When Summer Ends

by Isabelle Rae

  “You know, now that you don’t owe Erika anything, we should do something to her. Like TP her house, or spray paint on her car,” she said, rubbing her hands together with a wicked glint in her eye.

  I smiled at the thought of doing that. I would actually love to do that to her, but I had a feeling that she was going to be in enough trouble as it is. “Let’s just see if she gets punished for lying first,” I instructed, rolling my eyes at the evilness I could see flashing across her face. Oh yeah, I definitely need to keep Sam and Amy apart. Two evil geniuses together could be a bad thing all round!

  My cell phone beeped so I pulled it out. 1 new message, from Will.

  ‘You did so good in there. I’m so proud of you, Cutie. Call me when you get home from Nick’s. Love you’

  I smiled and hit reply: ‘Thanks, you did great too. You should go through your phone and delete anything I’ve ever sent you, just to be on the safe side. Love you too, speak to you later x’

  My phone beeped again almost immediately: ‘Good thinking, x’

  I sat with Amy for a little while longer before Nick came out looking for me. We headed to his car and I bit my lip, thinking everything through. Should I tell Nick too and ask for his help? Jeez, I should have asked Amy what she thought, she would know if I should or not.

  Nick frowned and looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Everything okay, Chloe? You’re a little quiet,” he observed, sounding concerned. I smiled. He probably wouldn’t know that I got dragged out of class to go see the Principal; he didn’t have calculus with me.

  “Yeah, er, everything’s fine.” I winced because my words just didn’t sound believable, even to my own ears. He clearly didn’t believe me either. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised, waiting for me to tell him the truth. Nick always was good at detecting my lies; I’d known him long enough.

  “Oh really?” he said sarcastically.

  I sighed and we pulled up outside his house. I shook my head and avoided looking at him, not really wanting to do this, but I just felt like I needed to, to get some extra backup. If I was supposed to be so loved up with Sam, then wouldn’t I have bragged about it to more than one friend? If the Principal looked into this like he should, then he might find it a little weird that I hadn’t spoken to anyone else about Sam.

  “Actually I need to talk to you about something,” I muttered, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me. He turned in his seat and looked at me curiously, waiting for me to continue. “Not here, let’s go inside, yeah?” I nodded towards his house. He didn’t say anything, just climbed out, grabbing both of our schoolbags from the backseat and walking towards his house, waiting for me at the door.

  I took a deep breath and followed him into the house, praying I was doing the right thing. He dropped our bags by the door and looked at me expectantly. I headed into the lounge and sat on the sofa, putting my head in my hands. Okay this is harder than I thought. Is he going to think Will did something wrong by being with me? What if he thinks he’s a paedophile or something and refuses to help me? What if he demands that I break it off with Will or he would tell my parents? Jeez, do I really need his help this badly?

  He crouched in front of me and took my hands, looking at me with concern etched across his face. My worry started to ebb away as I looked at him. This was Nick, sweet, loving, dependable Nick. He was one of my very best friends yet I was freaking out about telling him about the love of my life. I was just being stupid right now.

  “You know I’ve been seeing a guy?” I started, frowning and wondering how to word ‘hey I’ve been sleeping with our teacher’. I couldn’t exactly just blurt it out like that.

  He nodded. “Yeah, Will, right?”

  I winced. Wow, it’s lucky I am talking to him about this, because if I hadn’t, and Principal Sherman had asked him my boyfriend’s name, then Will and I would have been screwed right then!

  “Er… yeah.” I sighed and closed my eyes, deciding just to go for it. “I’m in trouble.”

  He gasped, and his grip on my hands tightened to the point of pain. “What the hell? Are you pregnant? Did that asshole get you pregnant? Jesus, Chloe! What are you gonna do? He’s sticking with you, right? He’s not leaving you to do this on your own, is he? If he is I’m gonna…” he trailed off, muttering a string of expletives under his breath as he jumped to his feet, dragging me up with him where he didn’t let go of my hands.

  I felt my mouth drop open in shock at his little rant. How on earth did he get that I was pregnant from that? Wow, this boy has some imagination. “Nick, I’m-” I started but he cut me off, cupping my face in his hands, looking at me fiercely.

  “You don’t need to worry. You’ll be okay, I’ll make sure of it, I promise. Everything’s fine. I’ll look after you. I’ll always be here for you, I won’t run away like that asshole,” he stated, pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

  I felt my eyes fill with tears at how very sweet he was; I was such a lucky girl to have someone like him in my life. I couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped my lips at the lunacy of this situation. I hadn’t had sex for months yet here I was, pregnant, abandoned, and being comforted by my ex-boyfriend. This had to be one of the weirdest things that ever happened to me. I pushed him back and shook my head, grinning because I had one of the nicest guys in the world as my friend.

  “I’m not pregnant, Nick,” I told him, watching as he frowned and looked at me confused.

  “But you said…”

  I smiled and took his hand. “I said I was in trouble. I’m not pregnant,” I confirmed.

  He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he slumped down onto the sofa and closed his eyes. “Well thank God for that. I was envisioning us getting married and me changing diapers at two in the morning whilst working three jobs just to support us,” he muttered, his face relaxing as he spoke.

  I sat down next to him. Why would he think that anyway? “What? Why would you see yourself doing that?” I asked, giggling again at how crazy he was.

  He shrugged. “I wouldn’t let you do it on your own. We’d get married, and I’d take care of you and the baby,” he stated as if it was no big deal.

  I felt my insides tingle with emotion; I was overcome with a rush of love for him, not love like what I felt for Will, but more like a brotherly love. I loved Nick dearly and I always would, we’d been through so much, and every single thing only ever brought us closer. I hugged him tightly, digging my fingers into his shoulders as I tried not to cry.

  “You have to be the sweetest, most adorable boy in the world, Nick Golding.” I pulled back, and he smiled at me softly. “You would really do that for me?” I asked, biting my lip at how thoughtful and selfless he was.

  He nodded. “Sure I would, you’re my best friend and always will be.” He wiped my tears away with the back of one finger and looked at me curiously. “Okay so if I’m not gonna be a stepdad, then tell me about this trouble that you’re actually in.”

  I pulled back as reality set in. I still needed to say the words and get it out there. “Okay, so I met Will in the summer. We broke up for a few weeks when school started, but then we got back together two months ago. You know all that already.”

  He nodded. “Yeah?” he confirmed, his tone prompting me for more.

  I gulped. I was less worried now though, Nick was willing to ruin his life to help me had I been pregnant; surely he would help me by telling a couple of little lies if the need arose.

  “Will’s a bit older than me. He’s twenty-two actually, and when we met he didn’t realise how old I was, and I didn’t tell him because I thought he knew. And… and…”

  “And?” he prompted.

  “I’m so totally in love with him, Nick. He loves me too, this isn’t just some fling or anything, we’re both completely serious. I need you to know that before I say it.” I looked at him, begging him with my eyes not to freak out.

  He nodded, looking a little sad for some reason. “I know you love him, Chloe, I
can tell. You never once looked at me the way you look when you talk about him; I’ve known for a while that you’re in love with this guy.”

  He looked a little hurt and I was struck with a rush of regret that I couldn’t love Nick the way he obviously wanted me to. I wished I did. I wished I could make him happy and give him what he wanted because goodness knows he deserved it. He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. I think it was a forced smile so that I wouldn’t know how much I was hurting him, but it was too late, I’d already seen it and he couldn’t hide it from me now. I knew right then that Nick wasn’t over me, which was probably why he wasn’t seeing other girls. That thought broke my heart because I never wanted to hurt him, ever. I wanted him to be happy, but we just weren’t right together, we never were. Deep down we both knew that, but I guess he still wished something different.

  “Well?” I jumped as his voice cut through my mind ramblings. I shook my head to clear it a little and looked at him; he was obviously still waiting for my ‘trouble’ to be revealed.

  “Will is, well, he’s,” I took a deep breath, “he’s our calculus teacher,” I stuttered weakly.

  Nick sprang up from the sofa, looking at me like I was crazy, but the hard, accusing glint in his eye told me he believed what I had said. I gulped and waited for his reaction.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “He’s what?” he cried, shaking his head in disbelief. “Mr Morris? Are you freaking kidding me? A teacher? Tell me this is a joke, Chloe, for God’s sake, this is insane!”

  I gulped, immediately regretting my decision to tell him. On top of the anger that I could see plain across his face, I could also see a lot of hurt. I hated the fact that I’d hurt him, Nick didn’t ever deserve to be hurt.

  “Nick, calm down,” I pleaded, giving him my best persuasive face.

  He frowned and shook his head again, his hands gripping into his hair. “You’re serious? This is for real; you’re dating the damn teacher?”

  I nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, I love him,” I whispered, looking at him apologetically.

  He looked at me sceptically. “You love him? How can you love a guy that would date a minor? Not only are you a damn minor but he’s in charge of protecting you and looking after your wellbeing. He’s taking advantage of you!” he shouted, looking at me as if I was stupid.

  I could feel the anger boiling up inside me as I stood up too. “He’s not taking advantage of me! Will you get a grip of yourself and let me explain?” I cried, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

  He laughed humourlessly. “Sure, go ahead, say something that’s going to make me believe that this guy isn’t a damn pervert that’s abusing his position at the school to prey on underage girls,” he growled sarcastically.

  My hand was itching to slap his face because he was disrespecting Will, but I held back my anger. I knew Nick was only saying these things because he was worried about me. He was just defending me. He didn’t know Will the way that I did. Most people would see our relationship through Nick’s eyes too and I needed to keep in mind that he was just trying to look out for me.

  “When I met him in the summer I didn’t tell him how old I was. We started dating, and he thought I was older. When we found out he was my teacher and that I was only seventeen, he broke it off immediately; he said exactly the same things that you’ve just said. He’s not a bad guy, Nick. Please just calm down and listen to me for a minute,” I begged.

  His face softened slightly. I knew that he wouldn’t stay mad at me forever, I could always rely on Nick to have my back, he’d calm down once he got over the initial shock of it all.

  “If he’s not a bad guy then why the hell is he dating one of his students? He’s sick, this whole situation is sick and illegal,” he countered, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

  I felt my chin wobble as the tears started to build up in my eyes. I hated that people would think that about Will. I closed my eyes and shook my head. “You can’t help who you fall in love with,” I whispered sadly.

  A tear fell down my face. He groaned. “Don’t cry, you know I hate it when you cry,” he moaned, wrapping his arm around me and hugging me. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down as he stroked my back. I could feel all of his muscles bunched up and tense, probably because of the situation and the direction the conversation we were in the middle of.

  “Nick, please don’t think badly of him. He’s such a great guy, he makes me so happy. Age is just a number after all. In a few years the five year age gap will seem like nothing. Please just try to see this from my point of view, please?” I begged against his neck.

  He sighed. “Chloe, I don’t like this situation at all. If he’s such a great guy then he should have waited until you left school, he should have waited until it was legal for you to get together. This is wrong,” he whispered, his hold on me tightening as I went to pull back from him.

  I shook my head. “He did want to wait. I didn’t,” I told him, digging my fingers into his back, willing him to understand. “Nick, please, you’re one of my best friends and I need you to understand.”

  He sighed and pulled back, cupping my face in his hands. He was just looking at me, his eyes soft and caring like usual, but his jaw was tight and tense. He clearly didn’t like it at all. The silence was deafening as he just stared at me, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. I decided to break the tension and say something first.

  “Please? It’s not just a fling, I love him. I really want you two to get along because you’re important to me, your opinion matters to me, and I really want you to like him. Please?” I whispered, giving him my begging face. This face always worked with Nick, he was so soft he never could stay mad at me or refuse me anything.

  He sighed and closed his eyes. “He’s serious about you too?” he asked quietly.

  I felt my strained body start to relax as I nodded confidently. “Yeah, he’s serious about me too,” I confirmed.

  He nodded, his whole face sad. “You do know that because he’s an old man already, that he’ll be grey soon, right?” he joked, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

  I laughed with relief. The intense situation was over; Nick the sweetie-pie was back. I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll make him dye it,” I agreed, playing along.

  He laughed and opened his eyes looking at me a little exasperated. “You do get yourself into some crappy situations, don’t you? Just aren’t satisfied with a boring life are you?” he teased, digging me in the ribs with one finger.

  I laughed and squirmed away from him, sitting on the sofa and pulling him down with me. “You haven’t even heard the worst of it yet, this is just scratching the surface,” I told him.

  He frowned, looking a little concerned as he waited for me to tell him what I was talking about. I told him everything: how Will and I got back together, Erika finding out, the blackmailing - which made him hiss a string of expletives again. I told him about Sam’s plan, the payback chores I had done, and my meeting with the Principal. The whole time he just sat there listening, watching me intently. When I was done, he blew out a big breath and slumped back in his chair.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you were in trouble. The whole plan seems fool proof though, this Sam guy is an evil genius like you said,” he agreed, nodding.

  I smiled at the thought of Sam. I still owed him a big thanks. “Yeah, but there’s something that I’m a little lacking on.” I winced wondering if he would help me. He seemed to be okay with me seeing Will, well, ‘okay’ wasn’t exactly the right word, he had stopped sneering when I mentioned his name now anyway which I took as a good sign.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath. “Witnesses.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “I don’t get it, Chloe. Dumb it down for me,” he instructed, laughing at his own joke.

  I smiled weakly. “I was kind of hoping that you would back me up a littl
e and tell the Principal that you’ve heard of Sam. You don’t have to say you’ve met him or anything, just that you know we’re going out and that he’s Will’s brother.” I winced, waiting for his reaction.

  He frowned. “Look, Chloe, I understand that you want to date this guy, that’s your choice, but how can I help you two sneak around and have an illegal relationship if I don’t approve of it?” he countered, looking at me apologetically.

  My heart sank. I really thought he would help me. “Nick, less than ten minutes ago you were willing to marry me because you thought I was knocked up, but you can’t even go along with a lie to help me and Will not get into trouble?” I asked, quietly.

  He groaned and closed his eyes; he was quiet for a little while, obviously thinking about what I had said. Finally he spoke, “Yeah, you’re right, it would be hypocritical of me not to help. I would have married you, I would have devoted my life to you and a baby that wasn’t mine, so I guess that the least I can do is tell a little lie,” he agreed.

  Happiness burst inside me. I squealed and threw myself at him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you!” I squeaked excitedly. Everything was set now; if the Principal asked my two best friends then both of them would say they knew about Sam.

  Nick laughed, seeming a little shocked as he patted my back. “Chill out, Chloe. It’s not like I’m giving the old dude my blessing to hit up my bestie. He needs to work for my approval,” he said, laughing.

  I grinned and pulled back to look at him. Will would win Nick’s approval once he got to know him more; they’d probably even be friends because they were both awesome people. I kissed his cheek affectionately. “You know you’re an awesome friend, don’t you?” I gushed, smiling gratefully.

  He nodded and rolled his eyes. “Yeah I know. How about you show me how grateful you are by making dinner, I’m starving!” he joked, pushing me off of him and nodding his head towards the kitchen.

  “You’re always starving, I think you have worms,” I teased, winking at him as I stood up.