Page 18 of False Start

He gives me that deep heavy sigh I’m getting really used to. “I won’t. I’m smart. Don’t worry.”

“I know you’re smart—like, book smart, but people—that’s different. You might trust the wrong guy. What if I’m not there to help?”

He pats my knee with his hand. “Vaughn, it’s not your job to protect me, and I know you think it is, but I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself. And yeah, it would be great to meet a guy to get naked with, but that’s not why I’m going to college.”

Naked with? What the hell?

He laughs and shoves me, nearly knocking me back on the bed because I wasn’t ready for that. “What’s happening to your face?”

“Naked? You want to have sex with these guys?”

He laughs again as I right myself, sitting back up. “Are you really scandalized by that? I’ve had to watch you and Van dry hump in the hallway so many times, I’m surprised I haven’t gone blind.”

“Shut up.” I shove him back, and he cackles. “That’s not true. We don’t do that.”

“You do. It’s disgusting.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “We do not.”

“Come on. Enough distractions. We need to study.”

“Right. So you can get away from me,” I snark, and I just get a roll of his eyes in return.

“Not true.”

“One more question,” I say as I crack open my book.

“What?”

“Are you coming to prom with Vanessa and me? It’s two weeks away.”

He’s already shaking his head, and I’m not happy. I knew he’d fight me on it. “What? No. That’s a date for Vanessa and you. It’s senior prom.”

“So?” I shrug, so not getting it. “Vanessa wants you to come with us. It’s better than you going alone.”

“Yeah, I’m not going at all.”

I stare at him, shocked. He went last year, begrudgingly, but he still went. “What? Why the hell not?”

“Because I don’t need to, Vaughn. I’m ready for school to be over. I want to graduate and get the hell out of here. I’m just counting down the days.” He places a solid hand on my shoulder. “You need to go with Vanessa and have a blast. Please don’t think about me when you’re there.”

Yeah, right. I decided not to fight him anymore on it, though I’m disappointed. We do our homework, eat dinner, and then he pries himself away from me and drives home to his own house and his own bed.

I toss and turn as I try to go to sleep. Don’t think about him when I’m at prom and he’s at home, not at prom?

Is he insane?

Of course I’ll be thinking about him and how he’s supposed to be where I am. Always.

10

AUSTIN

Senior prom. I smile to myself as I think about Vaughn’s pouty face when he tried one more time last night to get me to go with Vanessa and him. To. Prom.

It was funny and cute, honestly. But it also just cemented my decision to not go to the same college. Because I need a break from this. Not from him, never from him. But watching him with someone else. Someone who’s really great and perfect for him. Someone he loves in a way he’ll never be able to love me.

I can’t do it anymore. I watched as my mom took a picture of Vanessa and Vaughn. Vanessa in a beautiful red dress and him in his tux, her head on his shoulder. And then of course, Vaughn had to drag me right in between them for another picture.

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