Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Shout"

The next few months seemed to drag.

Arjun was like a different man. He was gone most of the time, and his relationship with us, especially his mom, was getting worse and worse. In fact, he kept saying he was going to move out into his own place. He had me worried sick, but I tried not to say anything. His temper was always set to explode.

I had enough on my mind, anyway. When I had free time, I would train for my race. I got a special wheelchair meant for racing, which I honestly liked. It looked cool, with three wheels and everything. It was just a little hard to get into. But I managed. I would race around the neighborhood, or on tracks until my arms were too tired to push myself anymore. I never admitted it to the others, but I did enjoy it. I would enjoy seeing the look on Stephen's face when I showed up to the race. I hoped he would be there, at any rate.

A month before we would go to Boston, Arjun went through on his decision to move out. We had all been hoping to move in somewhere together, but he was adamant to live by himself. "I just want to see what it's like," he would say. I knew better. He didn't want Keto and Veronica finding out about his secret.

That being said, Arjun didn't come with us to Boston. I was learning to get the hang of controlling my internal volcano, but it really went off the night before we left. Keto, Veronica, and I were hanging out at his place, and when the twins went to go out to get food for all of us, I was left alone with Arjun. I was already angry with him thanks to him ditching our trip to Boston yet again, so what happened next didn't help.

"Mom isn't suspecting anything, is she?" Arjun said when he plopped on the only couch he had in his studio apartment. It was sort of like Valerie's, but smaller. The walls were covered in cracked paint, the floors creaked, and the ceiling fan barely moved and only gave off dim light. I hated the place.

I gave him a look. "You know she's been suspecting things since this started," I said. "And since you dragged me into it, she thinks I'm doing something wrong, too."

He frowned, leaning forward and clasping his hands against his knees. "I just needed someone to talk to about this. Someone I trusted."

"You don't trust your mom?"

"You know what I mean."

I rolled my eyes. "Just wait. You'll get yourself arrested, or worse. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. And when you do, what'll happen to your mom? Why don't you think about someone else for once!" I could practically feel the volcano rumbling...I was going to lose it.

"I am thinking about someone else!" Arjun's voice raised as he glared at me. "You think I want to do this? You know what'll happen if I bail!"

"This would have never happened if you didn't do what you did in high school!"

He stared at me with wide eyes, which then narrowed. "I didn't-"

"What, you didn't have a choice then, either?" I said, giving a mirthless laugh. "Don't give me that! You want to know something? Your mom told me how much of a good guy you are, and I should have told her that was a lie! You're not a good guy, and you're not a good friend!"

I felt guilty for saying those things right away, but it was too late to take it back by that point. Hurt flashed through his eyes for a brief second, then his face flushed red. But he didn't say another word.

Later, when Keto and Veronica returned with dinner, we ate in complete silence. I told the twins we got into a fight once we left the apartment, but kept the details from them, and they didn't press. I knew I should have apologized, but I couldn't make myself do it. In fact, I left without saying goodbye.

By the next evening, we were in Boston. Valerie was there to meet us at the airport. She already knew Arjun wasn't going to be there, but I caught the disappointment on her face when she saw us.

"Arjun didn't want to come again?" she said, sighing.

"He's a jerk," Veronica said softly before giving her a tight hug.

I winced and glanced at Ms. Harlow, who was frowning, though she said nothing. When it was her turn to hug Valerie, she plastered a smile on her face.

"I tried to convince him, but...he's been a little off," she said.

"Yeah really," Keto mumbled beside me. He gave Valerie a hug, then she turned to me.

"I missed you," she whispered in my ear as she bent down to hug me. My stomach twisted into knots at her touch. I could smell her flowery perfume...the same kind she used to wear in high school.

"I missed you, too," I murmured.

The same awkward silence from the night before at dinner hung over us on the drive to her apartment, and I couldn't help feeling it was my fault at least a little bit. I didn't know how much longer I could keep Arjun's secret, because I had this gut feeling things were about to get worse.

Much worse.

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Listen to "Shout" by Tears for Fears!

Peace✌️~ A.J.