Chapter Seventeen:

"Why didn't you call me? You know my parents would help." Leandro asks. Yeah, the parents that I have never met before.

"How so Leandro? It was my fault."

I left the hospital two weeks ago and I'm going back to school today. My concussion is luckily gone now and my nose is healing well that's what the doctor told me, now I don't even have to wear that big ugly nose cast, instead just a little bandage over my nose bridge that I'm so happy for since I don't have to go to school looking like a troll.

I decide to call Leandro and tell him what happened before I leave since I haven't talked to him for all these weeks,  I wasn't allowed on my phone because of my concussion.

"I thought you were avoiding me." He admits.

"Of course not... I'm sorry I should have gotten my Mom to call you or something."

"Yeah, well I'm just glad you're okay. My bus just got here so I've got to go, text me." We say our goodbyes and I hang up on Leandro. I'm not excited to go to school today. It's like the first day all over again only the whole school knows me as the idiot who drove into a truck.

"Maddie, Gabriel is here." Ethan calls out and I grab my bag and run downstairs. Gabriel has been doing what he said and is picking me up everyday... well today is the first but I'm confident that he will continue to. 

"Hey beautiful." He says and I jump in his arms. I haven't seen or talked to him for two weeks. My Mother being my Mother hasn't let him come over to visit and I didn't have access to any device to contact him since she took my computer, phone and iPad away.

"I missed you." I tell him.

"I guess I missed you too." He doesn't seem to be the type of person to admit things to people like if he misses someone or even loves them but it's what I expect, he has always been very kept to himself.

Call me clingy but I really don't know how I survived not seeing and talking to him everyday. We didn't even get to see each other for our one month anniversary. I mean it's only a month but its our first of many.

"Can we go before Mom comes down here and kills him?" Ethan asks interrupting our reunion like the little brat he is.

"Trust me kid your Mother couldn't kill me." Gabriel jokes.

"You've must have never been around a Latina Mom before."

I laugh along with Ethan and as he walks out of the front door, before following I give Gabriel a kiss,

"Fuck school... I just want you on my bed, legs spr-" I reach up and cover his mouth,

"You talk too loud." I grab his hand and pull him out of my house. I call out to my Mom that were leaving before, and of course she didn't say anything since she is still salty.

The whole ride before we dropped my brother off, he continued to go on and on about how cool Gabriel's car is. 

At school I got a few stares from time to time only in the morning but people eventually stopped being annoying.

Gabriel and I decide to go to Joe's after dropping my brother off and of course his annoying friends are there and instead of leaving or sitting alone we go to sit with them... of course. 

I sit on Gabriel's lap on one of the couches since there isn't enough space for all of us... maybe Sirena should leave, God knows that will make my day. I've never hated someone more in my life. Her face, voice and everything else about her annoys me. She's just a very annoying person.

"Maddie, I'm glad your okay." Rose says to me and I smile at her,

"Thanks."

"Maybe sometime we can hang out or something?" Sirena gives Rose a evil look and to piss her off even more I say,

"Of course!" In a VERY enthusiastic tone. Pissing her off is so fun... I really wish it was a profession.

"Oh yeah, I meant to tell you at school but I talked to my Mom a little while ago about putting in a word at Parson's for you and she got back to me and said that the chancellor would be happy to take a look at your portfolio early and even maybe meet with you after that." Griffin tells me,

"Oh my God! I'll send it to her right away!" I jump up in excitement but Gabriel pulls me down ruining my moment,

"Yeah, I'll text you her email." I give Griffin a big smile, showing him that I'm so grateful... I've never wanted to go home so bad in my life.

"Isn't Parson's in New York?" Gabriel whispers in my ear.

"Yeah... Griffin offered to help me get in, isn't that great?"

"New York that's so far... I mean It's fucking fantastic baby." I can hear the doubt in his voice that worries me a bit but Gabriel gives me a kiss on my cheek, showing that he is okay but it really doesn't seem that way.

"Well what if you and Gabriel are still together by then? New York is half way across the country, how are you going to make that work?" Sirena points out, reminding me about the elephant in the room.

"It's awhile from now, I'm sure we will figure it out when the time comes." I turn to face Gabriel,

"Right?" I ask.

"Yeah, right." He gives me a doubtful smile,

"Well if you think he's going to come with you that is funny. Gabriel has been planning to go to Stanford since we were kids." She laughs,

"Oh yeah remember when he built the school out of toothpicks and clay for art class in seventh grade?" Liam joins in and they both laugh. Me and Gabriel both stay quiet, listening to they're unbelievably annoying laughs,

"Guys fuck off." Rose warns and still Gabriel is as quiet as ever,

"So uh, what are you guys planning to do when school ends?" I ask them and they all give me pretty solid plans. Rose wants to go to UCLA to study medicine and Sirena... well I don't really care she wants to do but all I know is she is going to a school in California too and Liam has no plan and I'm not very surprised. 

I still cant believe that I never realized what a distance me and Gabriel will have. I always knew Gabriel would go to a good school... he is super smart and gets good grades, even better grades than me but were going to be so far from each other and I know that bothers him and were going to probably disagree on a lot of things coming up to that point.

"Shouldn't we talk about what happened at Joe's?" I ask him. Gabriel continues to kiss my chest, moving down to my legs,

"I don't like talking." He says.

"Well I do." I sit up on his bed, closing my legs and he gets up and sits across from me. I know we need to talk about it but I don't know why he doesn't. If we don't talk about it now then we never will until a month until I leave.

"There's nothing to talk about Maddie. You're leaving in  months."

"Nine actually... I will probably leave a month earlier." Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Yeah that's plenty of time and after that, we will see how things go."

"See how things go? What is that suppose to mean?" I cross my arms.

"It means that your leaving Maddie and I'm staying here and as much as I would love to stop you I cant, you need to live your life."

"I might not even get in." I tell him.

"Trust me when I say you will get in, if Griffin's Mom gave you a recommendation no doubt in my mind you will and also your talented."

"Yeah, but you looked so doubtful in there... like we won't work out by then or during the time I'm gone." He anxiously runs his fingers through his hair,

"Look Maddie, you're great but I'm a mess and we already argue often and our relationship isn't very stable."

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean Gabriel?"

"It means that who knows what's going to happen in nine months and if we are still together by that time..." he stops and I can tell he is trying to decide what he is going to say,

"If we are still together... long distance never works unless one party decides to compromise. Four years is a really long time, a long time not being together. Were going to be in a relationship that goes no where and if we argue this much now and we can barely come to a agreement when were in the same room, imagine if we get into a argument on the phone and were so far." I feel my eyes flooding with tears but I hold them back, not showing him any care I may have.

"You said that were good for each other Gabriel."  He tries to put his hand on my cheek but I move back,

"I do think that but I also think we can be bad for each other sometimes."

"So basically you think this is a waste of time and were doomed to break up eventually? You have no hope in us being happy together?"

"I think we can be happy together... I think we are happy together, at least I'm happy." He says only answering half the question,

"Gabriel answer the other half of the question." I insist.

"I don't know Maddie." The tears finally come out and I throw a pillow at his head,

"Fucking prick." I say to him before grabbing my bag and storming out.

"Maddie, I didn't mean it like that!" He calls out but I don't look back. What the fuck is this shit? He doesn't think we can make it because we argue a lot? People argue and relationships are hard as fuck... I'm sorry this is the first adult relationship he has ever been in. If he isn't going to fight for us to make it, even if the distance is far then we really are wasting our time.