“I’m really sorry that this is happening to you,” I tell him. “And as much as I love your mom, I feel like her timing really sucked here. If this had been earlier in the summer, you would have had time to process it. And you’d have a way different perspective going into school. But that’s not what happened. So. We have to deal with what’s in front of us.”
“Right,” he says, listening to me and searching my face for more answers.
“I know you want to run away. I would, too. But practically, it doesn’t make sense right now. We don’t have time. Classes start in a matter of days. So, as much as I hate this for you, the reality is that we are going to Hartford tomorrow. But I promise you this. If it’s terrible, if you can’t take it, then I will transfer with you next semester. No questions asked.”
He mulls this over.
He breathes heavily, puffing out his lips.
I know I said things that he didn’t want to hear, but I can see it in his face: he knows I’m right.
Finally, he says, “Okay.”
“Okay?” I confirm.
“We’ll stick to the plan. For now. But I’m holding you to your promise,” he tells me.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I tell him.
I’m about to ask him how much more packing he has left when I hear my mother call up for me.
Zephyr quickly gives me a squeeze on my shoulder and then flies out the window. I shut it quickly behind him and miss him almost immediately.
Chapter Three
Zephyr
I feel a wave of panic as I enter the locker room.
I’ve been dreading this moment since his name fell out of my mother’s mouth.
I try not to look around as I change into my gear. I stare into my locker as I play with the locket around my neck. I don’t care if this thing chokes me on the field. I never take it off.
Priya gave me this locket for my fifteenth birthday.
It’s a silver square locket with a tiny picture of us from a photo booth.
It’s a silly picture but it’s my favorite one of us.
She thinks I wear it because I’m a good friend.
But the real reason I wear it is that I am over-the-top in love with Priya.
I honestly don’t know who I would be without her. It’s why I refused to go to college without her. I can’t imagine a life with her not in it.
She’s not just my best friend.
She’s the love of my life.
Even if she has no idea.
So, yes, my world as I know it is changed. I have a half-brother. I’m no longer the oldest of us. My whole identity is changed. But despite all of that, I know that if I have Priya by my side, I can take it.
I can handle anything with her.
I thought about kissing her once. At prom. We were slow-dancing and I held her close to me and I felt like if there were any moment for me to take our relationship out of the friend zone, it would be that one.
But then, I thought about all of my birthday parties.