THE BOY NEXT DOOR✓ EPISODE 118✓

Why would you keep such a secret from him? He deserved to know." Mom says with a furrowed brow and I shrug. "George was going to tell him but he found out the wrong way. He was so mad and he walked out on us." "Are you two in a relationship?" "No, Mom." "Then why are you lying in bed looking like a ghost?" "I'm just feeling guilty. We should never have done that to him." She raises an eyebrow all the way up and I know that I am not fooling her. "You like him, don't you?" "Mom.." "That's not an answer. Do you like Kain?" "I'm not sure. I..." I shake my head. I don't want to get in trouble. "I don't know Mom." She looks at me, her head tilted to one side, as though trying to read my mind. "Don't lie to me Bella." I take a deep breath. "Yes. I like him." "A lot?" I nod. "Yes. A lot." She shakes her head, her chin held between her fingers. "How does he feel about you?" "I'm not sure. He didn't say anything." She sighs while regarding me. "Why exactly are you heartbroken right now? Because you kept a secret from him or because he left?" "Both. I felt guilty the entire time we were at the cabin but when he left..." Tears start to flow silently down my face. "He is never going to come back. He hates me." Mom wraps her arms around me and lets me sob against her shoulder. I don't care what she thinks about me right now. I needed someone to talk to badly and she happened to be available. If anything, I feel relieved that she knows the truth. I'm done keeping secrets. I don't want her to find out about me and Kain from the wrong source and be mad at me. She pulls away and leans to kiss my hair. "You'll be fine baby. If he cares about you, he will come back to you." I wipe my tears, gaping at her with disbelief. I can't believe she is being reasonable about a boy. This is so not my Mom. She must be thinking that I am dying. "You think so?" I ask uncertainly. "I know so, Bella. Meanwhile, you should eat something. Alicia is already in the kitchen." "So I can skip school today?" I ask hopefully. I don't think I can stand all those stares at school when I show up looking like hell. They with all be gossiping and Kain will probably avoid me the whole time. I can't take that. "I guess you can. You look really bad and that's the only reason I'm not mad at you right now. You better copy the notes though. I'll check." "Thanks Mom." I say absently and she nods. She turns at the door to look at me. "If Kain is your boyfriend, you should just tell me." "He is not." Giving me a lingering look, she opens the door and leaves the room. *** I'm not in the mood to eat so I keep nibbling on a bagel, hoping that Alicia leaves the kitchen soon so I can toss it in the trashcan. I glance at Kain's window and his Mom is busy doing the dishes. She looks okay and I hope that she won't freak out when she learns that we made her son lose his mind. At least she knows that George is her husband's son. That way, she won't be too disappointed when she eventually finds out what has been happening. Mom walks into the kitchen and beams at me. "Bella, Ethan is here to see you." Instantly, I fist my hands on the sides before standing up. I'm not exactly looking forward to meeting Ethan but I want to give him a piece of my mind. He is in the living room, standing there with his hands in his pockets. I have an urge to slap him but then I'm not that dramatic. "Hi Bella?" He says while giving me a tentative smile. "Can we talk in my bedroom?" "Sure." He answers with a knowing grin and I am tempted to punch the stupid smile off his face. I feel my mom's eyes boring into my back as we head for the stairs but well..she let him in so she knew I would want to talk to him. "I like those jeans." He says when we get to the landing on the first floor. "I'm sure you do." I say sarcastically. "You look good in anything." He continues as we take the stairs to the second floor and I roll my eyes. "I bet I do." I reply curtly. "You're being sarcastic, ain't you?" "I guess I am." I say, giving him a pointed glare as I open my door and we step in. I sit on my bed while he props his hip on the couch and crosses his arms. "So?" I ask when he keeps looking at me. "I need to apologize." "For what?" "About last night and for generally being an asshole." "Ethan, you can't apologize for being yourself. You are a dumbass by default. You can't help it." He raises his hands in mock surrender. "Can you just let me explain?" I shrug. "Go ahead." "I was drunk." I roll my eyes but I let him continue anyway. "I wasn't thinking straight. I was so focused on having you back....." "Stop. You are being stupid. You can't have me back when we were not together to begin with." "Bella, please listen to me. As I was saying, it never crossed my mind I'll be hurting you by messing with Kain." I lift a confused eyebrow at him. "What is that supposed to mean" "I was too blinded by my want for you to think rationally. I didn't realize I'll be hurting you by hurting Kain. I wouldn't have made such a stupid decision if I wasn't drunk." "So what do you want?" "Your forgiveness. I promise to behave. I will stop bugging you since it's obvious you have chosen Kain. I will even stop hanging out with you guys if you don't want me to." "And what brought about this sudden change?" "I saw your agony last night. I couldn't believe that I had done that to you. I wanted to apologize immediately but you wouldn't even talk to anyone. Plus, Jay and Zac threatened to kill me if I stepped anywhere near you." "So should I call them or what?" He shakes his head. "I just want to stop being an asshole, to you at least. I care about you." "Keep that to yourself Ethan." "Okay, fine. I passed my message. I'm sorry for everything. I'm not used to apologizing and explaining myself. Just take it." "Will forgiving you bring Kain back to me?" I ask with a sigh. I feel sick. "Bella please." "Do you guys have any idea of his whereabouts?" He shakes his head. "Nobody knows where he is. He didn't even show up at school today." "How do you know that?" "I went to check because I realized I owe him an apology. He didn't come though." I get this weird sinking feeling. Supposing he crashed? He wasn't under control and he drives in an unusually high speed. That just can't happen to him. I have grown so dependent on him in the last few days and I would go mad; literally, if something happened to him. "I hope he is going to be okay." I sigh longingly. "Me too." Ethan replies, surprising me. "For your sake, Bella."