The Unbreakable Dancer

Chapter 15

I Won't Dance (Just imagine Tess and Camille in this scene)

I wake up the next day will tear stains all over my face and I remember what happened last night.

Maybe I was a little overdramatic. I should've let him explain more.

I notice that Camille is gone and I have been laying on an empty bed. I hear the door to my dorm open and it's Camille with a bag in her hands.

"I brought you some Starbucks to make you feel better," she says to me softly.

I walk over to where she was and she put the bag down on our mini counter and gives me a hug.

"I think I overreacted last night Camille, I don't think he wants to talk to me anymore," I whisper.

She lets go of me "Tessa, you had a right to be angry, he said that he was going to be there and he wasn't. And he didn't even tell you why he's been blowing you off these last couple of weeks."

"I know but I think I should talk to him, I kind of gaslighted him last night Cami, thinking about how I did that makes me feel bad."

"Okay, but before you talk to him he needs a taste of his own medicine, so ignore him for a couple of days then answer his calls and texts and talk to him,"

"Okay, I'll do that," I agree.

"Okay good, now hurry up and eat your muffin it's getting cold."

*************** a few weeks later*******************************************

I'm walking around campus with Camille, Yasmine, Andrew, Daisy, and Devan laughing about some story Devan is sharing about his art classes.

"I think my teacher's assistant has a crush on me. I'm serious," Devan says.

We're all laughing about the situation.

"Too bad she doesn't know, you swing for the other team," Andrew teases.

"I've tried to give her hints that I'm disinterested but I don't think she's getting the hint," Devan laughs.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Oh guys I gotta go start on my homework for my psychology class," I say to the group.

"Bye"

"See ya later"

"Don't get kidnapped"

"Don't die"

"Later"

The group says goodbye and I walk back to my dorm building but I take a long way back. As I'm walking I see an ice cream truck with kids by it. I get tired of walking so I take a seat on the steps of someplace. I sit down and relax and I feel happy and calm for a moment.

That calm moment ends when I see a tall, curly-haired boy wearing a cute sweater I got him for his birthday a year ago. He doesn't say anything for a bit and just sits next to me. After about 2 or 3 minutes of silence, he speaks up.

"Hi," he says softly.

"Hi," I curtly say back, not looking at him.

"So on a scale from one to ten... how much do you hate me?" he asks.

I sigh and shake my head and turn to look at him.

"I don't hate you, Moose. I don't think I ever could even if I wanted to."

A couple of seconds of silence pass before I start talking again.

"I just miss you. And what's worse, feeling like you don't miss me at all. This may be a little dramatic but with you gone all the time, I feel like I don't really matter to you anymore. We spent all summer talking about NYU, the real world, and facing it together. What changed?"