Breaking the Cycle

Chapter 8

Claire

I was feeling pretty nervous. When I looked into Vincent’s eyes it was like the storm that was swirling in my mind just disappeared. It made the shoot so much easier.

I waited for Alyssa to finish her shot. We were about to change when my mom found us.

“You did an amazing job!” She wrapped me in a tight hug, “and who is this beautiful young lady?”

“I’m Alyssa,” she stuck out her hand.

“Come now,” my mom pulled her into a hug, “it’s nice to meet Claire’s friends. Let’s go to the office. Sarah and Erika are waiting for us”

Waking to the office, Alyssa leaned in.

“Your mom is so hot! I see where you got your looks from,” she whispered.

“Thanks”

We walked to the office and to my surprise my dad was there as well, along with Jasper.

“Hey there princess,” Jasper and my dad said, both standing up and giving me a hug.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Everyone smiled.

“You guys are starting to freak me out”

“We’d like to sign you as a model for the company,” Sarah pushed some papers over to me.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. We’d also like to sign your friend here as well”

“What?” Alyssa’s smile widened as she covered her mouth with her hands.

“You show real talent. You both didn’t buckle under the pressure and your photos scream confidence”

I started to look over the papers.

“Now we want you to know that there will be some traveling involved, so Alyssa we would need your parents permission”

She nodded.

“Claire your parents have already signed your forms so all we need is your signature”

“Can I have some time to read through the contract?”

“Spoken like a true lawyer,” Jasper smiled.

“You certainly can. We’ll need an answer in the next few weeks though”

“Okay”

“You can go change now, but come say bye before you leave”

I was changing when I heard Alyssa outside my changing room door.

“Are you going to do it?”

“Do what?”

My door flew open.

“What the hell, Alyssa!”

I pulled my flannel over me quickly.

“Are you going to sign the contract?”

“I don’t know. I need to read it first?”

“Why?”

“I like to know what I’m agreeing to. What if they were going to pay me in experience instead of money? If I signed it then I would be screwed,” I said as I slipped on my shoes.

“I never thought of that”

“Perks of having a mother for a lawyer,” I grabbed my bag and headed back to the office.

“Do you mind if I come over to your house to read the contract with you?”

“Of course you can come over,” my mom answered, “any big plans tonight?”

“Actually we were hoping Claire would come to the football game with us tonight. My boyfriend Wayne is on the team and is throwing a party tonight to celebrate whether they win or lose”

My mom tensed up a little. She always seemed nervous when I would go to parties, but she never stopped me. It made me feel good to know that she wasn’t trying to make me feel like I couldn’t make my own decisions.

“Well I hope you girls have fun with whatever you decide. Is Vincent and Travis going too?”

“Oh yeah. We never go anywhere without them,” Alyssa smiled.

“Well good. If you need me to pick you guys up just let me know. You’ll have to come over one of these nights for dinner”

“I’d like that,” Alyssa smiled.

“We gotta get going mom. The boys are waiting for us”

“Ok. Love you. Make sure to look at the papers and get them back to us soon,” mom gave us both a hug.

“I will. Love you too mom”

“Bye Mrs. Ashton”

“Please call me Crystal”

We waved as we walked out of the store. It was nice to get out of there. The glares we were getting were starting to drain me. I understand though. A lot of these girls worked hard to get where they are. While all I had to do was show up because it was my aunt's store.

“So are you and Vincent related?”

“No. Our parents have been friends since before I was born. So his mom and dad were always around so I called them aunt and uncle when I was younger”

I didn’t see a point in telling her Vincent was adopted. I don’t know if he was telling people or if he wanted to get all the facts first.

We saw the boys sitting at a table near the food court. Their mouths nearly hit the ground when they watched us walk to the table.

“My god! Where have you been all my life,” Travis said, pulling out the chairs for us.

“Travis,” Wayne said in a warning tone.

“Simmer down super chief. It’s not a competition”

“But he’d be winning,” I giggled.

Vincent handed me my favorite drink. I was surprised he still remembered. I smiled down at my cup and happily drank it.

“Thank you”

“Of course”

I blushed when I noticed he was staring at me. We talked for a while and realized it was getting late and Wayne was going to need to head back to get ready for the game.

“Is it cool if Travis and I hang out with you guys till the game?” Vincent asked.

“Sure, are you guys going to drop Wayne off?”

They looked at me confused.

“Aren’t you coming to the game?”

I felt my chest tighten. I did want to hang out with them some more, but I didn't want to see Levi after I said I couldn’t go. I looked at Vincent.

Just being around him made me feel safe. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad as long as he was around.

“Alright. I’ll go”

“Yeah! This is going to be awesome,” Travis smiled ear to ear..

***

Wayne dropped Alyssa and I off at my house first and took Vincent back to the cafe to get his car he. Vincent returned quickly and was going to drive us to the game later. Then we would meet Wayne after the game and head to his house together.

Alyssa was going through my closet while Travis and Vincent played some of my video games.

“Are you going to change?” Alyssa asked, bringing out some different shirts and holding them up to me.

“Do I need to?”

“No, but it would be great to show Levi what he’s missing”

“I don’t want to show him anything and I’d like to keep it that way”

Alyssa smiled and put the shirts back in my closet.

“I don't think that’s possible. You look good in anything”

We all sat around for a little while longer. As we drove to the game I started to feel nervous. When we made our way to the stadium I felt like someone was watching us. Vincent grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, running his thumb over the top of it.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just feeling off”

“Don’t worry. We’re right here”

When we were seated the game had begun. It’s been awhile since I came to a game. Anna and Katie were on the cheerleading squad so I would normally sit by myself.

It was a nice change to sit with friends. The crowd was going wild. We were down a few points but made a comeback in the second half. We won the game and when it was over we headed to the parking lot. The cheerleaders came out first but stuck around, waiting for the football players to emerge.

When they did Wayne was the first one out. A lot of the cheerleaders threw themselves on him, but his eyes were only on Alyssa. He didn’t even give the girls the time of day. He picked her up, swinging her around and kissing her passionately. I snickered as I watched the other girls give her dirty looks.

When I looked back at them my stomach sank. I saw some of the girls throw themselves at Levi, which he gladly accepted. I was honestly glad that we weren’t together, but it still hurt to see him just hop from girl to girl so quickly.

“Forget about him,” Wayne gave me a side hug and rubbed my arm.

“Yeah. Those girls have nothing on you,” Alyssa said, hugging me from the other side.

“Do you want to ride with Alyssa and me to my house?”

“That’s okay. I’ll go with Travis and Vincent”

“Alright. We’ll see you in a bit then,” they waved as they went to his car.

“Shall we?” Travis held out his arm.

“We shall,” I smiled and wrapped my hand around his arm, leaning my head below his shoulder.

The car ride was pretty silent. I felt bad since I wasn’t much of a talker right now. I was a little hurt about Levi.

I didn’t want to get left alone at the party. Normally Katie and Anna would disappear. Levi would get mad at me for not letting him go further with me and would end up disappearing with Brandon. I figured if I was alone then I might as well just stay home instead of getting ditched.

There were so many cars outside already. We pulled into the garage behind Wayne. We went inside and his house was so modern with marble flooring and bright lights everywhere.

“My parents really like everything to look spotless,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“It's lovely. You sure they don’t mind you having a party here?”

“Oh yeah. This is their half of the house. I have a small section that they let me kind of have to myself. Don’t be alarmed”

When he opened the door to his half I noticed he had a keypad to get in and out of his parents half. Smart if you have a bunch of teens running around.

His half was almost the same, but it wasn’t as brightly lit. It was still pretty modern, but had more of a darker color scheme to it.

“Should we open the doors and start this party?”

I wrapped my arms around me. My anxiety was starting to get the best of me. I had a sudden urge to call my mom and have her come get me.

“Hey,” Vincent pulled me into his chest.

Taking a deep breath I started to relax as I inhaled his scent.

“What’s the matter?” Alyssa placed her hand gently on my back.

“She gets nervous during parties. She never really goes to them”

“I’ve seen you at them before by yourself. Is it because we’re still pretty new?”

“No. I just normally get ditched and I’d rather be home than spending my time alone with a bunch of strangers”

“You’re not alone though,” Vincent gave me a slight squeeze, “I’ll be with you the whole time”

“Plus you have us now,” Alyssa smiled as she grabbed Wayne’s hand.

“Thank you,” I smiled at all of them.

“Come here. You can help me turn on the lights,” Wayne smiled.

“He’s such a show off,” Alyssa leaned in and whispered in my ear.

He flipped the switch to the backyard and I was in awe. There were color changing lights in the pool and jacuzzi. Music started playing all around us. The patio had a small place for people to dance and there were a few sitting areas.

We could see people starting to come in through the gate.

“Wayne!” Most of them shouted. People were setting down cases of what I’m assuming was alcohol. It was looking like it was going to be a long night, but it felt different. Vincent gave my hand a squeeze. I didn’t even realize that I was the one holding his hand so tight.

“I’m right here,” he smiled.

I nodded as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. Maybe this would be the first party I actually enjoyed.