“I agree,” Carly says. “We remember what you were like after that summer. There was a major change in you. You didn’t want to talk about it back then, and we respected your wishes, but we couldn’t help but worry about you. It took a while for you to get back to your amazing self. If not being friends with Kylen is better for your mental health, you definitely don’t have to be friends with him.”
“I wish I were friends with you guys back then,” Addie says. “I would have tried to make you feel better, Raven, even if I didn’t know exactly what was going on.”
“Thanks. Thanks to all of you. Discussing this with you has made me feel so much better and it brought clarity. I was eating myself up wondering if I made a mistake.”
Sophie shakes her head. “As much as I love a second-chance-romance, only you know what’s best for you, Raven. We support you in whatever you do.”
“Thanks.” We gather in for a group hug. “I just can’t help but feel bad. You guys should have seen his face when I told him I didn’t want to be friends. He was crushed.”
“Maybe he feels bad about what happened at camp and wants to make amends,” Carly suggests. “It doesn’t make him a bad person. He can still be a good guy. But maybe the right thing for you is not to be his friend. And who knows? Maybe you’ll eventually get over it one day and want to be his friend.”
I contemplate it. “I guess that’s true. I can’t imagine ever wanting to be his friend, but maybe one day it won’t be so painful anymore.”
“Maybe when you finally meet Prince Charming and are truly over him,” Sophie says with a smile as she pokes her elbow into my ribs.
“Yeah, in college.” I roll my eyes.
“I’m positive it will happen before college,” Addie says.
I lift my shoulders. “Whatever happens will happen. I don’t want to spend my days obsessing over it. I just want to enjoy myself with you guys.”
They beam at me. “Same!”
We gather in for another group hug. And then we spend every second together before the ten o’clock curfew.
Chapter Seven
Kylen
It’s too early to get up for school, but I can’t fall back asleep. Tossing and turning for what seems like hours hasn’t happened to me for some time. I guess not since the whole camp thing. While I don’t want to think about it or Raven anymore, it seems like my brain refuses to listen. The only thing I can do is busy myself with other things until I truly get over her. Which means, video games.
Beck’s on the bed near the door while I’m on the one near the window. His snores are so loud it can wake the dead. But at least he can sleep. He hasn’t been awake for hours wondering how he’ll get through the semester with a girl who doesn’t want anything to do with him.
Pushing my covers aside, I get out of bed and go to the bathroom. Then I throw on a pair of sweats and make my way to the rec room.
The best thing about coming here so early is that I’ll have the entire place to myself. No one will fight for the game consoles or the arcades. It’ll be just me, the games, and hopefully no thoughts of Raven.
The building is pretty warm despite the cold February weather. They do a very good job at keeping everything toasty. I can’t say the same for my old school. It was an all-guy school, but we didn’t dorm like we do here. Coming to HBA and going to school with girls wasn’t that hard because I went to a regular school for elementary and middle school. It was weird at first to attend an all-guys school because sharing classes with girls is always better. But I got used to it.
The education was on a high level, which is why my grandparents enrolled me there, but it has nothing on HBA.
The rec room door is closed, which is normal because no one comes here this early. I really can’t wait to have this place all to myself.
I push the door open and am about to head to one of the arcades, but I stop dead in my tracks when I find someone by Skee-Ball. Her blonde hair falls over her face, so it’s hard to see who she is, but I don’t have to be a genius to figure it out.
Raven seems determined as she throws the balls to try to beat the high score. Most of the time it’s impossible because this game is very popular and the score is at such a ridiculously high number. But I really admire her tenacity.
As I watch her, I can’t help the sad smile that crawls onto my face. If things were different, would I be here at HBA as her boyfriend?
If she wouldn’t have ignored the letter I wrote to her, would we be as obsessed with each other as we were back then?
The weeks following camp, I tore myself up over that letter. In it, I apologized for messing everything up and I tried to explain how I felt about her. I spent many hours on it, pouring my heart out to her.
Why didn’t she respond to it? I know for sure that she got it, so the fact that she ignored it made me realize she wasn’t interested in me anymore. And that really hurt me.
For the next few days, I tried to talk to her, but she kept avoiding me. Wouldn’t even look my way, like she was disgusted with me. Then camp ended and we went our separate ways. I waited for her to contact me, since I left my information in the letter and asked her to keep in touch. But months passed and I didn’t hear a word from her. I realized we were completely over. That she hadn’t felt about me as strongly as I felt about her. Because if she had, she would have fought for us.
Blinking those thoughts away, I decide I should leave. This is Raven’s space right now. She got here first, and I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.
