Zenon's Game Chapter 80

I got to my room after midnight. I hadn't turned into a pumpkin... but I guess that's not how the story goes.

Tonight did not pan out the way I had planned. A kiss from Zenon wasn't exactly on my to-do list. Now I guess he was.

Feelings are complicated, Zenon is complicated and what complicates things even more... is Jake.

Obviously, I had to tell Jake what happened. Jake and I are friends (except for the time he kissed me) and we agreed to go on a date. Jake promised no pressure; we were just going to see how we clicked.

And I had been excited about it. Before tonight, I had been OK with it. Jake was nice and he never cared what anyone else thought. I just never imagined Zenon would be... Zenon.

I sighed and lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. These last few days have been total madness.

I'm not ready for any of this. I had accepted a date with Jake in the hopes of maybe beginning to get over Zenon.  After all our flirting, my relationship with Zenon hadn't gone anywhere - if anything it took deep dives, like a roller coaster of emotions.

How was I to know that last night would result in our first kiss?  Now I can't go on a date with Jake, but I also have to get brave and tell him face-to-face.

My phone buzzed. I reached for it, surprised to see Cynthia's name as the sender:

When's the big date? It's Cynthia btw. Julia gave me your number.

It was 1AM... so technically our date was today. I texted back:

Today.

Then I made a promise to myself.  I had to tell Jake what happened... but when could I do that?  Our date was today. 

Zenon was unpredictable, emotional and made me feel like I was on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.  But I couldn't help it if that's what I wanted.

Cynthia texted me: Is that why you're not asleep yet? Don't be nervous, you got this. And remember to dress up.

I woke up that morning with a smile on my face. Reliving last night over and over in my mind, made me blush at the thought of Zenon.

I walked downstairs to eat some cereal, when I saw a trail of tissues leading the way through the living room. Heidi was sitting on the edge of the couch, wrapped in a blanket, sobbing.

Her body heaved as she cried. She sneezed into another tissue and cast it aside, reaching for the remote.

"Heidi, what's wrong?" I asked the creature-my-sister-turned-into.

"Matt broke up with me!" she screamed.

She sounded like a gremlin.

"I thought you weren't that into him," I said.

Mother emerged from the kitchen with a wet towel and a glass of prosecco, "Candace, your sister is devastated. You should stay with her today."

"But I have school-"

"Call in sick," mum answered, pressing the wet towel against Heidi's forehead as if she were actually sick.

Heidi reached for the glass of prosecco in mum's hand, but mum pulled it away, "Thisone's for me."

"OK mum," I tried to be reasonable, "I know Heidi's upset, but I can't miss school. I have to hand in math homework and do a quiz in geography-"

And talk to Jake.

"You think your work comes before your sister's happiness? Your selfishness knows no bounds, Candace Turner."

"Of course Heidi's happiness comes first," I pleaded with her, "But aren't we stronger than this? She shouldn't be destroyed when a boy dumps her. Heidi's a strong girl and they were only dating for a couple weeks-"

"A couple weeks!" Heidi sobbed louder.

"Look what you did," mum yelled at me, "You set her off again! You don't know anything about relationships! When your father left, I was crippled. I was depressed, I went to a psychiatrist-"

"Mum!" Heidi threw the wet towel on the floor, "This isn't about you!"

"OK! OK, I'll stay," I said, trying to make peace between the two of them. I saw how shaken my mum was at reliving the memory of my dad walking out on us.

I picked up the towel and took it back to the kitchen. I poured a cold glass of water for Heidi and took it back to her.

I sat next to Heidi as we watched Before Midnight and To All the Boys.  I ordered her favorite ham pizza from Dominoes and picked up all her messy tissues.  

Cynthia was texting me pictures of different hairstyles I could try for my date with Jake.

At 3PM Jake texted me:

Hey you're not in class. All good?

Yeah, I had a family thing today so I didn't come to school – Candace

We missed you. At least I did. I'll pick you up at 7? – Jake

I glanced up at Heidi who was hurling chocolates at the TV screen. Some rom-com was on... and this particular scene had more rom in it than com.

Actually can we meet at yours? – Candace

I needed to tell him in private.  Somewhere that didn't come with a wild sister.  

Watching me go on a date with Jake would probably send Heidi over the edge.

I ran over to her and took the chocolates away. Throwing chocolates - it's blasphemy! I got some asparagus sticks from the fridge.

"Here, you can throw these."

She stared at them and dismissed me. I put the food back in the fridge, happy my plan had worked. Wasting food is not my tea.

I prefer to pick you up but if you don't want to, that's cool. – Jake

It's easier if we meet at yours. We should chat first – Candace

And then I remembered who he lived with.  Zenon.  I hadn't thought that through.