Prologue
First Day of Kindergarten
Sin
“Try this. It’s my favorite.”
Those were the first words Gael spoke to me. I got lucky that day when the teacher told us to line up for lunch. Gael stood behind me, so he sat right next to me at the table. When he opened his lunch box, he pulled out a single wrapped candy, opened it and turned to me.
Try this, it’s my favorite.
I let him put it in my mouth, and he smiled like Christmas morning when I chewed on his favorite candy and then asked me how I liked it. From one moment to the next, my entire life changed. I couldn’t bear to see that smile fade. The idea of him losing his happiness hurt my heart, so I told him it was yummy. I’ve never actually cared for lemon candies, but I told him I liked it anyway.
That day I discovered that I would do anything for him, and we’ve been best friends ever since.
Eighth Grade
Sin
“Why do I have to kiss him, too?”
Julietta was Gael’s first girlfriend. He loved her, and he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to kiss me too. I probably could have explained to him that you can’t share your favorite people like you share your favorite candy, but Gael didn’t give me the chance to explain.
“Caysin is my best friend. If you love me, you have to love him, too. He’s a part of me.”
“I don’t want to kiss anyone but you.” Her complaint was valid, but I would do anything for Gael, including kissing his girlfriend, and I didn’t want to see him frown if she kept rejecting me.
“If you want to kiss me, then you have to kiss him, too.” That’s not how it was supposed to work, but if that’s the way Gael wanted it to work, then that’s how it would be for the three of us.
Julietta frowned at me, standing beside her boyfriend, and then she leaned in and kissed me. It was my first kiss, and it was just a peck on the lips, but then Gael smiled that Christmas morning smile at the both of us and Julietta kissed me again. I thought there must be magic in that smile.
Senior Year of High School
Sin
“Are you two, like, a couple?”
Haylee, the girl Gael had been dating for a few months, had cornered me after school on my way to meet up with Gael. She had a little bit of lipstick on her teeth, and she was furious.
“No.” I honestly didn’t understand why Gael persisted in dating this girl.
“Then why does he hang out with you all the time? He’s got a girlfriend he could be hanging out with. Can’t you just, like, make yourself scarce?” Haylee’s voice grated on my nerves, but I could choose kindness anyway. She liked him, after all, and that was at least proof of her excellent taste in company. I was still trying to see what Gael liked about her, but I didn’t think it was going to matter for very much longer.
“He’d dump you if I did.” Explaining that to the girls didn’t usually work. Julietta figured it out before Gael dumped her, and there was a girl in tenth grade that knew, but Haylee’s immediate screech of protest told me she was going to be on the chopping block much sooner than anticipated.
“He likes me! He wouldn’t dump me if you just stopped hanging out with him for, like, a weekend so I can have some time with him.”
The girl didn’t know a warning when she heard one. “Gael shares all his favorite things with me.” I suppose I felt mean toward her, but really, she didn’t understand Gael at all if she thought getting rid of me would help her get closer to him. I wasn’t her roadblock; I was the fucking road.
“Obviously, that’s not true.”
She didn’t get him at all.
“If he liked you, he would have already brought you to my house. Because Gaelshares all his favorite things with me.” I didn’t know how else to tell her that she wasn’t his favorite thing.
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t share girlfriends!”
She hadn’t talked to her classmates if she thought that was true. Everyone knew Gael sharedeverythingwith me, including his girlfriends, and how that slipped past this girl was a mystery.
