Chapter 47
Chapter 8
A week later, I found him waiting outside my building. He was standing under the sycamore tree, alone, his shadow stretching across the pavement in the late-day light.
When he spotted me, something brightened in his eyes before fading just as fast. “Can we talk?” His voice was raw, determined.
I didn’t answer, just kept walking. It didn’t stop him. He started showing up everywhere, the library, the dining
hall, outside my classes.
“Oh, so now he gets it? Where was this energy when he was throwing you under the bus for Sarah p>
Mona rolled her eyes. “Lucky for him Xavier’s in Munich all week, or he’d have bigger problems than a broken
heart p>
Someone filmed him and posted it online. [Anyone know this guy? He’s been out here for like three days straight. Starting to get kinda creepy. Is he okay?] The video was everywhere on campus.
I didn’t know about any of it until Mrs. Hunter called, her voice tight. “I know what he did to you. I know you don’t owe him anything. I shouldn’t even be asking this. But he’s my son, and he’s been out there in the rain
for hours p>
Her voice cracked. “Please. Just talk to him. Talk some sense into him. Get him to come home before completely falls apart p>
Mrs. Hunter had been there for me when no one else was. I couldn’t say no to her.
We met at a café near campus. Sean kept staring at the Kingsley crest embroidered on my hoodie. Something pinched in his expression.
“You were still going. You never said.” His voice was quiet. “There was time. I could’ve, we could’ve worked it out. We said we’d be together once we got settled. How did this p>
He trailed off.
I focused on my coffee. “I told you from the start, Kingsley was the plan. We both got in. You’re the one who
backed out p>
I paused. “And you’d already decided you were staying, with Sarah. What was I supposed to do? Beg you to reconsider p>
Something shifted in his expression, like he’d found an opening. “This is about Sarah, isn’t it? Look, I was just trying to help her. She had it rough, and I… if it bothers you, I’ll stop. I won’t talk to her anymore p>
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“I know p>
He stopped mid-sentence. “You know what p>
“I know you. You’ve been obsessed with superheroes since we were kids. You wanted to be the guy who
saves people, who stands up for what’s right p>
I met his eyes. “That’s who you were when you protected me. And that’s who you were with Sarah. You have
a savior complex, Sean p>
“The only difference was that somewhere along the way, I stopped being the victim and became the villain. She was the damsel in distress, and I was the mean girl holding her down p>
My voice stayed level. “You loved it. You loved being needed like that. So when she told you I was excluding her, you believed it without question. Again and again, you took her side p>
“That’s not…” His voice cracked. “She said you thought she didn’t deserve to be there. That you looked down.
on her. I was just p>
“Stop. Blaming Sarah only makes it worse. It makes me feel stupid for ever thinking we had anything real p>
I shook my head. “This was never about her. If what we had could fall apart because of someone else’s words, then maybe it was never that solid in the first place p>
The color drained from Sean’s face. His mouth opened and closed before he finally got the words out. “Do you hate me p>
That question yanked up a memory I hadn’t thought about in years.
We’d been seven, maybe eight. Some kids had cornered me after school, and Sean had stepped between us, small but fierce, fists clenched.
When he’d turned back to me, his hand was outstretched. “Don’t be scared. I’ve got you p>
“I’ll never forget you were there for me when I had no one else p>
My voice softened. “Even after everything, the fights, the things we said, I don’t want to hate you. I can’t hate the boy who stood in front of me when I was scared p>
Sean turned away, but not before I saw his eyes go bright with tears. I slid the napkin dispenser across the
table.
“This has to be goodbye p>
It was the kindest ending I could give us.
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No noite passada, me entregou a um…
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