“You do realize our campus isn’t that big; you’re bound to run into Cam eventually.”
“Maybe at graduation. If I go. I think avoiding your brother is more important than getting a diploma on stage.”
“My parents would be happy to see you at graduation.”
To be honest, I think my mom has always liked Maia more than she liked me. In her eyes, Maia was the perfect daughter she never got.
“I don’t think I could look them in the eyes.” She shrugs, her eyes falling from mine. “They’ll look at me like—”
“Like they always have. They love you, Maia.”
She shakes her head. “No, like I’m pathetic.”
I sigh, reaching my hand out to squeeze her shoulder.
“You’re not pathetic, Maia. If anyone is pathetic, it’s my stupid brother.”
“He’s not stupid.” She forces a smile, and I nod.
“Alright,” I begin, pulling her along, “forget about boys. We don’t need them; they’re not worth our energy.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“That you weren’t a senior in high school planning your whole future with a man who was planning on dumping you the whole time.”
“Maybe not, but we were shocked and devasted when Cam told us.”
“And I’d love to hear the story he went with.”
Truth is, he didn’t spill much. It was the morning after our senior prom.
I didn’t go.
It’s probably not surprising, but I wasn’t one for big gatherings. But that morning, when he came home, he went straight to his room.
He didn’t come out until dinner, and he only spoke five words before leaving the table “Maia and I broke up.” I didn’t even know he dumped her until a week later when I finally got her out of the house. And just like Cam, her response was minimal. “He dumped me.”I could never get the rest out of him.
“It had about as much detail as yours.”
She rolls her eyes before picking up the pace, dragging me along with her.
“Have you ever thought about what you would say?” I wonder. “If you ran into him.”
“No,” she pauses, “that’s why I have you.”
“For what?”
“To be the buffer.”
“The buffer?”
“You know, if we run into him, you do all the talking and get us out of there as quickly as possible.”
“Just so I can go home and deal with the consequences of not telling my brother you’re here?”
“Small price to pay for keeping your best friend happy.”
