Get through Senior year. That's all I needed to do then I would finally be able to get out of Oklahoma.
Head down and keep quiet. That's all I had to do and I would survive. That was my strategy.
Until I caught the attention of the wrong person.
M...
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I've never felt so happy and relieved at the same time.
"Another picture," Evelyn Vasiliev, Blaze's mother, demands again while holding the camera up higher.
Blaze groans in frustration as he tries to get back into position. My back is pressed against Mercer's front as he tightly hugs me. The guys all wore matching blue gowns, including Blaze and Ronan, who stood beside us with perfect posture while I wore my red gown. Blue for the guys and red for the girls.
Today was the day we were graduating from high school.
Despite not being our last day together, today did mark our last day at Durant High, except for our upcoming class reunion.
"Okay, mom," Blaze shakes his head while walking away. It was obvious that he wasn't too big on pictures and was trying to get away from the light.
Ms. Vasiliev scoffed at her son before following him in the direction of his uncle who stood not too far from the entrance that everyone was walking into.
Senior graduation was being held at our school's gym since a few events that happened affected our chance at a grand hall. Thanks to Principle Lance not taking the initiative to do his job correctly, he was forced to be put on administrative leave for investigation of sex videos, teachers and students having intimate relationships, and bullying and criminal acts among students. The list went on and by the way, things were looking, Principle Lance will be due for looking into another job.
And Vince, Mercer's father had a lot to do with it.
While I haven't known the man for long, I could tell that he was sincere about pursuing a father/son relationship with Mercer. I don't blame Mercer for being uncertain about this relationship after all the things he's told me he's been through.
Vince is doing his best to right his wrongs, but forcing things to be right won't help him with Mercer.
It takes time to build a relationship, and I believe that Mercer will allow Vince to play a part in his life in the long run. It still took time for him to adjust.
The same went for his mother, Journee.
The memory of her showing up at the police station, genuinely worried about Mercer was a lot for Mercer to handle. So like the guy I know him to be, Mercer leaned on me and his parents understood.
They said nothing to stop us as we finished everything up at the station and Mercer was released free of charge. We headed straight to the hospital to check on Skylar and we were blessed to find her breathing perfectly with minimal injury.
Skylar was to take it easy and with her back and forth with Adrian, she would have zero luck resting by herself.
It was clear that the tension between the two of them had gotten out of hand, and Adrian was aware that he should not push Skylar too hard despite his desire to do more than watching her.
