She Won't Be Lonely Long

Chapter 11: One Long Morning

Sienna decided not to go back downstairs that night. She did not want things moving too quickly with Jaden and Brody’s words haunted her. She did not want Jaden to use her and then move on. She went to bed with thoughts of Jaden in her head. Sienna dreamt of her brother and his friends laughing at her as Jaden walked off with another girl. She was so embarrassed. Brody just kept saying “I told you so” and laughing at her.

She woke up feeling shaken. It was only six and she decided to go for a short run to clear her head. She put on shorts and a T-shirt then headed downstairs. She was surprised to see Jaden asleep on the couch. Sienna sat down on the loveseat to put her shoes on. When she looked up, he was watching her. His curly dark hair was askew and his eyes still held signs of sleep.

“Good morning,” he said yawning.

“Morning,” she replied, putting her hair up into a pony tail.

“Where are you going?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“For a run.”

He looked around and then asked, “What time is it?”

“A little after six.” Sienna answered as she opened the door. She was being short with him, but she just needed to get out of the house and clear her head. Before he had the chance to ask anymore questions, she walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

Two miles later, she returned with a clear head, covered in sweat. Jaden was sitting on the front steps smoking a cigarette. She kept her distance; the smell of cigarette smoke made her queasy.

“Nice run?” he asked between drags. She nodded, catching her breath. “Are you okay?”

“I’m better now.” She replied, stretching her legs.

“Anything you want to talk about?” Jaden asked. He seemed genuinely concerned.

“Sometimes I think too much. Running helps.” She replied. He put his cigarette out. Once the smoke was gone, she sat down beside him.

“Don’t we all,” he said sounding slightly stressed. He still looked tired.

“What time did you guys go to sleep?” Sienna asked.

“I think around 4.”

“You should sleep more,” She replied.

“Sleep is for the weak.” Jaden said.

“Why did you sleep on the couch in the living room?” Sienna asked, Brody had quite a few places for the boys to sleep downstairs and typically they would sleep on the floor in necessary.

“That couch is super comfortable. And I figured I might get to see you before you disappeared for the day,” Jaden replied.

“You are crazy,” Sienna said shaking her head. No way could she operate on two hours of sleep. They sat in silence for a bit enjoying the fresh morning air.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Jaden blurted out. Sienna just stared at him, completely shocked. She must have stared too long, cause then he asked. “Is that a no?”

“What?” Sienna finally spit out.

“I like you and I want you to be my girlfriend.” Jaden repeated, this was not what Sienna had expected when she woke up this morning. Sienna glanced at her watch, almost 7. It was too early to be making decisions.

“Can I think about it today and get back to you tonight? I have to get going.” Sienna said moving towards the front door.

“As long as your answer ends up being yes, take all the time you need.” Jaden winked at her, following her inside.

Sienna ran up the stairs to wake her mom and change. She did not know what to think. She did not think Jaden would actually want to date her based on his reputation. But she did not have time to focus on this, she needed to focus on softball for the day. She finished putting her uniform on, and headed downstairs to pack a cooler with Gatorade and water.

Jaden was in the kitchen when she walked in. He smiled at her, “Can’t get enough of me?”

“Well you are in my kitchen?” She smirked at him as she picked the cooler up.

“True. I just wanted to give you a good luck kiss before you left!” He replied.

“You act like I need luck.” Sienna winked at him. If there was one thing she was confident in, it was her athleticism.

“Fine, I just wanted to kiss you.” He said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. Their lips met, shivers ran down Sienna’s spine.

Sienna heard her mom clear her throat before she saw her. They jumped apart.

“Time to go Sienna.” Her mother said grabbing her purse.

“Okay, bye.” Sienna said to Jaden and grabbed the cooler then ran out after her mom.

Once in the car, her mom started in. “Do you want to tell me about that?”

“Uhm, I guess. We have been hanging out. It is nothing serious.” Sienna said awkwardly.

“He is quite a bit younger than you. And his parents seem pretty strange.” Melly lectured.

“He’s less than two years younger than me. I guess his parents used to be nudists so strange may be an understatement.” Sienna replied, remembering the awkwardness of Jaden telling her about his parents.

“What happens when you go off to college?” Her mother asked.

“We have been talking for three weeks. I have not thought that far ahead yet.” Sienna replied, her mother was being ridiculous.

“I just do not want you to get distracted from school, or softball, or your goals.” Melly looked as though this would clearly happen.

“I don’t see a boy keeping me from focusing. It is me we are talking about.” Sienna felt as if this was getting out of hand. She was always focused and undeterred.

“He seems to make some pretty awful choices. Running away from home appears to be a common occurrence with him. I do not want you to get caught up in his bad decisions.” Her mother was talking fast now. Sienna was not sure how much more of this doubt she could take.

“I rarely make the wrong decision. I just want to focus on softball for the day.” Sienna begged. She felt like she had been through the ringer this morning already. She was over the day and it had barely begun. What was this boy doing to her?