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Lucas raises an eyebrow. There’s a question in his gaze. I shuffle from foot to foot, unable to meet his stare, worried he will ask the question I know is on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he takes a step back, making room for me to easily make my way out of the bathroom.
“Well, hurry up,” he says lightly. “We don’t have all day.”
Alex bursts out of his room and I follow him out of the apartment, down the staircase toward Hunter’s tiny car. My eyes wince against the sun. It’s a sunny early May, and I don’t know if it’s the weather, or my encounter with Alex before that’s making me sweat so profusely. I slide into the car and stare out the window, not watching Alex slide into the seat next to me. His leg brushes against mine and another shiver ripples through me.
How am I going to get through this day if he keeps touching me? It’s only a ten-minute drive to the graduation hall, I remind myself. And then I will have my family to contend with. They’ll definitely take my mind off Alex. I glance his way, my heart pounding as my gaze meets Alex’s. I’m beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to think of anything but those lips of his on mine, and how much I want to feel them again.
The drive goes by slowly, like a turtle crawling through the grass. The moment Hunter parks the car, I open the door and hop out. My face is even more flushed than it was before. Students clothed in the same ugly purple robes descend upon the stadium, going through the small door in the back. I see several hovering around cars, taking pictures with their parents. Girls giggle while taking selfies, their caps glittering with pins. I didn’t see any point in decorating my cap. Everything I’m wearing I rented. I don’t really have the money to be buying this shit. Not to mention, I don’t really care about keeping the crap after. I’m not really the sentimental type.
“Alex!” A familiar, masculine voice calls, finding Alex’s parents stalking towards us, a camera in hand and wide beaming smiles on their lips. They remind me of sharks about to lunge toward their prey. I seriously can’t wait for all this to be over and done with.
“Aww! Look at you!” Alex’s mom shouts, pinching her son’s cheek like he’s a two-year-old.
Alex grimaces, yet doesn’t make any move to run away. Taking it like a man, I see. “Hey, Mom,” he practically groans.
“You look so handsome.” His mom sniffs and wipes the tears from her eyes while Alex’s dad takes a dozen pictures.
I would laugh if it wasn’t for the fact his fate is soon to be mine. I look around for Mom and her new boyfriend, searching the lines of cars and the crowd of purple robes passing by me. Did they get lost? They’ve only been to Aurora a handful of times. The first, to tour the campus, and the second to drop me off. I think I’ve only seen Mom once watching my first track meet my Freshman year. Other than that, she and the family don’t really come here all that often. Mom doesn’t have time, I remind myself. She’s busy working to feed my other brothers and sisters, and provide for Grandma, whose hospital bills have been racking up year by year. She doesn’t have time to waste on frivolous things. Honestly, I’m surprised she could even take work off for this.
“Seth!”
I turn at the sound of my name, my lips twitching up into a smile as I see both my mother and Grandma swerving between the crowd. Grandma hobbles, leaning most her weight on her cane, while Mom holds her elbow, guiding her toward me. I’m happy to see Mom’s new boyfriend is nowhere in sight, but he could be parking the car.
“Mom!” I shout while waving my arm, watching as Grandma’s face brightens.
Mom looks stressed, as usual. She huffs, letting go of my grandma the moment she arrives in my vicinity. With speed I never knew Grandma possessed, she throws her arms around my neck, giving me a fierce hug.
“You look wonderful,” she says hoarsely. “I can’t believe this day has finally come.”
“Mark is parking the truck,” Mom says, her tone bitter while she rubs her back. “Your siblings will be the death of me.”
I chuckle while pulling Mom into a hug. Grandma has yet to let me go. “I’m happy you made it.”
“Why, we would never miss it!” Grandma proclaims while Mom gives me an uneasy smile.
“Who are your friends?”
At Mom’s nod, I glance over my shoulder, finding Rachel, Hunter, and Lucas standing close behind me while Alex’s parents take a hundred more pictures of him in different poses. He gives me a forlorn look, like he’s desperate for any sort of relief, and I can’t help, but feel my stomach lurch at that puppy dog look.
“These are my friends,” I say uneasily, releasing Grandma and turning toward Rachel and the bros.
Alex sidesteps away from his parents, making a beeline for my family, his hand outstretched. He grasps my mother’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you,” he says in that charming voice I’ve grown to both hate and adore. “I’m Alex. Seth and I are on the track team together.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Mom says politely. I can tell she’s tired. The dark circles under her eyes have only grown deeper and darker since I last saw her for Christmas. She moves to Rachel, and Mom’s smile brightens as she takes my girlfriend’s hand. “And you must be Rachel. Seth has told me so much about you.”
Rachel chuckles awkwardly, giving me a sidelong glance while she shakes Mom’s hand. “I hope all good things.”
Mom laughs, the sound genuine as she turns to Lucas, going through the line of bros and shaking their hands. I don’t even know if she’s met my friends. I’ve always moved myself in after Freshman year, not wanting to add more stress to Mom’s plate. She’s always offered, but I think, deep down, she’s happy to see how independent I’ve become over the years—never telling her of any of my issues, always being the dutiful son, despite being an asshole at school and with my peers.
After shaking Hunter’s hand I hear shouts from behind, finding my siblings running ahead of Mark, their bright eyes filled with mischief. There are four of them in total, two boys and two girls ranging from eight to sixteen. Rosalie, the eldest, grabs hold of my youngest brother, Stefan, before he can run out in front of a slowly moving car. I hear her shouting at him while the twins, Lily and Luca, bicker. I chuckle to myself, finding the image endearing. Last time I saw them was during Christmas, and even that seemed too long ago. I really should visit my family more. My smile dims when I see Mark take out a cigarette, looking clearly annoyed and not helping poor Rosalie at all.
I really hope I don’t have to spend too much time with the guy. Mom has never been good at picking her boyfriends. Out of them all, Mark doesn’t hit, and he doesn’t drink as much as the others, but he’s a bum like the others, only coming around when he wants to get laid, and then leaving when things get too messy for him. I suspect Stefan is his kid. The timing lines up right, but Mark won’t ever admit to it. Something about not wanting to be tied down and needing to be free. I hope one of these days, Mom will finally open her eyes and see him for the asshole he is.
“Well, here we are,” Rosalie huffs, releasing Stefan and allowing him to run around the group like he’s some sort of super hero. “Alive and well. Hey, big brother,” Rosalie adds while hugging me loosely. “Glad to see you finally graduating. Now, get a fancy desk job and help me pay for my college.”
I shake my head at her, unable to stop the growing smile on my lips. “You wish. I’ll have you know, there’s a camp this summer to help train for the Olympics with my name on it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still going to be running around the next few years.” Rosalie rolls her eyes. “Didn’t you do that enough the past four years?”
