Chapter 12

Not surprisingly, the next morning at school I got lost. I couldn’t remember which turn to take in which hallway to get to my first class. Instead of panicking though, I slid off to the side of the hallway and waited for it to clear before trying to find my way. Only, the hallway never completely cleared, because standing across the hall was Mason, leaning against the lockers with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. 

“I had a feeling you were gonna get lost.” My shock at him talking to me, quickly turned into embarrassment, my cheeks turning bright red. 

“N-no. I know exactly where I’m going.” 

“Sure, you do.” He chuckled and pushed himself off of the lockers and started walking away. Just like yesterday, he motioned for me to follow him. “Come on. Don’t wanna be late for class.” 

What started as a good day, easily turned into another terrible one. Despite answering questions in classes all day, everyone kept calling me mute and laughing at me. It was just a repeat of yesterday and it was just as hard. 

Once again, when James picked me up at the end of the day and asked me how it was, I lied and told him that it was great. But instead of going to my room this time, I took Tessa’s offer and headed to the kitchen for a snack. She was standing in the kitchen cleaning some dishes and before I could ask why I saw a pan of cheesecake on the island. I loved cheesecake. 

Tessa must have heard me come in because she turned around and smiled at me. “Hey, Sera! How was your day?” 

For a second I actually debated telling her what was going on, but I quickly decided it was for the best if they didn’t know. Just like James, she looked so hopeful. 

“It was pretty good.” Her face lit up immediately and I knew I made the right choice. 

“That’s great! I hope you like cheesecake. I decided to make some, it James’ favorite. You can go ahead and have some if you want.” 

“I-I love cheesecake,” I told her in a soft voice. If possible her smile grew even wider and she went to the cabinet to grab a plate. Also grabbing a knife she started to cut me a piece. Before I knew what was happening, I was biting my lips trying not to cry. 

“It was my mom’s favorite too…” I spoke, surprising both myself and Tessa. This was the first time I mentioned either of my parents. Tessa stopped cutting the cheesecake and set down her knife. I focused my gaze onto the countertop in front of me. What felt like minutes, which was probably only seconds, passed in silence. And then I was crying. They weren’t desperate sobs, but silent tears with small sniffles. 

I heard Tessa’s footsteps and then her arms wrapped around me. I tensed but found myself relaxing into her embrace a few seconds later. The moment didn’t last long because my tears dried quickly and I pulled back, now uncomfortable. 

Without saying a single thing or asking any questions, she went back to the cheesecake and continued cutting me a piece. She put it on the plate and handed it to me, asking if I wanted a drink. Clearing my throat I asked for some chocolate milk and she happily got me a glass. 

I enjoyed my cheesecake as I listened to Tessa finish the dishes and hum along to a song. It was strangely comforting listening to the clang of the dishes as she moved them around and her humming was really sweet. I bet she would be a good singer. 

I finished the cheesecake and put my dishes in the sink. Tessa had already finished them and had moved on to drying them and putting them away. Without asking, I grabbed a towel myself and began to help her. A few minutes in, the door swung open and James walked in, a pair of glasses on his head. He looked between the pair of us and smiled, then grabbed a towel and all three of us finished putting the dishes away together. 

That night, James asked me if I wanted to watch a movie and before I could second guess my answer, I said yes. After spending half an hour trying to decide on a movie, we finally picked Elf. Yes, it is a Christmas movie, but Christmas was less than a month away. James ran off to make some popcorn and Tessa went to get some blankets claiming that you couldn’t watch a movie without a blanket. 

Tessa came back first, carrying two blankets. She handed me one of them and sat down on the couch beside me, leaving space for James. Once I had gotten settled, blanket tucked under my feet, James came back with a giant bowl of popcorn and sat down. Tessa threw half of her blanket over him and then started the movie. We watched in silence laughing at the funny parts, and passing around the popcorn. 

I couldn’t remember falling asleep, but the next thing I knew the credits were rolling. I rubbed my eyes and yawned before it registered. I was laying on James’ shoulder. I sat up as fast as I could and my cheeks grew bright red. 

“I’m sorry. You should have woken me up.” James’ usual smile was on his face as he looked at me.

 “No, it’s alright. You must be tired from school.” 

“Speaking of,” Tessa spoke, “it’s late and you should probably get to bed.” I nodded in agreement standing up from the couch and yawning. 

“Goodnight, guys.” 

“Goodnight, Sera.” 

And with that, I went upstairs and laid down in bed a smile on my face.