Page 101 of Promising You
“He lied to me about Ava! All those times he could’ve told me—”
“And if he’d told you, what would’ve changed? Nothing! He’d still be with you, not her. He didn’t tell you about Ava, or any of those other girls, because he didn’t want you to feel the way you feel right now. And I respect him for that.”
I stand up from the table and grab my tray. “I don’t need a lecture. You’re my friend and you’re supposed to take my side, not his.”
It’s our first official friend fight. Now I’m fighting with Garret and Harper, my two closest friends and it all started with Ava and that stupid reality show.
As much as I hate to admit it, I know Harper’s right. Everything she said is true. And knowing that makes me even more angry—not at Garret, or Harper, but at myself. I ruined something great, something beyond great, something I never thought I’d have, and now I don’t know if I’ll get it back.
Even if Garret and I get past this, I’ll still have that list in my head. I’ll still know he slept with all those girls. I’ll see their names in my head. I’ll think of him with Ava. And Sadie. I can’t go back and erase all that. It’ll be stuck in my brain forever. I guess that’s my punishment for asking for that stupid list.
It’s 6:30, and even though it’s the last thing I feel like doing, I have to meet Carson again to review the comments we got back on our outline. Tonight I’m meeting him in a study room that was open in his dorm.
“Hey, Jade. Did you have a chance to look at the comments yet? I was just reading through—”
“Let’s get out of here.” I wait at the door with my coat on.
“And go where? The library? We didn’t reserve a room.”
“Let’s just go to a coffee shop or some other place in town.”
He gets up, surprised. “Yeah, okay. There’s that coffee shop just a couple miles from here that has tables to plug in the laptops. We can go there.”
“That’s fine. I don’t really care where we go.”
He stuffs his laptop in his messenger bag and we walk out to the parking lot. “What’s wrong? You seem upset.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just need to get off campus. It really sucks not having a car.”
“I’m sure Garret would you let you borrow his. Unless he’s one of those guys who doesn’t like other people driving his car. If he is, then you can borrow mine.”
Carson has a red Jeep that looks brand new, just like every other car on this campus. He opens the door for me. Yep, it’s new. The new car smell hits me as soon as I step inside.
When we get to the coffee shop, I find us a seat at one of the long tables with outlets.
Carson gets in line. “Jade, what do you want?” He yells it back at me.
“Just a glass of water.” Has he not heard that I’m poor? Surely someone at this school has told him about my background by now.
“Come on. It’s on me. Do you like lattes?”
“I’ve never had one. I usually just get coffee.” By “usually” I mean the one and only time I’ve ever ordered something at this place. Harper goes here all the time and sometimes I go with her but I don’t order anything. Two bucks for a small coffee? I don’t think so.
Carson comes back with two large cups. “Here. Try it. It’s a caramel latte. Kerry loves these. I think they’re too sweet, but see what you think.”
I take a sip. “I like it. It’s almost like dessert.”
“Yeah. Way too sweet for me.” Carson gets his laptop out, smiling like he’s thrilled that I agreed to go somewhere with him. Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested this. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. Even though he’s dating Kerry, sometimes he says things that make it seem like he’s interested in me.
“So are you still okay with writing the first draft of the paper?” I ask as I turn my laptop on.
“Yeah. I’ll probably start it tomorrow so you can review it on Saturday.”
“Sounds good.”
We go over the comments we got back on our outline. A half hour into our discussion, my phone rings and I check to see who’s calling. It’s Garret. I actually feel nervous seeing his name pop up on the screen. Nervous but also ecstatic that he’s calling me again. This silent treatment has only lasted a few days, but I miss him so much I haven’t been able to think about anything else. Now I totally regret letting this go on for so long. I should’ve talked to him days ago and ended this fight that never should’ve started.
“I need to get this,” I tell Carson. I take my coat and walk outside.
