“It’s my best strategy. But I don’t want to put Victor in a bad situation,” I say, interrupting everyone’s thoughts.
Victor places his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll win, Tia. Especially now.”
“But you and Abi have to stay safe until the day of the fight,” Alek says.
“I have tons of sorority girlfriends to hang around when I’m not with Alek. And Tia is more than welcome to join us,” Abi says.
“I’ll walk you to your classes or anywhere else you need to go to,” Victor says.
“It’s not necessary. The campus will get really busy next week. I’ll be around people all the time.”
Alek presses his lips and then sighs. “I think Victor is right. The four of us need to communicate better.”
“But that’ll put too much pressure on you. You all have things to do.”
“Twinkle, all I’m saying is that we need to look out for each other.” He gives me a warm smile.
Abi gets up and pulls me up into an embrace.
“Sandwich hug, guys,” she says.
Alek hugs us and then Victor joins and hugs the three of us.
Some people go through life asking themselves what love feels like, and they never stop asking until their last breath. But that’s because they never experience it. Right this moment, the warm and fuzzy feeling in my chest is Victor, Alek, and Abi’s love that I’ve recently found. I’m thankful for every bit of it. I’m thankful I stayed. I’m thankful I don’t have to hide alone anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As I spend my days constantly looking over my shoulder, the new fall semester begins. It is a much-needed distraction. I love all of my classes. I love the dinners the four of us have together. I love seeing my brother and Abi madly in love again.
But I miss Victor. We talk and eat together, but he doesn’t invade my personal space as he used to. And I want him to. That’s the truth.
Whether I like it or not.
On Friday he’s walking next to me, hands in his jeans pockets. He’s been walking me to my Advanced Math class on Monday and Wednesday. We usually talk about everything and anything, music and movies, new shows to binge on. But today his body is stiff and he hasn’t smiled yet. I want to hear his laughter again and see the spark in his eyes.
“You wanna know about a life-changing decision I’ve made?” I tease.
Victor’s head snaps my way, his eyes full of concern. “What?” His voice is higher than usual.
I try to keep up the fun tone. “I’ve been talking to Evan and Lily at work. I love the fitness classes and the work that Evan does, in general, so I think I’ll declare PE as my major next year.”
“I’m glad,” Victor says absentmindedly.
“So why did you want to be a Criminal Justice major?”
We keep on walking but he’s not saying anything. His head is bowed. He stares at his shoes.
“Victor, are you okay?”
Silence. For what seems to be forever. I’m about to open my mouth when Victor speaks.
“From a young age, I’ve seen injustice. I was reminded of it every time my dad’s hand landed on my mom. Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to change the injustice when I have the power to do so.”
Whoa. I didn’t expect our conversation to take this direction. But Victor seems to need to get this off his chest and I’m here to listen to him.
“I’d like to go to the police academy one day. What you went through, what you’re still going through, is not fair. You shouldn’t be subjected to abuse. Your mom’s problems shouldn’t be yours. That’s also injustice.” Victor’s breathing is faster now even though our pace isn’t.
“I care about you, Tia, in many different ways.”
