I looked at Anna one more time as the school song played.
Oh yeah. I remembered the breakup. Like a hard slap in the face…
I remembered every horrible, heartbreaking word.
CHAPTER 17
blue
DECEMBER 6TH, HIS JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL
“Hey, beautiful,” I said, leaning back against the pillow on my bed like I felt completely at ease. Truth was, my stomach was in a twist and my temper was still hot from the argument I’d had with my dad. But seeing Anna over FaceTime always made things better.
Dad and I lived with my Uncle Van in a dumpy apartment on a hill but it overlooked the beach. The ocean was two miles away, but you could see the water, hear the waves, smell the salt-air. My window was open and I could smell it at that very moment.
“Hi.” Anna smiled, her eyes crinkling. FaceTime was the best invention ever created, in my opinion. Now if someone could invent a teleportation device, we would’ve been set. “Look.” She turned her laptop to show me a countdown timer. “Thirteen days, six hours, and twenty-seven minutes until I get to hug you.” She closed her eyes and released a large sigh. “Finally.”
My chest cinched so tight I could barely breathe. I sat up. “So…I need to talk to you about that.”
She let out a stilted laugh. “Okay. I don’t like the sound of that.”
I crossed my legs and propped my phone against a pillow. My breathing sped up and I forced it to slow down. Then, before I could chicken out, I forced myself to say the words I didn’t want to say. “I can’t come home for Christmas.”
She sat there, expressionless and completely still for the longest five seconds of my life. “What do you mean? I thought you already got a ticket.”
I blew my breath out in an O, eyes burning. “I thought so too. My dad was supposed to buy it but I guess he forgot. And now prices have gone up and he says we don’t have the money.”
One of her brows puckered. “I thought… What happened to all your pizza delivery money?”
“It got stolen.” It was the truth. I’d worked all summer and every weekend since I got here, saving up for this trip home and every penny was gone.
One of her brows lifted in a slow arch. “You didn’t put it in the bank?”
My face was burning, my heart racing. “It doesn’t matter. Just…I can’t come.”
She shook her head. “No. You have to come. I haven’t touched you in eight months, Blue. You have to come for Christmas. I need to hug you. You promised.”
I threw my hands up. “I don’t have the money.”
Her chest rose and fell. Then a stoic, determined expression crossed her face. “Well, I do. I’m going to hop online and buy you a ticket right now. Silas will help me.”
“No.” I cursed, my face in flames. “I’m not letting you spend your savings on me.” The last thing I needed was Silas thinking I was a loser. I’d worked way too hard to earn his respect. How pathetic would it look that I couldn’t afford a single ticket to Virginia? That my girlfriend had to buy one for me?
I’d had twice as much as I needed for the ticket. I’d planned on spending the rest of it, taking her on dates while I was there. And now it was all gone.
“I want to.” She forced a smile. “It’ll be your Christmas present from me.”
“No!” It came out in a shaky yell.
Her eyes were wet. I could see that even through the phone. “W-well,” her voice shook. “What if I come see you instead?”
I wished. I would love nothing more than to take her to the beach, show her off to all my friends, flaunt her in front of Lacy so she’d back the heck off. “Silas would never let you fly across the country alone and stay with me and my dad and my uncle.” It was true and I could tell from her expression that she knew it. “Look,” I said, faking calm. “Just… I’ll be home for the summer, okay? We just have to wait a little longer.”
She hugged her knees to her chest. “No,” she said in a hush. “You’re not coming home for the summer either. You know you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” I punched the mattress.
“No,” she said quieter, wiping a tear from her cheek. “You’ll have football practice and camps and a job.”
