The One I Loathe

Chapter 12

It’s amazing how fast two months go. It felt like I had just got there and suddenly it was the first day of Winter Break. Sam and Audrey would be here tomorrow and I was so happy. I hadn’t seen Audrey since the day we left, and my promise to call her twice a day kind of fell through. Still, I was really looking forward to spending some time with her.


As for Sam, he was looking forward to spending some time with Sophie. I just hoped he didn’t make a fool of himself like the last time he talked to her.

Sophie. Over the past two months we’d really become friends. I felt I could trust her now, and I liked that.

“Trent? Have you cleaned your room for Sam yet?” My mom asked me as I sat in the couch playing guitar.

“Not yet,” I replied.

Actually I didn’t plan on it at all.

“Well, you need to do that today. I have the guest bedroom made up for Audrey,” Mom told me, with noticeable hostility on the name ‘Audrey’. Mom never liked any of my girlfriends. She was still holding out for Sophie and I.

Not Likely.


I had done it. I’d fallen for Trent Bennet. Of course, it was hard not to fall for that guy, once you got to know him. He was the carbon copy of what my ideals were in a guy wrapped up in a gorgeous exterior.

I’d written him a note. Very 3rd grade, I know. I was going to give it to him the night before the Winter Formal at school, which was next week, so I would have a date. I still wasn’t sure whether or not he liked me the same way, but this was the only way my love struck brain could think of right now! Sure, we had a great friendship. But I knew that I felt something more for him.

Suddenly the phone rang. Hoping it was Hilary so I could tell her all about the note, I answered it.

“Sophie?” It was Trent. My heart and stomach were doing the can-can inside of me.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I managed to say.

“Hey I just wanted to give you a heads up, in case you forgot, Sam and Audrey are coming tomorrow and they’ll be staying for a week and a half.”
Yeah, I had forgotten. But there was one thing I didn’t get.

“Audrey’s coming? I though it was just Sam,”

“Yeah, she is. She is my girlfriend after all! Didn’t I tell you that?”

My heart stopped. They were dating? When we visited New York they were just friends. He never told me they were dating! Not even those last 2 months! Or maybe he had. I was a little distracted whenever he talked to me.

“Oh…right…I’m sure you did…”

“Well, anyway, I called to warn you that Sam’s probably going to ask you on a date this week…actually I wouldn’t be surprised if he proposed,”

I laughed as much as I could under the circumstances.

That’s just what I needed, a short, skinny, noodle-like kid following me around all week.

“Sophie! Will! How good to see you again!” Cecelia Bennet said as she gave us both hugs.

I smiled my fake smile and replied with a thank you, and an “It’s good to see you too,”

I was terribly lying though. Actually, I’d rather be any where else but here right now. Jeremy and I had just started going out and now we were being ripped apart for a whole week. Hilary even offered to let me stay with her for a week. But no, I had to come see the Bennets.

Trent and Abby came in next followed by an awkward looking, pale skinny, kid. Abby shot daggers at me with her eyes, and Trent kind of scoffed at me, but noodle-boy gave a shy smile and waved.

Cecelia noticed me looking at noodle-boy and jumped into introduction mode.

"Oh, Sophie, dear, this is Trent's friend, Sam. His parents are out of town for the week, so he's staying with us as well"

I told him hello and he blushed furiously. He stammered out a 'hi' and from that moment on, for the week, he never left my side. He wasn't a mean boy, just a very obsessive one.

Even when Trent and Will were playing video games, Sam insisted on helping me and the rest of the females, prepare dinner. I was still nice to him though. Unfortunately, I think he took that as a sign that I liked him.



“Ok, thanks for the warning,”

Silence.

“Did you need something else” I asked him finally.

“Do you like him? Sam, I mean,” He asked after another pause.

I sighed. I knew he’d ask that eventually.

“I don’t know him, Trent,”

“You’re right. Well, I just wanted to know that he’s a really great guy and he’s changed a lot since last summer…” He droned on some more about Sam.

Ugh! I was fed up with him trying to fix me up with Sam!

“THEN WHY DON’T YOU DATE HIM!?!” I yelled, interrupting him. I slammed the phone down.

I picked up the note I’d written him, crumpled it up, and threw it in to my closet. I knew this was a bad idea. I was a jinx when it came to guys!



I didn’t blame her. I would’ve probably done the same thing had someone try to persuade me to date someone I barely knew. From now on, Sam was doing his OWN dirty work!

Did I really want them together though? I mean, I knew Sam worshiped the ground she walked on, but she’d never really expressed any interest in him. Part of knew that Sophie was lonely and I wanted her to find a great guy who would genuinely care about her. I already knew that Sam was a great guy, and if she just gave him a chance...

I guess it was just that protective instinct I always had around Sophie kicking in again. I knew Sam cared about her and that’s what she needed. So, I guess I did want them together.

The next day, I drove to the airport to pick up Sam and Audrey. When their flight came in, I was so relived when Audrey came through the gate first. I didn’t want Sam to see our sappy reunion. When, I saw her I ran up to her, picked her up, swung her around, and kissed her like I never would again. When we broke apart I noticed lots of people were giggling, I didn’t care.

“Jeez! What a welcome, Trent! I didn’t know you missed me THAT much!”

Funny, neither did I.

I’d noticed her around a lot more than usual. Sure, we had always talked a lot, but the more I saw her the more I thought she was my ideal girlfriend. She was attractive, no doubt about that. She had deep red hair and green eyes that entranced me. She dressed very unconventionally and I liked that. I always liked girls that were rough around the edges.

As I was on my way to detention, I noticed her coming the opposite way. I immediately changed course and went over to talk to her. I was always late to detention anyway.

She saw me coming up to her and grinned in response. She never fully smiled, but always had these mysterious little half smirks.

“Hey Audrey,” I told her leaning against the wall in front of her.

“Hey yourself,” she replied.

“So,” I began, “Do you wanna go to a concert or something this weekend?”

She gave her notorious half smirk and replied, “Sure, but on one condition,”

“What?” I asked with a grin.

Then she stepped really close to me and whispered in my ear, “You have to give me a kiss goodnight,”

Whoa. She definitely wasn’t shy.

I swallowed and barely choked out, “Yeah...yeah...I think that can be arranged,”

She smirked and walked away. My heart kept beating rapidly I walked to detention and sat down.



Sam showed up seconds later, and we had a not as affectionate reunion. They got their luggage, and I drove back to my house.

When we got there, Audrey and Sam marveled at the new house. With Dad’s new job we had a much better house than we did in New York. As we were getting their suitcases out of the truck bed, I noticed Sam starring at something.

Or someone.

Sophie had walked down to the street’s mailbox, which was just a few yards from my house.

“Oh no. It’s her,” Audrey said with repulsion.
Before I could even encourage Sam to go talk to her, he walked right up to Sophie and started to talk to her like a normal person! He’d obviously gained some confidence since the last time he spoke with her. He came running back a few minutes later looking quite pleased with him self.

“Well,” he said to me, “I did it! I asked her out on a date and she said yes!”

She said yes? The last time I talked to her she was practically vomiting at the sound of his name and now she was going on a date with him! Still, I was happy for Sam. I mean, I wanted him and Sophie together, didn’t I?

“I told her I’d call her later to finalize the details. Except…Oh my gosh...I have no idea what we’re going to do! Can you help me Trent?”

“Yeah, sure. We’ll think of something”

Now I had to plan their date! Why did I feel so mad about it though? I should be happy for my best friend. I just had to keep reminding my self that I was doing this for Sophie.



Trent wasn’t the only who’d changed since last summer! Sam, like Trent, had buffed up, grown taller, and his newly tanned skin set off his always ice blue eyes and blonde hair. And the best part was, he was completely in love with me. He was a lot more normal in person than he was on the phone, though.

But did I like him? I was obviously attracted to his good looks, but I still barely knew the guy. Part of me just wanted to date him to see what Trent would think. Then, Trent didn’t care about me, so why did it matter? Anyway, I hoped I would figure all that out on our date.

Sam called me the next day and we got all the details worked out. He was going to pick me up at 7:00 tomorrow and we’d go out to eat, then he wouldn’t tell me the rest. All he told me was to dress warmly. This kid was full of surprises! Fortunately, I loved surprises.

I hadn’t talked to Trent since I yelled at him on the phone the day before. I was sure he didn’t want to talk to me anyway, especially with his girlfriend around. I didn’t like him anymore. I couldn’t! I mean he had a girlfriend! And I was practically dating his best friend! Not really the foundation for a good relationship.

But then, what did I know about a good relationship? Every guy I dated only wanted to date me for my looks, and worse I’ve let them! I thought Jeremy was the one guy who loved me for me, and look how that turned out! I was just counting on that Sam would be my first non-shallow date. But, I wouldn’t know until tomorrow. The anticipation was killing me though!




“So have you decided what you both are going to do tonight?” I asked Sam the next day as he was getting ready.
“Yeah, dude! I’ve got the perfect evening planned.”
Right. He’d planned the perfect evening. I had nothing to do with it!

“By the end of the night, she’ll by mine entirely…” He gloated.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up on the words ‘mine entirely’. I had to tell myself that I had a night alone with Audrey that was sure to be excellent.

“So how are you going to take her?” I asked him to get the subject off of him and Sophie.

“Oh your Dad let me borrow his truck!”

I practically had to leave a spleen to borrow Dad’s truck, and he lent it to Sam, no questions asked!

At any rate, Audrey and I had the house to our selves and we were going to make the most of it.