Tears With Coffee

Amalia and Kris go out for coffee.

(4)

Tears With Coffee

 

     When Amalia woke up the next morning, she was incredibly anxious to get to school. The all-girl hallways wouldn't cause her to think about boys, therefore eliminating the chance she could mull over her mom's affair. Of course, she was only telling herself that; she knew she would be thinking about it nonstop all day. The shock of discovering something so shocking about her mother bestowed that lovely gift upon her. It was too bad this one gift was missing it's reciept.

     She dragged her feet to her bathroom, and closed her eyes as the lights flickered on. The early morning vertigo was hitting her hard today, so she waited for the dizziness to pass and finally looked at herself in the mirror. Amalia couldn't remember the last time she had looked so pale and tired, despite having slept twelve hours. There were lines on her face from her pillow; just one more thing to blame her mother for.

     Hot steam from the expensive shower woke her right up. If there was one perk of being a society daughter that she enjoyed, it was her shower. Amalia jumped out after ten minutes and threw on her uniform. Little No Name ran excitedly towards her and almost knocked her over. She pet the dog on the head and ran for the front door; not even her mother's goodbyes slowed her down. Especially not her mother's goobyes.

     "Good morning, Amalia." Cal smiled. He was holding open the back door for her already in the snazzy suit her parents paid for.

     "Morning Cal. Mind if I ride up front today?"

     "No problem. Hop in."

     Amalia had planned to talk herself silly on the drive to school so her mind wouldn't be free to wander, but found that her tongue and voice had lost their functions. Everytime she opened her mouth nothing came out. Cal was starting to look at her funny, and she didn't blame him. She probably was exhibiting early signs of someone who should be in a mental institution. School was suddenly right outside her window.

     "See you later Cal!"

     Amalia tore out of the car and to her locker, which she hastily dug through to find the books she needed. She really didn't want Lorelai to see her and ask what was up, because then she'd feel guilty for not wanting to say anything. Just as Amalia thought she was homefree, Lor snuck right up on her.

     "God, Lor."

     "Make up your mind. Am I God or am I me? I wouldn't mind being God. It would make water taste a whole lot better, let me tell you!"

     "Very funny. Jesus turned water to wine, not God."

     "I'm sure it ran in the family. Those are the most impressive genes in the world, Amalia. You think God didn't perform a few miracles in his day?"

     Lorelai beamed at her own cleverness until she saw her best friend's face and wrinkled shirt. "Your mother most definitely did not see you this morning. What's wrong hun?" She waited, eyes fixated on Amalia.

     "Nothing, okay? Didn't sleep so well, that's all."

     Lor's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "Amalia."

     "Lorelai, please! It won't kill you to not know everything." Amalia found her books, stuffed them in her bag and slammed the locker shut. Lorelai was her best friend, but she didn't need to know this yet. She went to move past Lorelai, but Lor grabbed her arm.

     "I think it will. Amalia, what's wrong sweetie?"

     "Don't sweet talk me right now. We need to get to class." She pushed past Lor without another word. She hoped she hadn't hurt Lor's feelings, but this was something that had to wait. The day went by way too fast and the classes she had with Lorelai were far too slow. When the dismissal bell sounded, Amalia ran as fast as she could to the doors. Cal was in her sights when she ran straight into another person and fell hard.

     "S**t!" Her books and pens had fallen everywhere. She could see another pair of hands helping to collect her things and they were familiar. Then she knew...

     "What's the rush?" Kris was staring at her with those gorgeous eyes, making her remember that night all over again. The magic, the rush....the complete and total ruin her socks had become.

     "What are you doing here? This is an all girls school."

     "Really? Hey, would you look at that!" His sarcasm was more than she could handle at the moment. Although she didn't really know why she was rushing anyways; it wasn't like she actually wanted to go home. Molly was probably there with him right now...

     "If you must know, I prowl around here to pick up chicks. It seemed to be working for me." Amalia looked up at him and saw the cute smile he had on his face. It was adorable. Stop it Amalia! Stop it!

     "You and Lor are full of jokes today, aren't you? Well, Cal's waiting for me."

     "Boyfriend?" She thought she detected a drop in his voice that was tinged with internal hysteria. It might have been her imagination though.

     "Driver."

     Kris had finished putting Amalia's things back in her bag and was now wearing it over his shoulder. Many girls turned their heads as they passed by, which made something in Amalia's stomach flare up. It wasn't a feeling she was used to so she didn't quite know what to call it.

     "Coffee."

     "Do you have turrets?" He chuckled, and the sound was beautiful. It got her lost in the memories again, and this time she supposed it wouldn't hurt to stay a while.

     "No, Amalia. Would you like to go get a coffee with me? I have a car. Tell Cal I'll bring you home."

     "Oh, I-I...I don't...the thing is..." She stuttered like a fool and finally shut her mouth.

     "Was there a yes in between all that?"

     To be safe, she just nodded. Then she waved to Cal and he seemed to understand, seeing as he got in the car and drove away. Kris led her to his car then and ten minutes later they were at Starbucks. Kris got some kind of peppermint coffee which Amalia found strange because it was nowhere near Christmas. Amalia ordered a frappuccino and they sat at a table near the window to wait.

     "Thanks for coming. I never thought you would actually say yes, though I was prepared to drag you along anyways had you said no." Kris looked absolutely perfect in his dark jeans and white button-down. She hadn't gotten a look at his shoes yet.

     "Sure."

     The girl who had taken their order brought the drinks over. Amalia took a sip of hers and licked her lips to get all the flavor. Kris simply watched her, which made her feel self-concious. So this was why she didn't interact with boys. Who would ever want to feel like this? The butterflies in her stomach were annoying and exciting at the same time.

     "So...how is everything?"

     "I got a dog." She took several more big sips of her frapp, or as big of a sip as you can take through a straw.

     "How cool! What kind?"

     "Siberian husky. It's a girl. No name yet, though. She was a big surprise."

     "Hey, that's alright. You gotta get to know your dog, right? I've got a ferret named Chameleon. He thinks he blends in with everything." Amalia was content watching Kris talk. She didn't know why, but everything about him fascinated her. If he hadn't been someone who hated the society life like she did, Amalia knew she wouldn't have wasted her time. As it was, she was sitting in Starbucks with him, listening to him talk about his pet ferret. When she thought about the fact that she was here at all, she was reminded of why she didn't want to go home and the gravity of her situation hit her smack in the face...and she shed a tear.

     The whole time, Kris had been rambling about Chameleon. Now he stopped and saw the few tears escaping Amalia's eyes.

     "Amalia! What's wrong?"

     It was too late to play it off as allergies. Amalia rarely cried. The last time she could remember was when she had fallen off her bike when she was ten. That had been way less embarrassing. Kris had reached across the table for her hand, and she let him hold it. He looked around and decided to get her out of there.

     Outside, Amalia's tears came faster.

     "Amalia...?" When it became clear she was incoherent, Kris walked her back to his car and opened the backseat passenger door. Amalia sat down, and when she glanced briefly down she saw his black Converses. It figured. Kris quickly ran to the other side and sat beside her. "Amalia, please tell me what's going on."

     "I-I'm so s-s-sorry you have to see th-this." Amalia wiped her nose on her sleeve, which disgusted her, but Kris didn't seem to mind. He was still holding her left hand, staring at her with the most caring look.

     "It's no problem, don't apologize. But what's wrong?"

     She sniffed in. "My mom...she's ha-" Kris squeezed her hand. "She's having an..."

     "Affair?" Just the word, out there in the open, ready to destroy her life...it made her cry all over again. Kris pulled her into his side and put his arm around her. Amalia cried into his chest, getting his nice shirt all damp with her tears. He just rubbed her arm and planted a kiss on the top of her head. That made her pull away.

     "Don't do that."

     "Why not?"

     "We're not even together. I wouldn't even know how to be together. It reminds me of that party, that stupid party that my mother put on. She doesn't care about anything else! It's parties and tennis and travel and hush up gifts like a Siberian husky! I bet she doesn't even care about me..." Fresh tears rushed forth like a dam had broken inside her.

     "I'm sure that's not true. She's your mother."

     "She's a cheat! She doesn't care about me or Dad. She's a w***e!"

     At that, Kris put his hands on either side of Amalia's face and made her look at him. She knew her watery eyes were slush compared to his clear ones.

     "Your mother is not a w***e. She's making a mistake."

     "So I'm supposed to write this off as a mistake!" She knocked his hands away. "I can't do that! And you need to stop showing up at my school like a stalker. You need to not look at me the way you do and stop making me feel like this!"

     "Are you blaming me for your mom's affair?"

     "No genius, I'm blaming you for putting these goddamn butterflies in my stomach! They don't belong there, they belong in a rainforest or a zoo or a fifth graders science project. They do not belong in my stomach with my lunch and my frappuccino!"

     Kris's smile was a mile wide. Amalia groaned in frustration and got into the front seat. He climbed up there after her, and they sat in silence for a good five minutes.

     "So I put butterflies in your stomach?"

     "Oh God. Just take me home." She crossed her arms and looked straight ahead, but the waves of joy coming off Kris were hitting her anyways. Tears had dried to her face, so now it felt tight. The ride to her house was quiet. Kris glanced at her every minute, smiling that gorgeous smile. Amalia actually had to work to stay mad. What was wrong with her?

     They finally pulled into her driveway at six. Amalia opened the door before the car stopped moving.

     "Woah! You get out after the car stops. Didn't your mother ever-" He stopped short when he realized what he'd said. Amalia's stomach clenched, this time from anger.

     "Bye, Kris."

     Without a backwards glance, she stormed into the house and into her mother's room. Molly was sitting at her vanity fixing her make-up. How typical. How society. Amalia was done. She made a loud grunt to make her mother turn around.

     "Why are you back so late dear? I was so worried about-"

     "Stop, Mom. I know. I know all about your sick affair! I think you're a wretched person for doing something like this to Dad. Absolutely horrid! I don't care if you take the dog back for this, but I won't keep this secret, Mom. So you tell him."

     "Amalia, are you sure you want to-"

     "I'm positive. If you don't tell him in a week, then I will. You already have everything, what could you possibly need with adultery?"

     She let the last word sink into her mother's thick brain. Adultery. Amalia turned and went to her room, flinging herself on her bed, priding herself on the ultimatum she'd given her mom. Then her thoughts floated happily back to Kris, where she knew they shouldn't be.

     She thought back to an episode of Boy Meets World:

 

     Life is tough, get a helmet.

Reviews

[Shellie]

This story is excellent, very hard to 'put down'. Its excellently told, all the bits put in, conversations and daily routine. I love the way Amalias new blossominh(i hope) romance with kris is mixed in with her mothers affair. on i go..cant wait!

[Georgia Gypsy]

I am so hooked into this story! i hope you are working on the next one! Please send me a read request when you post it!!! I need to know what happens next!!!!!
Great Job!

[deeps]

Wow! You are a very gifted writer
I like your story alot so far.
Amazing plot and wonderful characters.

[Taylor H]

this was once again a great chapter. I loved the line about the butterflies not belonging in her stomach but at a zoo or a 5th graders science project. that was really cute. Please let me know when you get any more chapters up. Id love to read them and give you my input.

[Bud]

You have an amazing story going on, here. I can see this becoming a popular book! I can't wait to read more. Excellent, Stephanie!

[Flo_writer]

Well it's clear you have a talent for story telling. I love how smooth everything is going so far. It almost seems effortless for you. Now I can't wait for the next chapter. I dare say you have a book worth publishing on your hands Stephanie. I think "Owl" said everything perfectly.

[Anthony]

Now time to wait for your next wonderfully written chapter! Keep it up!

[Owl]

It's funny how I find myself wanting to read more and more of this, when this setting is the one that I usually stay away from. I guess it's your writing style, like I said - the subtle humour. It makes the whole teenage thing much more appealing to me. Yeah, I know I'm 17 - but I'm about as sociable as Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

Anyway, you're keeping this going at a nice pace - the ultimatum at the end there was a nice touch. I look forward to bloodshed in the next chapter.

Well, y'know. :)