Chapter 4

Ava

"What are you doing here?"

The question came out of my mouth too fast, too hostile, sounding more like an accusation than a greeting.

Brad's perfect, boy-next-door smile faltered. His brow furrowed, a flicker of hurt crossing his handsome face as he adjusted the giant bouquet of pink carnations in his arms. "Am I not allowed to see my girlfriend anymore?" he asked softly, his voice dripping with sweet, wounded innocence.

A heavy, suffocating wave of guilt crashed over me, stealing the air from my lungs. Look at him, my conscience screamed. He drove all the way here with flowers, and you're acting like he's an intruder.

"No! No, of course you are," I corrected quickly, forcing a bright smile onto my face as I stepped aside. "I'm sorry, Brad. Truly. I'm just... I'm so stressed, and my head is pounding. Come in."

He stepped into the small dorm room, bringing the familiar scent of his clean laundry detergent and mint gum with him. It was a scent that usually made me feel safe, but right now, it felt like an anchor dragging me straight to the bottom of the ocean.

Brad set the flowers down on my desk and turned to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I couldn't let us start our college lives with that awful fight hanging over our heads," he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers were cool, so different from the calloused, burning grip that had held my wrists down just hours ago.

I swallowed hard, forcing the image of Liam out of my mind. "I know. It was awful."

"I'm so sorry, Ava," Brad said, looking down at me with his big, puppy-dog eyes. "I know I snapped at you last night. But you have to understand where I was coming from. When you told me you wanted to major in journalism instead of business, I just panicked. My dad's firm already has a position lined up for you after we graduate. If you change your major, you're throwing away our entire future. I was just trying to protect us. You know how impulsive you can get."

There it was. That subtle, gentle twist of the knife.

He was apologizing, but somehow, it was still my fault.

We had been together since we were twelve years old. Brad had been there for every dance, every family dinner, every milestone. I knew him better than anyone. But lately, every time I tried to make a choice for myself, like choosing my own major, or wanting to go to a college two hours away from him, he found a way to make me feel selfish.

He made me feel like my dreams were just "silly impulses" that would ruin the perfect life he had mapped out for us since middle school.

Last night, when he had called me ungrateful and told me I was ruining our future, I had snapped. I had gone to that party to prove I could be reckless. To prove I belonged to myself.

But looking at him now, so sweet and apologetic, I wondered if I was the one who was wrong. He loved me. He was just looking out for us. Right?

"I know," I whispered, the weight of my massive, unforgivable secret pressing down on my chest. If he knew what his lecture had driven me to do last night... it would kill him. "I shouldn't have walked out on you. I'm sorry too."

"We're okay." Brad smiled, kissing my forehead. "We're always okay. I love you, Ava. You're my good girl."

Good girl. The words tasted like ash.

He leaned down, his lips meeting mine. The kiss was gentle, familiar, and completely safe. It was the same kiss we had shared for years. But for some reason, my body wouldn't cooperate. There were no sparks. No sudden rush of heat. My brain was completely numb, stubbornly comparing the soft press of Brad's lips to the wild, consuming fire of Liam's mouth on mine.

I pulled away slightly, pretending to be breathless, and gave him a weak smile. "I love you too."

Brad beamed, clearly thrilled that everything was back to normal. He clapped his hands together, looking around my room. "Well, I have some news that's going to make you love me even more. It took some serious convincing, and my dad had to pull some major strings with the admissions board, but..."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny new plastic card, holding it up like a trophy.

It was a student ID card for my university. With his name and photo on it.

"Surprise!" Brad cheered, his eyes shining with triumph. "I withdrew from my classes back home. I'm transferring here, Ava. I'm officially a student here starting tomorrow. We don't have to do long-distance anymore. I'm never leaving your side."

My heart didn't just drop... it completely stopped.

The room started to spin. Brad was here. Permanently. On the exact same campus as Liam Carter.

"You're... you're transferring?" I choked out, the walls suddenly feeling like they were closing in on me.

"Yeah!" Brad laughed, completely missing the absolute terror in my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me again. "Aren't you happy, babe? Now we can be together every single day."