only smile I could give, which was a half ass one. "It's what I want."