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“Don’t.”

“You have to go to college.”

I pressed my lips together. I knew that. I did.

“And I don’t really think you have a choice,” RJ said. “Mom will never let you skip town with some random guy.”

“He’s not some random guy,” I said. “It’s Adonis.”

“No,” Scarlett said firmly. “This isn’t happening. I’m not going to let you mess up your whole life for some boy.”

I turned to her. “Not you too. Adonis isn’t just some...”

“Yes he is,” Scarlett said. “I stood by and did nothing when you went all in with Mr. Halifax way too fast. As your best friend, I’m not going to let you make the same mistake twice. You barely know Adonis. You’re not doing that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“Where you lose yourself because you’re so focused on your goal. Look at what happened last time.”

“Because Mr. Halifax left...”

“And Adonis is leaving too,” Scarlett said.

I shook my head. “No. He won’t leave me.” He promised. “We’ll talk about it more and...”

“Yes he is. You heard him. He’s not willing to budge on his dream. So why should you budge on yours?”

“Baby,” Axel said and put his hand on her shoulder. Because even he realized she was being harsh.

“I’m right,” Scarlett said. “I’m not going to let her get hurt again. I won’t.” It looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears. “You can do long distance,” she said. “You can both do what you want to do and...”

“Long distance never works,” I said.

“It will work if it’s meant to be.”

“So you’re saying that if Axel hadn’t gotten into the University of New Castle and was going to some school in the city that you wouldn’t be freaking out right now?”

“Of course I’d be freaking out. But I can say that without a doubt, that would never happen. Because love sometimes involves sacrifice. And we’d figure it out so we didn’t have to be apart. We’d do everything in our power to make it happen.”

“Then maybe I should go with Adonis...”

“That is not what I’m saying!” Scarlett snapped.

“Baby,” Axel said again.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” she said to him. “Tell me we wouldn’t both bend to find a resolution?”

“Of course we would.”

“I can bend,” I said. “I can...” What? Go with him? Abandon all my plans?

“But Adonis said he wouldn’t,” Scarlett said. “You told him you’d go with him this summer. And that he could come back with you in the fall. And he laughed, Soph.”

Yeah. But I also understood not wanting to sit still. Adonis was right. I was terrible at that too.

“I think maybe we should all get to class,” Axel said and put his arm around Scarlett’s waist.

“But he’s going to break her heart,” Scarlett said. “And I can’t go through that again.” She turned back to me. “It killed me to see you hurting. It was like my heart was breaking too.”