Chapter 10 Mae
Two months of endless bliss ending in heartbreak.
That's how I'd describe the summer that I turned eighteen.
Cody and I spent every day we could together. Swimming in the pond at his ranch, the pool, grilling out with his family or making love in his room when my parents thought I was spending the night with Georgia.
Georgia had even come to terms with the relationship that had developed between Cody and me.
A rarity according to Cody who said she'd cut off every other friendship in her life once they developed feelings for him or Wilder.
Cody claimed it was because Georgia could tell that I was different to him.
That the thing between us was built for lasting and in my young heart, I hoped to heavens that was true.
I was grateful, because my friendship with Georgia meant a lot to me and despite Cody's pleas to spend every moment with me, I always found time to develop and maintain the relationship I’d built with her because she was special to me too.
August had approached and we both knew that our days spent at the rodeo would be ending soon before school started back up.
On one particular day when we didn't have work, my parents were supposed to be out of town in the capitol with some of their wealthy political friends, so I invited Cody over to my home in San Angelo instead.
It was the first time he'd been to my parents' property, and we spent the day exploring the estate and then in my room fooling around.
That was until my parents arrived home six hours earlier than expected.
“What the hell is going on in here?” my mom shouts as she flings open my bedroom door to find Cody on top of me in the bed.
“Mom!” I scream as I scramble to stand up and pull down my shirt.
“Emerson, you might want to come in here!” she shouts out to my father.
"Who is this, Mae?" My dad asks as he enters my room. He looks about as exhausted as my mom looks angry. Thankfully, Cody is still fully clothed.
"Cody Cameron," Cody says as he steps forward to offer his hand to my father. "I apologize that this is the way we're meeting. We shouldn't have been here without you being home."
My father looks down at his hand and eventually shakes it while my mom huffs next to him.
"Well, this is the first and last time we'll be seeing you with our daughter, Cody Cameron." My mom says, pointing towards my bedroom door as if she's dismissing him.
“Cody is my boyfriend, mom." I say, starting to panic. "He’s going to be around.”
"Not anymore he's not," my mom snaps back as Cody looks between the two of us, unsure what to do. Finally, he steps towards the doorway.
"No! Don't make him go," I cry out.
“Let it go, Mae. You’re wasting your time with him.”
“I love him!” I scream back.
“You don’t know what love is,” my mother spits back at me as she clutches my arm, keeping me in place. I shake off her grip and head towards the door where Cody is already halfway down the stairs now.
How could he walk away from us? Why is he leaving?
“I’m eighteen now. I don’t have to listen to you and do what you say!” I shout back at my mother.
She lets out a hauntingly bitter laugh. “You’re right.
You don’t. But if you don't, you lose everything, Mae. Your line of credit to the Beaumont family disappears. You still have another year of high school to finish and what about college? Are you really willing to throw that all away for a cowboy who has no future but to stay in Lonestar Junction, working on a run-down ranch?” she presses, her lips together forming a thin angry line.
My eyes shift to my dads who won’t meet mine. He shakes his head at the ground as if he doesn’t want to get in the middle of it then follows after Cody.
“Wait!” I scream, “Please, just let me say goodbye to him.”
“Make sure you realize it’s goodbye for forever!” my mom shouts from behind me.
I spin around. “What do you mean?! School starts in two weeks. I'll see him then.”
“You’re not going to Lonestar Junction Highschool anymore. I’m re-enrolling you in San Angelo High.”
“You can’t do that!” I scream back at my mom. I'm panicking now as I realize just how far she is willing to take this to keep Cody and I apart.
I sprint down the steps to where Cody is now standing outside with my father. He won’t even look me in the eyes, yet I can see tears are pricking at the corner of his as he shakes his head.
"I apologize again, sir,” he mumbles to my father who nods in response.
“I’m an adult! I can decide where I finish my senior year!” I declare.
“You sure you want to do that?” my mom says again, approaching from behind us, a threat behind her words.
No!
I run out into the stifling summer breeze straight past the tire swing that reminds me of my childhood, tears streaming down my face as I sprint towards the lake behind my family's sprawling estate.
Cody takes off after me, calling my name and catching me by the arm before I can launch myself into the water.
“Mae, wait. Let me talk to you,” he urges.
“They’re controlling my decisions just like they always have!” I cry as I fall into his arms while he holds me tightly. He’s silent. Too silent for Cody. “What are we going to do?” I ask.
After a long pause and a sigh, he finally responds, the words breaking my heart. “Nothing,” he says.
“Nothing?” I pull back to search his eyes but there’s no hesitation behind them.
“I love you, Mae. It doesn’t matter where you go, or who you love, our love is one that transcends time and distance.
I’ll always be somewhere in the world, loving you, wishing I was with you.
But your parents are right. If you try to fight them on this, they’ll take everything from you.
We’re only eighteen years old. Hardly adults.
We need to figure things out. We have a whole life ahead of us.
What about college? Your dreams to become a lawyer?
If they cut you off financially, you'll resent your decision to choose me someday.”
It's always been my parents' dream for me to become a lawyer, not mine, and Cody knows that. Him saying that causes the words to sting even more so I remain silent.
“I’m sorry, Mae. But they aren’t wrong. This thing that’s between us… it’s intense. It’s, everything. But it’s young love. We can't survive on our own right now. There's no point in destroying your relationship with your family and the support you have over this.”
Over… this? Our love?
He steps towards me, reaching out to grab the hem of my shirt but I step back, away from his arms. I don’t need to figure anything out. I know what I want but now it sounds like Cody might not.
“There are nine months until we graduate… next summer, before we leave for college, we’ll both be working at the rodeo again. We'll spend that last summer together and then see how we feel.”
See… how we feel?
I stand motionless, trapped in the stifling August heat, my surroundings blurred by the cascading strands of blonde hair and tears that are obscuring my vision.
This wasn't part of the plan. What began as a fleeting summer romance with Cody has unexpectedly transformed into me finding myself outside of the plan my parents have always had and my first experience with true love. Secret escapades under the starry sky, the thrill of rodeos, and the gentle rhythm of horseback riding—all woven into a tapestry of unforgettable moments that I’ll dream about for the rest of my life.
But now, as I stand on the edge of heartbreak, I realize that perhaps this is just the rite of passage one must endure before stepping into the complexities of adulthood.
Are you required to suffer through one unforgettable heartbreak before entering the real world and meeting 'the one'?
With his words hanging heavy in the air, hurtful and resolute, I decide to choose silence. Without a glance back at him, I step away, each footfall a silent farewell to the first boy I’ve ever given my heart to and the woman that I was just starting to discover.
"Goodbye, Cody Cameron," I whisper, "I’ll see you next summer."