Remembrance Bonus Scene: Drew Breaking News to Chelsea

Today I’m excited to share with you a bonus scene from Remembrance! I wrote this scene as a homework assignment for one of my classes, and figured you all might have an interest in reading it as well 😉

This is from Chelsea’s point of view, and it’s when Drew tells her that he won’t be going to the Halloween dance at school. Enjoy!

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Standing in my walk-in closet, I pulled on my costume for the Halloween Dance, my heart fluttering as I thought about Drew sitting on my bed waiting for me to model it for him. Even though we’d been dating for almost a month, it was still hard to believe that Drew Carmichael was my boyfriend. From the first time I saw him when he walked into AP European History in the beginning of the school year, I wanted us to be together, and everything worked out as I planned. Drew Carmichael and Chelsea Givens … it sounded perfect, and we were perfect together.

A lot of that had been thanks to Lizzie. I was lucky to have her as a friend. If she hadn’t let Drew and me come to the movies with her and Jeremy a few weeks ago, then maybe none of this would have happened. That night set everything into motion. It was the night Drew kissed me for the first time. The memory made my cheeks heat up, and I took a few breaths to relax so I didn’t look flushed when I went back into my room.

I zipped up the back of the short red dress and twirled around, feeling the light fabric dance around my legs. The dress dipped low in the front, and the fishnet stockings perfected the look of a dancer at the Moulin Rouge. It looked hot on me, and I knew it. Drew wasn’t going to know what to do with himself when he saw me in it. When every piece of the outfit was in place, I smoothed down the skirt, brushed my fingers through my hair, and opened the closet door to walk back into my room.

Drew sat in the same place on my bed that he was in when I left to change. My eyes met his dark ones, and a thrill of joy traveled all the way up my spine. He was so different from the other boys in Pembrooke, New Hampshire—much more worldly and sophisticated. He was better looking than most of the guys around here, too, and he didn’t even have to try. Right now he looked like he should be modeling for a high-end clothing catalogue instead of sitting on my bed, waiting to see my outfit for the Halloween Dance. I also noticed that he looked a little sad—probably because he missed home. He thought about his past a lot. Transitioning from living in New York to living in New Hampshire had to be tough, but I was glad he moved here. He was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I wanted to jump on the bed and wrap my arms around him, just to prove he was really here, but there would be time for that later. For now I spun around to model the outfit, fluffing up the skirt with my hands and watching him to see his reaction. His lips curved into an appreciative smirk, but at the same time, there was something off in his eyes. Something … distant.

He’d been that way a lot for the past few days. I tried a few times to find out why he seemed upset, but he refused to admit anything was wrong, so I eventually stopped asking. Hopefully as time passed and he got used to living in New Hampshire he would relax and not be as moody. For now, as long as I acted happy and carefree, I hoped my attitude would wear off on him.

I fluffed the skirt one last time and smiled at him in a way I hoped was seductive. “You like?” I asked, pulling the bodice down a little lower so I showed even more cleavage than before. If that didn’t take the distant look out of his eyes, I had no idea what would.

“No one’s gonna be able to take their eyes off you all night,” he said.

“I only care that one person’s looking at me though.” I took a few dramatic steps forward to stand right in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. “I’m the luckiest girl in the school to be going to the dance with you.”

“About that …” He lowered his eyes, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m not going to be able to go.”

“What?” I leaned back in surprise, confused about where this was coming from. “What are you talking about?”

He lifted his eyes back up to meet mine, but there was a coldness in them that wasn’t there before, making goosebumps rise over my skin. “My grandparents from London are flying into New York that weekend, and my dad wants me to go down to see them,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion, like he didn’t care at all.

“But you can’t miss the dance.” I pouted, even though I could feel that any attempts to change his mind would be futile. Drew wasn’t the type of person I could force to do something he didn’t want to. That was something I liked about him, because I hated when guys let me walk all over them, but it could get downright irritating at times. “It’s the second biggest dance of the year. You have to go with me.”

He shrugged, and my arms dropped from his neck, flopping down to my sides. “I don’t have to do anything,” he said, his jaw tense as he spoke. “I’m telling you that I’m going to visit my grandparents that weekend. You’ll just have to have a fun time at the dance without me.”

I sniffed, unable to believe this was happening. I’d been imagining the night of the Halloween Dance for weeks—it was supposed to be the first time I told Drew I loved him. Now he wasn’t even going to be there. “I’m supposed to have a fun time without you.” I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“I think I should go,” he said, grabbing his backpack from where he’d put it at the foot of my bed when he first came into my room.

“Yeah.” I reached up to wipe away the single tear that had started to fall down my cheek. Not that Drew noticed—or cared. “I think you should.”

I sat on my bed as I watched him leave, feeling rejected and confused. It sucked that he wouldn’t be able to come to the Halloween Dance, but even worse was how after he saw how upset I was about it, he left without trying to make me feel better. I wiped away another tear, leaving behind a smudge of mascara on my hand. What was so wrong with me that Drew didn’t even want to try making this better? It wouldn’t have taken much, just a promise of something special to make up for the lost night of the dance, but all he did was leave. I didn’t get it.

I lifted my cell phone off my nightstand and went to our latest text messages. The last one was sent from him about twenty minutes ago, saying he was at my house and about to come in. Not like that lasted long. I stared at the phone, wishing there was something I could do to fix this.

Way to leave without caring how I feel about this, I wrote. I read it over and deleted it. But while the writing was gone, the curser continued to blink, like it was waiting for me to type up something brilliant that would make Drew apologize for treating me so terribly.

I love you, I typed in its place. I looked at that for a few more seconds, but deleted it as well. I didn’t want the first time I told Drew I loved him to be via text message. Still, I couldn’t leave things like this. Maybe he would apologize later, but I doubted it. It was up to me to make things okay between us.

I’m sorry, I wrote, my thumbs flying furiously over the keyboard. You’re right that you should visit your grandparents instead of going to the dance. I was being stupid making such a big deal about it. Of course I’ll still have fun. Cya in school tomorrow <3

I pressed send.