Page 100 of Send It
Lincoln
Everything changed. Do you really want to know?
Reiss
No. Spare me the slutty details.
Lincoln
I’m not a slut.
Reiss
That’s not what I meant.
Lincoln
There’s worse guys than Colson.
Reiss
Does it have to be him?
Lincoln
There will never be anyone else. There never has been.
Reiss
Fuck Lincoln!
Lincoln
I’m sorry. I can’t bury it. I don’t want to but he will for you. That’s how much he cares about your friendship. Please don’t make him choose.
He doesn’t respond.
“Lincoln, what are you doing here? I thought you had a shift at Lakeside?” Mom asks as I stare at my phone, hoping for a response from Reiss.
“Stas is covering for me,” I say. “I just don’t feel good.”
She narrows her eyes at me, “A broken heart?”
“Not broken,” I sigh. “Just a little bruised.”
“Have you heard from Colson?” she asks. “Your dad has tried texting him but he hasn’t responded.”
“No,” I exhale. “I won’t until he talks to Reiss but I know it’s eating him alive that Reiss won’t talk to him. He’s been nervous for weeks about his surgery tomorrow and I can’t even be there for him.”
Mom pulls me into a hug and I can feel the tears start to sting my eyes. “Oh honey, I know you care about him. Those boys will figure it out. They won’t let this ruin what they’ve built.”
“It’s my fault,” I say.
“It’s not. Sometimes you can’t help who you fall for.”
I laugh through my tears, “Tell me about it. It would be a lot easier if it was someone else.Anyoneelse.”
“Sometimes love isn’t easy,” she says. “Not everything worth having is easy. You should know that by now. Sometimes you have to fight.”
