My New Love

Chapter 14

The next morning Mason and I decide to go to the park. When we get to the park Mason trips me while we’re walking. He did it on purpose. I start chasing him around the park. When I finally catch up to him I trip him. When he’s on the ground I sit on top of him. Mason throws me off him within a couple of seconds. He sits on top of me. He’s a lot stronger now than when we were little.  I don’t know when he’s going to let me up.

             “You’re really strong now, Mason. You threw me off with ease.”

            “Well, I’m paying you back for the times you pinned me when we were little.”

            “Hey, it’s your own fault. You stole my diary every day. Of course, I was going to sit on you until I got it back,” I respond. I’m trying to throw him off, but I can’t. Mason rolls off me after ten minutes. We both are lying in the grass now. I try to come up with a topic to speak about. I don’t want to say the wrong thing because Mace will get back on top of me.

            “I liked reading your dairy and learning all your secrets. In fact, I still do read your dairy. You just don’t know it,” Mason says while winking at me. I sit on top of him again. He doesn’t throw me off this time. He accepted his fate.

            “You better be joking, Squirt.”

            “I’m not joking. I have been reading it. You like Alex, don’t you,” he asks. I start blushing a little bit. He’s so lucky he’s my brother or I would have killed him. I really have to think about his question. I have my answer a few minutes later.

            “I-I don’t know if I like him, kiddo. He’s an amazing person. I feel so safe in his arms. I think I really do like him. I don’t know if he likes me back. I don’t want to ask and get my heart broken.”

            “You just have to try, sis. I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. You have been going through so much. I’m starting to like someone in my class also,” Mason says while smiling up at me. Mason laughs at my shocked expression. I didn’t know my little brother is interested in girls already.

            “You deserve happiness too, kiddo. You have been in the most pain. Yes, we are both emotional people, but at least we know we’ll always be there for each other. I will always be there whenever you need me,” I respond and smile. I let him up after that convo. We decide to walk around a little longer.

             Mason randomly stops walking.  I run into him and he helps me up. I see why he stops. There is a familiar figure lying on a park bench. He is asleep and a backpack is lying next to him. There is also another backpack that looks very familiar. It’s Alex! I run over to him, place my hand on his forehead, and I look over at Mason. Mason nods and goes to call my parents. Alex has a slight fever.

            “Alex, wake up, are you alright,” I scream. I want him to wake up so I can make sure he’s okay. Alex opens his eyes. He tries to get up, but his legs are wobbly. I catch him before he falls again. His head is lying on my chest. “Mason, did you call Mom and Dad?”

            “Yes, they are on the way,” Mason says.

            “Alex, you’re sick. You shouldn’t be out in this chilly weather,” I tell him. Alex nods his head. I still wonder what’s going on. He’s starting to fall asleep in my arms. I know it’s just a cold, but I don’t want it to get worse. When Alex wakes up again I’m going to force him to tell me why he’s sleeping on a park bench.

            Mom and Dad get here as fast as they can. My father picks Alex up and puts him in the back of the car. I get in next to him and he’s sleeping on my shoulder. He still has dark circles under his eyes. He’s definitely not getting enough sleep.

            Mom sets up the guest bedroom for him when we get back to my house. The guest bedroom is Carson’s old room. My dad puts him in bed. I stay in there and watch him sleep. Eventually my eyes start to close too. That dream really scared me. I wasn’t able to get a lot of sleep last night.

~

            I wake up a few hours later and Alex is sitting up in bed. My mother makes him some soup. He’s eating it slowly. He looks over at me when he notices I’m awake. He smiles at me and I smile back. Alex can always make me smile.

            “Alex, I’m so worried about you. Don’t scare me like that again,” I say with tears starting to form in my eyes. He looks down at the bed and then back up at me. Sadness is filling his beautiful black eyes.

            “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says looking down at the bed again.

            “It’s alright, Alex, but please don’t let this happen again,” I respond. I need to know why Alex was sleeping on a park bench in the first place. He might get mad at me for asking him. “Excuse me for asking but can you tell me why you were sleeping on a park bench?”

            Alex is still looking at the bed. When he looks up at me I can see the pain clearly written on his face. I can see tears forming in his eyes. I feel really bad for asking and tears spring into my eyes as well. Seeing other people cry...makes me want to cry too. ”My father kicked me out about two weeks ago. My father doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. He told me to never come back. He knows my mother loves me, but he doesn’t care. He just wants me gone because he thinks I’m a terrible son. He also told me that he deserved a better child.”      

            I’m in shock right now. I feel awful for him. I’m crying at this point too. What kind of father does this to his own child? Why would a father kick out his own son? That makes no sense to me.

            “Alex, I’m really sorry for asking you. I will leave you alone for now. Let me know when you want to talk,” I tell him.

            He grabs my arm gently and pulls me back. I’m sitting on the bed next to him. “Please don’t leave, Aubrey. I need someone to listen to me. I have no one else, but you.”

            He’s crying pretty hard. I hold him in my arms. I’m shocked to see him crying. I never expected it because he’s normally cold. Well he isn’t all that cold with me or other friends He’s a really sweet person although he can be cold especially to people he doesn’t like.  

            I continue to hold him in my arms while he cries. I can’t stand what his father has done to him. I wonder if there is more to the story.