Little Sweet Dreamer - Wattys Edition

Chapter 2

When lunch rolled around, my headache dulled, and my mood improved. I got my nap in during Psychology without anyone even noticing. After my power nap, I was hungrier than expected. So when I plopped into my seat at lunch, I began to inhale my food.

"Slow down," Mindy laughed. I didn't even bother to type out a response to her. Mindy was one of my other friends and the only other girl in our group. I loved her to death, and she was practically as close to me as I was to Ana—so it was unfortunate that I wanted to choke her at that moment. I needed to finish eating before I accidentally burned all my bridges.

"You didn't know this?" Ana asked. "Grey broke up Sasha Bernstein. She cheated on him with Evan Clarke from sophomore year chem class."

They caught my attention, and I turned to them with my mouth full of food. Sasha Bernstein was in my English class with Mindy, and she was highly adored.

"Who are these people?" Andy asked. I could tell he was bored. He was never one for liking drama.

"Just some people from the popular crowd in this school," Ana replied. "The whole school is freaking out about this."

"Why?" Arnold joined in. He was nervous; the popular kids were like an allergy to him. But, unlike Andy, he liked to know, so he knew which direction to run away from when things went down.

"'Cause Grey is cute, dude—we gotta discuss that he's free now," Mindy gushed. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"You don't think any of us guys are cute?" Andy asked, taking fake offense.

"No," Mindy answered. "You're all too nerdy."

"Ironic coming from the girl apart of this squad!" Blake teased.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed with a wholesome laugh. "Anyway, he's throwing a party tomorrow, though. The whole grade is invited. Even us losers. I wanna get as close as I can to him."

"How is the whole grade invited? Is he rich, living in a big house?" Arnold asked.

"Yep," Mindy confirmed. "Filthy stinkin' rich."

"Why's it always the rich that are popular?" Blake asked.

"They buy their friends and popularity, duh," Ana teased.

I never had a class with Grey and wondered what he looked like. I scanned the mass of students, but any of them could've been him, and none I eyed seemed to fit his name. I shrugged and returned my attention to the table.

I'd find out what he looked like soon enough.

***

I couldn't have been happier to pull up my driveway after school. I shuffled inside my house and gave my mom a quick kiss in the kitchen as Timmy, our golden retriever, jumped around excitedly.

"How was school?" she asked.

"Good," I signed. "I need to take a nap, though."

I ran upstairs, put on my lounging clothes, and threw myself into bed. I earned this second nap, being that I aced that test! And my brain was screaming for a way to clear up the rest of the debris there. I slowly drifted off, relishing the feel of my body relaxing into sleep.

"I'm sorry. Oh, God, am I sorry..."

I jerked awake with an ache in my chest. Taking a deep breath in, I focused on calming my racing heart. This dream and memory were plaguing my mind with a vengeance. I think it's because I've been trying my hardest to avoid being sucked into anyone else's.

Grasping my phone, I checked for any important notifications and glanced at the time. It felt like I had slept for only four minutes, but it had been two hours. Maybe I could get five more—

"Hazel, dinner's ready!" my mom called from downstairs. I groggily removed the warm covers and headed downstairs into the kitchen. She scooped rice and chili into my bowl as steam rose. The aroma of her spices made my mouth water. I eagerly sat down and dug in.

"Why were you so tired today?" my mom asked as she sat across from me.

I waved her worry away before signing, "I stayed up too late studying for my test."

She was impassive before she smiled and reached for my hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm proud of you, baby."

"Thank you," I signed.

I noticed her fidgeting a lot as I continued to eat. Finally, I began to slow down and glanced at her face. Her usual calm demeanor was replaced with nervousness. She didn't make eye contact with me as she began to speak. "Hazel, something good is about to happen in our lives; I know it. I've met someone. Someone who can help me. Someone who will be there for me instead of me selfishly putting my problems on you."

Her words caught me by surprise. Mom had been relying on me a lot after my dad passed away. She'd tell me about things financially and mentally that she never meant to fall on my ears. Of course, I listened patiently, but I knew my silence was painful for her. The fact that I didn't have a voice to respond to what she said must've gotten to her head. She needed more social interaction than just my hands.

"Someone?" I signed. "Like...?"

"A man I met when I went out with my girlfriends," she said. "We've gotten to know each other more for a while now. I want you to meet him real soon. We're not exactly official yet, but when we do become—"

"When?" Her words burned me more than they should've. "What about Dad?"

"Hazzy..." She heaved a heavy sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Baby, he's gone." She paused, and her eyes watered. "I need to move on."

My eyes met the inside of my bowl to the few morsels I had left and began eating again—slowly—tears threatening to escape. Yeah, Dad was long gone, but I missed him. And yes, she had remained single for years, but how could she move on from him? He was my everything. No man could ever replace him.

"Baby, I understand that this is sudden... but I promise you, this is good." I nodded and then shrugged.

"I'm going upstairs now," I signed, picking up my dishes and bringing them to the dishwasher.

"Okay, I'll check up on you later," Mom said.

By the time I made it upstairs, I hardly had time to throw my face down into my pillow before my tears broke loose.

She may be able to move on from Dad, but I will never.