Cara sat on the porch swing, looking out into the backyard. It was a little chilly, but not much. Zac and his brothers and sisters were supposed to be raking the leaves, but instead were playing in them. Taylor grabbed a handful of leaves and shoved them down the back of Zac's shirt. Cara laughed as Zac retaliated by shoving leaves down Taylor's pants. Taylor turned beet red and chased Zac up onto the porch.
"Cara, save me!" Zac exclaimed, hiding behind her.
"Cara, move out of the way, and you won't get hurt!" Taylor said. Suddenly, a car horn honked out front. "That must be Isaac and Andie!" Taylor looked at Zac. "To be continued later!" He gathered his other siblings up and took them inside. Cara turned to face Zac as he pulled leaves out of his hair.
"So, what do you think of everyone?" Zac asked her, taking her hands in his.
"They're nice. I really like them," she responded, smiling.
"I'm glad. I knew you would," he said. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Thanks for coming, Cara."
"No problem," she said. They kissed gently, then deepened it, Cara putting her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist.
"Zacky-pooh!" a deep voice exclaimed, coming out of the house. Zac and Cara quickly pulled apart, both turning red.
"Ike, my man!" Zac said, hugging his brother. Cara looked at him for a moment. To her, Isaac's features seemed less harsh in person. His hair was short and very curly, and he wasn't as gangly as he used to be. Beside Isaac stood a very pregnant girl, whom Cara assumed to be Andromeda. She had long black hair, blue eyes, and despite being tired and pregnant, was very pretty. Zac hugged her as well.
"It's good to see you, Zac," the girl said. Zac turned to Cara again.
"Isaac, Andie, I'd like you to meet my friend Cara Ellis. Cara, this is my brother Isaac and his fiancee Andromeda Petros," Zac introduced them.
"It's very nice to meet you," Cara said, shaking both of their hands.
"Likewise," Isaac said, smiling.
"It's a pleasure," Andromeda said. "I'm so glad you could come. Zac's told us all about you." Cara could tell right away that she and Andie were going to become good friends.
"Zac, why don't we go inside? Give the girls a chance to get to know each other a little better?" Isaac suggested. Zac nodded, and the two walked back into the house. Cara looked over at Andromeda.
"Do you want to sit down?" Cara asked, pointing to the porch swing.
"Yes, please," Andie said. "My feet are killing me!" They walked to the porch swing and sat down. "So, you and Zac are a couple?"
"No! Not at all. Actually, I have a boyfriend back in Atlanta. His name is Damon," Cara replied. "Zac and I are just friends."
"Oh . . . well, Zac really likes you," Andie said, placing her hands on her stomach.
"Oh?"
"I've known Zac a long time. It's a little obvious," Andie explained. "And I saw the kiss."
"You did?" Cara squeaked nervously.
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," Andie said. "But what I'm wondering is how you feel about him?"
"That's the problem. I don't know how I feel," Cara responded. "One minute, I'm thinking that maybe I wouldn't mind being with him forever, and the next, I'm wanting to rip his head off. Does that make any sense?" Cara looked over at Andie.
"Perfect sense. But to you, it may not be a good sign," Andie replied.
"Why?" Cara asked.
"It's a dead giveaway that you're falling for him. And you already have a boyfriend, so that may not be good," Andie answered. She shifted a little bit in the swing. "See, love isn't about some magic moment or a funny feeling in your stomach. It's about the day-to-day living, The fights, the flaws, the tears, all of it. We don't get to choose who we love. God knows, I didn't choose Isaac. Actually, he and I hated each other at first. But, if we got to choose who we love, love would be a lot simpler, but really boring. It wouldn't be worth the time, because there wouldn't be any struggle."
"I guess that's true," Cara said, looking down at her feet. She remembered the magic moment between her and Damon in English class, and was ashamed to admit to herself that Andie might be right. Was it really love that they had?
"Well, it's food for thought," Andie said, patting Cara's hand. "I'm going to go inside and see if Mrs. Hanson needs any help at all." She slowly stood up.
"I'll come inside in a few minutes," Cara told her. Andie nodded and walked back into the house, leaving Cara alone outside. "Some food for thought," she muttered to herself, tears filling her eyes. She knew what she had to do.
Zac crept up to the doorway of his father's study, where Cara was sitting, on the phone. She had just run into the house a few moments ago, without saying a word, just sweeping right past Zac. It worried him, to see her upset and not know why.
"I'm sorry, Damon. I just can't do this anymore," he heard Cara say. She was on the phone with Damon. "No, I'm not kidding. We live more than 800 miles apart now, and it's just not working. You've already cheated on me once." There was pause. "You tell me that you didn't, but we both know it's a lie, Damon. And that's not fair to either of us." She sighed loudly and was silent again. "So what if there is someone else? It wouldn't make any difference, because I'm still saying that it's over between us, and I mean it. Hello? Damon?" She hung up the phone and stood up, turning around. She was surprised to see Zac standing there, smiling.
"He hung up on me!" she sputtered, starting to laugh. "What an immature dork!" Zac wrapped his arms around her as she continued to laugh.
"I am so proud of you, Cara. That took a lot of courage," he said, hugging her tightly.
"I just hope you appreciate it. I did it for you," she said, looking up at him.
"Oh, don't worry. I do," he responded. Then he kissed her tenderly.
