9781250209153

would be too hard to switch schools and keep up a relationship. It didn’t
seem fair to you.”
Neither one of us grabs her rebound. The ball rolls into the bleachers.
“Don’t you think I should have decided that for myself?” I ask. “If it
was fair to me?”
Tally pulls at the split ends of her braid. She looks up at me. “Do you
wish we were still together?”
My throat feels tight. I have an aching need to reach out and touch her.
Somewhere in the back of my brain, a small voice says Irene Irene Irene.
But in my body, in my heart, all I can feel is this excruciating need to
soothe this heartache.
“No,” I answer truthfully. “But I don’t know how to give you up, either.
I’m trying and trying and it’s killing me.”
Tally’s chest heaves. She moves toward me and wraps me in a fierce
hug. It’s tinged with yearning and grief and regret. I can’t pull away from it.
It’s like pressing on a bruise and knowing it will hurt, but needing to feel
the tenderness anyway.
When the tears leak out of my eyes, she wipes them with the back of her
hand. “I’m sorry, Scottie,” she whispers. “I really am. I never wanted to
hurt you.”
Is that true? Is she being genuine right now? Do I have to keep my guard
up even though it’s exhausting?
“I wish I could show you my world,” Tally says. “Show you why I came
here. It’s the right place for me.”
“I believe you.”
She wipes my tears again. “You never answered my question. Are you
really dating her?”
I look into those yearning blue eyes. In this moment, they’re all I can
see. “No.” I pause. “Not right now.”
Tally breathes deep. There’s an eyelash on her cheek and I don’t stop
myself from brushing it away. Maybe this is okay. Maybe this is what I
need.
“There’s a party tonight,” Tally says. “For New Year’s Eve. Will you
come with me?”