Chapter 14
I rolled my eyes, deleted the text, and blocked yet another number.
Then I focused entirely on taking care of Grandma.
The school published their honor roll with everyone’s college acceptances listed.
I didn’t go back to campus, but Joy told me Tanner hadn’t either.
The day after his party, his dad whisked him off to some company branch, claiming he needed “early business
experience.”
After his celebration, he even left our class group chat for some reason.
I figured this was his way of cutting ties with me for good.
Thank fucking God.
Grandma’s treatment and recovery in D.C. went smoothly, and by the time I needed to head to college, she was safely back home in New York.
I only spent one night at home–Mom had already packed everything for me.
The next day, she personally drove me to campus for orientation.
Never saw Tanner once. The relief was intoxicating.
Turns out college wasn’t scary at all.
As soon as I stepped out of the car with my massive suitcases, a group of upperclassmen basically fought over who got to help me move into my dorm.
My roommates were all incredibly warm too.
Our major was small enough that all the girls in our year shared the same dorm.
Within three days of moving in, they were dragging me around campus, hitting every food spot and Instagram–worthy location. The New England cuisine I thought I’d hate was actually incredible.
They even made me do the traditional freshman midnight breakfast run to IHOP on my first night–apparently it was a sacred bonding ritual for their friend group.
After sharing way too much personal drama over pancakes and coffee at 2 AM, we became inseparable,
I was rapidly adjusting to college life–actually thriving for the first time in years–and military training had just
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Chapter 14
started when I received my third love letter. That’s when Tanner called me out of nowhere.
The sound of his voice made my stomach drop.
“Drielle, I went to your house yesterday wanting to coordinate our move–in day, but your mom said you’d already
left for school.”
“But I’m here now and I can’t find your dorm or your classes anywhere. What’s going on? Which part of campus are
you on?”
I suddenly didn’t know where to begin explaining.
After all this time, he still hadn’t realized I never changed my application to Georgia Tech.
The sheer stupidity was breathtaking.
“It’s not about different parts of campus–we’re not even at the same fucking school.”
I couldn’t help the bitter laugh that escaped.
“That’s impossible. What kind of joke is this?” Tanner laughed dismissively.
“Come on, stop being dramatic. Fine, fine, I’ll grovel and apologize, you win, okay?”
“Just get down to the girls‘ dorm entrance. My mom sent a care package with your favorite pastries–don’t accuse me of being selfish.”
assumption that I’d just fall back into our old patterns made me want to scream.
enough and spelled it out for him, word by word.
I think you’re genuinely delusional. My application never changed. It was always MIT, aerospace gineering.”
“You know that’s what I always wanted. Why the hell would I randomly end up in Atlanta?”
Right then, my roommate Sophia called out to me about lunch.
“Hey girl, wanna hit up that clam chowder place in Harvard Square?”
Her distinct Boston accent finally made Tanner panic.
When he spoke again, he sounded like his world was collapsing.
“You–you–you can’t be serious, Drielle.”
“No no, that’s impossible. You knew I changed my application, right?”
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Chapter 14
“There’s no way you didn’t change yours too. How could you go all the way to Massachusetts by yourself?”
The disbelief in his voice was almost insulting.
I sighed, exhausted by his self–centeredness,
“I’m not kidding.”
“Tanner, you never asked me when you changed your application–how were you so sure I’d follow you? Especially since you changed it for someone else. It would’ve been pretty pathetic for me to tag along.”
Tanner frantically tried to backpedal.
“But that night–that night I asked you, and you said you knew! How could you not have changed yours? It’s impossible!”
“It’s not because of Harper, is it? I just felt bad for her–she was crying about being scared to go somewhere new
alone.”
“You know her family situation–since her dad’s scandal, she hasn’t been back to Georgia. Plus she got in on an arts scholarship, so she didn’t have many options. She’s not like you with perfect grades–this was literally the best school she could get into…”
Tanner rambled on in a panic, but rage was building in my chest.
All I heard was “she, she, she“-even now, he was only thinking from Harper’s perspective, never considering how I
felt.
Harper’s father was a corrupt politician who’d been imprisoned for years.
Though he’d divorced her mother before the sentencing, Harper and her mom had faced endless judgment in their hometown, so they’d moved to New York for a fresh start when she was young.
The adult drama wasn’t her fault when she was a kid.
But her tragedy wasn’t my fucking responsibility either. Why should I sacrifice my future for her comfort?
“Tanner, since you care about her so much, you got exactly what you wanted. We’re just friends now–we don’t have to do everything together. Please don’t contact me anymore.”
My voice was ice–cold, final.
I hung up, took a shaky breath, and before I could even process the storm of emotions, Sophia and my other roommates–Emma and Madison–dragged me off to the dining hall.
I thought Tanner would finally back off. After all, we were separated by thousands of miles and countless wounds that couldn’t easily heal.
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Chapter 14
But the next evening, Tanner appeared right in front of me.
Like a fucking nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
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