Page 42 of The Other Half

“We’re only eighteen,” he asserts. “You can’t just drop out of high school to be with me, that’s insane.”

“I know, but-” I start before he cuts me off.

“We can’t,” he says, he stares down at his feet and shakes his head. “We had fun, but now it’s over.” He rakes his hand through his curls and sighs. “Your dad’s right, Oakley.”

Most everyone has cleared out of the cafeteria now, so it’s just him and I standing here alone. “W-what?” I stammer.

“He’s right. We shouldn’t be together. You’re gonna go off to college, and get some great job, and meet some guy that also has a great job, and then you’ll buy a big house and get married. And you’ll be happy. And I’ll be here. This is where I’m meant to be, Oakley. I have to stay here and help my family.” He pauses and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. “It’s time to move on.”

Confusion and pain spears through my heart, splitting it open. This is what he wants? He thinks my dad is right? Since when? I feel like I don’t even know this person in front of me. Where is the Oliver from two days ago?

“That’s it? You’re just giving up?” I shake my head, this can’t be real. It feels just like a nightmare.

“I’m sorry.” He looks into my eyes for one last brief second before brushing past me toward the hallway. I whip my head around and watch as he walks away and doesn’t look back.

Chapter 35

Oliver

I look around the smoky, old trailer at the closely packed bodies. It can’t be safe to have this many people in such a small building.

“You want a beer?” Nate says as he sits down next to me on the musty couch, handing me a can of Natural Ice. I almost refuse, I’ve gotten so used to not drinking ever since I promised Oakley I wouldn’t. Good thing I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

“Yeah,” I reply, grabbing the can from him and cracking it open. I chug half of it in one go. It tastes like piss, just like it always did. I’ve missed it.

“Cheer the fuck up, man. You’re bringing me down,” Nate says as he lights a cigarette.

“Sorry,” I reply absentmindedly.

He chuckles. “That girl really did a number on you, huh? I’ve never seen you messed up over a chick before.”

I shrug. I don’t want to talk about her. I can’t stop replaying the scene in my mind, “We had fun, but now it’s over.”

I know I was cruel to her, but it felt kind of good. She lied to me for months, never bothering to tell me who her father was. Did she think I’d never find out? Probably. I’m sure she thinks I’m nothing but a dumb hick, just like her dear old dad does. I should’ve known she was too good to be true all along. How could someone like me end up with someone like her without it being a fluke?

Breaking her heart was my only option. What else could I do? Defy her father and risk him ruining my family’s life? I could have gone about it in a kinder way, sure, but this way she’ll know to stay the fuck away. Like she should have in the first place.

“Yo.” Nate waves his hand in front of my face, breaking my half-drunken trance. My tolerance is so low that I’m feeling buzzed off of one beer. I guess my relationship with her was good for something after all.

I don’t reply, instead I stand up and make my way to the kitchen to get another beer.

I don’t regret what I did to Oakley. I never lied to her. Her dad is right, we’re not supposed to be together. Anyone with eyes can see that. She’ll be successful one day, and a lot more so without me dragging her down.

I know she’ll be hearing back from the colleges she applied to soon. I hope she gets into whichever one she really wants to attend. I want her to be happy, even if that means being far away from me. There’s no way we could have ever had a future together, no matter what mental gymnastics she may have done to pretend we could have. I know she thought she could fix me, but she can’t. This is who I am. I’m nothing but poor white trash. Just like her daddy says.

I sit back down on the couch, but Nate is gone. I guess he got tired of listening to my bitching.

A sweaty guy sits down in the recliner across from me. He looks older, definitely not in high school. Why would you want to hang out with high school kids when you’re nearly 30? I hope I’m not such a lonely fuck at his age.

“Hey, kid,” he says to me. His eyes are half-lidded and his chin is covered with a scraggly beard. There are some real lowlifes around here, and I can tell he’s one of them.

“Sup?” I reply.

“You looking for something harder than that Natty?” He points to the can in my hand. “You look like you’re trying to forget about something.”

Someone, actually. But this fuckface doesn’t need to know that. “I don’t know. What are we talking about?”

“Anything you want, friend. Xans, Percs, ice.. you name it.”

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