Page 33 of One Lovely Lie

I can’t.

I need Daniel.

I kill the blunt with my heel and take off. I run to Monroe Hall as fast as my feet will carry me, not giving a single shit if one of the nighttime faculty members catches me. I just need to see him because he’ll know what to say. He’ll know what to do. He’ll see my face and our fight will be over, just like that, all is forgiven.

I knock on his door loudly because I don’t care if I wake up the entire damn hall. No response. I try again. Nothing.

It hurts almost more than my father’s lack of love for me.

I return to my dorm in a slump, completely out of my mind with worry. What if this is it for us? What if I was too stupid and too reckless and too pushy, and I left him nowhere to go?

I swing the door to my dorm open, so sure that I’m going to end up at the bottom of a bottle tonight, but then my jaw drops.

Because there’s Daniel. His curly hair is held back by that ridiculous headband, his lips red as if he’s been gnawing at them all day. He’s still in his uniform but it’s wrinkled and rumpled.

He’s perfect.

I go to open my mouth but spot Carter on his bed just staring at the two of us. This isn’t really a conversation I want to have in front of him. “Can we get some privacy?”

Carter furrows his brow and shakes his head. “Fuck that. Where am I supposed to go?”

“Why don’t you keep Avery company?” Daniel suggests quietly, still fidgeting with his fingers. “You can take my key.”

Carter narrows his eyes at the both of us, suspicion clouding that big brain of his, but he nods. “Fine.” He swipes the key from Daniel and then leaves us, making sure to slam the door on his way out.

Now that it’s just the two of us, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry—”

“I was a jerk—”

We both chuckle awkwardly after speaking over one another.

“If I could take it back—”

“I didn’t mean to imply—”

Once again, we chuckle and it’s a bit lighter this time around.

“Okay,” I say, leaning against the door as I gesture to him to speak. “You first.”

“I’m sorry about what I said. I know that your parents love you. I was just upset that you were giving me such a hard time about the internship.” He says this all in a rush, tripping over his words as if he’s afraid I’ll bolt away like I did before. “I may not like the family business, but Ilikehaving a legacy. Who knows? I might be able to make some real changes that could help people.”

“If anyone could, it’s you,” I whisper. I grunt, running my fingers through my hair as I pull at the roots. “It’s just…my dad’s been hounding me about something and it got to me. He’s been extra terrible and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

And just like that, what I predicted happens. We stare at each other for a beat and then we both smile. I move closer. We hug.

“I love you.”

And all is forgiven.

“I love you too.”

I really do. He’s my everything. Even though my parents don’t love me, Daniel does. Even if I can never fall in love because of how messed up I am, I’ll always love Daniel.

But then something changes in his eyes. The blue becomes cloudy and filled with insecurity. He licks his lips and locks his gaze on my feet. “Should we keep doing this?”

“Doing what? Fighting? Absolutely not,” I chuckle, burying my face in his neck as I squeeze him tighter. “Let’s make a rule that we will never fight again.”

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