Chapter Twelve

Kevin brought Ada to the local Italian restaurant. It was a nice little restaurant that Ada had gone to a few times with her mother. It wasn’t a place that was known for its expensive dishes or fanciness like Kacey had been hoping for, but it was still a beautiful place to sit and eat at.

The tables inside the restaurant were round and adorned with the usual white and red checkered tablecloth with accompanying mahogany chairs. The walls were made from intricate brickwork that hung many portraits of Italy, Italian people, and plants. The restaurant even contained a familial atmosphere, which was lively and loud with patrons enjoying their food and having a great time with friends, family, and strangers.

Everybody inside the restaurant had a contagious jovial aura about them.

“This is nice,” Ada states to Kevin over her spaghetti, as she looked around at the other people enjoying their dinner.

“Yes, it is.” He replied, not bothered by anyone. To Ada, he and his dinner might as well have been the only two things in the room.

“So, what do you like to do in your free time?” She questions, trying to get to know Kevin better. He hardly said a word to her since his food was placed in front of him. Huh… I never knew someone to look at their food like that.

“Football.” He responded with food in his mouth.

Ada sat in silence, waiting for other answers, to come from around the food in his mouth but nothing else came. “Just football?” He started smacking his lips while he chewed, making her feel a little nauseated. Does he know how to eat with his mouth closed? She thought with disgust. Am I being a snob? Oh, no, I’m totally being snobby.

“Yeah.” He responds, scooping up a big forkful of his penne all'arrabbiata.

“You have no other interests?” She questions, trying to ignore his eating habit.

“Well, what things do you enjoy doing?”

“Um, let’s see. I enjoy reading, drawing, watching movies, science fiction, and fantasy.” She began. “There are a lot of things, really.” Ada continued, now playing with the food on her plate, becoming uninterested.

“Do you like sports?”

“Not really… I don’t mind watching it. like being at a game in person, but I don’t particularly care for sports, to be honest.”

“Oh…” He responded in disappointment. “Well, that’s alright, not everyone is into sports like I am.”

“Yeah…” Ada stated disheartened. She tried talking with him about current events, school, and other topics, trying to find some common ground, but he either had no idea what she was talking about or seemed completely disinterested. Kevin definitely wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but there had to be some good defining qualities to him.

He has to have some substance about him… Shouldn’t he? Ada thought to herself as she continued playing with her food. Everyone has to have some depth to them… Shouldn’t they?

“Is your spaghetti okay?” Kevin asked, staring at her curiously.

“Yeah. It’s fine.” Ada replied beaten, sitting back in her chair. Why did I even agree to this? This is a disaster…

“Do you want to leave?” He questioned.

“Yeah.”

After Kevin paid for the food, they both headed out the door to his car where they spent a good 15 to 20 minutes driving to a remote spot. It was now dark. The scene around them reminded her of something out of a horror movie, which put Ada on edge.

They were driving in a heavily wooded area on a back dirt road. He suddenly pulled the car over, close to a small ditch. The night was completely dark. Clouds blanketed the stars and the moon looked nothing more than a flashlight shining through a thick blanket.

Ada wasn’t sure where they were. She looked out her window, all she could see was black with black trees shadowing behind it, which made her extremely nervous. “What are we doing here?” She questioned, looking around frantically. She could feel her chest start to tighten.

Kevin smiled, getting a little closer to Ada. “Come here.” He said softly, pulling her into a deep kiss.

This made her feel even more uncomfortable and awkward. His touch made her cringe and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Kevin’s kisses were a sloppy mess, causing a smacking sound, which made her remember his inability to chew with his mouth closed. Nausea she felt from dinner found her again. But instead of pushing him away, she decides to keep going. This is what people do on dates, right? She thought to herself. Maybe I could check two items off my list tonight… If I can make myself go through this…

He places his hand on her waist, slowly inching his way up to her breast. His overenthusiastic sloppy kisses were making her feel even sicker.

Ada tried with all her might to continue soldiering through. She thought of her list, trying to give herself the motivation to go through with this. I get to check off the first date, first make-out session, and if I play my cards right, I’ll be able to check off losing my virginity. She thought to herself through the revolting kisses.

But the more he touched her, the more sickened she became. Her head started to ache, her chest became tighter. Kevin was smothering her in the passenger seat of the car. Then Jessie’s face showed behind her eyelids.

“No!” she screamed, pushing him away with great force. Bile started to rise in her throat as her breathing became short and quick. Her heart started racing wildly as tears streamed down her face.

Kevin stared at her perplexed, “What the hell is wrong with you?” He questioned rubbing the back of his head that hit the window.

Embarrassed and trying to calm herself, she gets out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She hopes that the cool night air will help her soothe her anxiety.

“You’re a freak!” He yells out the car window and speeds away, kicking up dirt and rocks at Ada. Luckily she managed not to get pelted by any of the rocks.

Her mind was reeling, making her panic attack even worse. Ada’s body was shaking, she felt hot and cold, and her vision was starting to blacken from hyperventilating. She couldn’t think properly either from the anxiety distorting her thoughts. The pain that kept shooting through her chest made her think she was going to die.

Just breathe… She forces herself to draw in some cool air, hold it, and then exhale slowly. After doing this for fifteen minutes with her eyes closed, she feels better. Her breathing isn’t entirely normal, her chest still aches, and she feels a little light-headed, but she’s finally able to think a little more clearly.

Exhaustion starts to fill her and she has no idea where she is.

“How do I not know where I am?” She questioned to herself out loud. “I’ve lived in this dinky town my entire life.”

Pulling out her phone, she paused. Who could she call?

She couldn’t call her mom. Tanya didn’t know she went out while she was working. Ada knew that her mother would be very upset with her for leaving the house in the dark, knowing that one of the last times she did so, she was almost murdered. She also knew that Tanya wouldn’t have been too pleased with her having a date. Her mother wouldn’t have approved of this without meeting the boy first. And if he had pulled the whole honking for his date to come to the car, Tanya definitely wouldn’t have allowed Ada to leave.

She and Ewan still weren’t on good terms. Sure he finally spoke to her a few hours ago, and the way he looked at her made her heart race, her mouth became dry, and she felt like her stomach was doing flips. However, Ada couldn’t help but still feel bitter about the way he has treated her, or not treated her over the past couple of weeks. Always dodging her at school, ignoring her texts and phone calls, he was acting like a completely different person. While this was enough reason for her not to try reaching out to him, she also didn’t want to call Ewan because she just knew that he would give her the “I told you so,” speech. Well, maybe he wouldn’t, but she didn’t want to risk it.

Ada was about to call Kacey, yet she knew that her friend would end up making a huge fuss. Plus Ada didn’t have a vehicle, nor did she have her driver’s license yet, so her mother or father would need to bring her, or even her older brother. She didn’t feel like having to explain or deal with the embarrassment of them knowing what happened. Not to mention, Hal and Ewan would hear all about it within a matter of seconds, probably before she even got here to pick her up. No, Ewan and Hal would definitely know about the situation she was in before she got off the phone with Kacey. Kacey was not good at keeping secrets, which wasn’t exactly a secret rather than something that she didn’t want to talk about or remember happened. It was pretty much like the gas station scenario, except this was extraordinarily minor compared to that.

Hal was Ewan’s best friend, so he would most likely call Ewan and tell him everything that Ada had said happened, regardless if Ada told him not to. Hal will keep secrets for Ewan from Ada, but not vice versa.

Ada’s arm falls beside her. So what am I supposed to do?

She examined her surroundings. The night sky was still cloudy, but the moon was able to illuminate the environment around her better. While it didn’t give off enough light to make her feel safe, it was enough for her to at least see.

Standing in the middle of the dirt road, she tried to get a sense of where she was and tried to remember the route Kevin took to bring them to this spot. But she couldn’t remember. The anxiety that had enveloped her when she realized they were going to a back road away from town and civilization, took hold of her attention, causing her to be less attentive to the surroundings.

The bugs were chirping, owls hooting, and in the distance, she could hear frogs croaking. Each sound became louder as time went by, becoming distracting to her.

Finally, when the fog cleared from Ada’s mind, she decided that it would be best if she started walking. Equipped with her phone, she used it as a flashlight and the GPS to find her way back to town. And then maybe home, where she knew she would be safe.