He turns to face me. “Remember how I told you I met someone in Houston?”
“Yeah. You said you were really keen on her.”
“Well, it ended badly, and now she’s going to Dallas.”
“It’s a big campus, Gunner. You sure you need to be worrying about that? What program’s she taking, anyway?”
“She’s going into Psychology.”
I give him a look, lifting my brows. “You’re not going into that, are you?”
“No, stupid. I’m going into Engineering. But that’s not the point. Somehow, I just know that I’m going to run into her.”
“Maybe so, but, if things ended, then what’s the problem?”
“I just…I don’t want to see her.”
A pause, and then I give him a ‘level with me’ look. “You sure it’s not just because y’allwantto see her…and that’s what’s scaring you?”
“It’s never going to happen, man. Her folks are…fucked in the head…bad. Far as I’m concerned, she’s better off being a lesbian.”
A ‘v’ forms between my brows. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Her folks forbid her to even talk to a male, man. It’s nuts. I was in her dorm room studying with her and her folks showed up, like it was a check point, and they freaked out on her because I was there.”
“Really? You sure y’all hadn’t pulled her shirt out of her skirt already?” I poke.
“No, man. And then when her dad showed up, after he told her that he wasn’t coming, because her mama was sick, we were just kissing in the hallway, and since then they pulled her out of school, and I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
“Are you shitting me? They pulled her out of school?”
“Uh huh. I know. It's crazy.”
“So, then, how come she’s going to Dallas? Just to get her away from you? Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know what to think, and it doesn’t make sense, since she knows Ilivehere.”
“Just what kind of freaks are these people, anyway, Gunner? Why would you want to get involved with her if she comes from fucked up stock like that?”
His gaze goes to his hands. “Because she was different, man. She’s not messed up at all. Besides, that’s like saying that we’re messed up, because our own mama was in a mental hospital.”
I frown, thinking that for once, my kid brother finally gets it. “True, man. But still. Crazy or not, if her folks are like that, you’d be up against a shitload of strife, man. Besides, she isn’t even talking to you. When was the last time you spoke to her?”
“The day after her daddy caught us kissing in the hall. And she only spoke to me to tell me that she couldn’t speak to me anymore.”
He pauses. I don’t say anything more, since I can tell that his wheels are turning. “It fucking makes me sick, man.” Another pause. “That’s why I don’t want to get anywhere near that again. It was hard enough getting over her the first time.”
I hesitate, but I have to ask. “Did you get over her? I mean, it sounds to me like you’re not. How did you even find her?”
“I...uh...looked her up on Facebook. Saw the acceptance letter that she posted from Dallas. Looks like she got a scholarship.”
“Why’d you look her up?”
“Well, technically, I didn’t. I just unblocked her and her name popped up. I looked.”
“I think you still have a thing for her, otherwise, you’d just be shrugging it off, man.”
He swallows. “I hate her. But I love her, too. I just think that right now, I hate her more.”
