Avery Turner, a perfectionist with a double life, and Kyran Drake, a charismatic boy with secrets, find their fates intertwined when their secrets threaten to unravel their dreams-will they overcome their differences to protect their futures, or wil...
A lot of people have told me that many times. For example, when I first met Max in late freshman year, we instantly became friends. There was something great about a football player not fueled by toxic masculinity. When I told him about my fiasco with Avery Turner, he told me I was wrong.
"Dude, there was obviously something up with her mom or whatever. Why do you think she'd say that otherwise? You also told me that she tried to apologize!" he chastised when I explained the situation to him.
I would call myself a victim of ego.
"Yeah, well. She stopped. She won't even look at me now," I explained as Max facepalmed in front of me.
"You're in your freshman year, had a relationship with Avery Turner for a week, and you still messed up? Bro-" Max began, getting up from his seat and walking. He didn't like sitting in one place for a long time, and therefore, would randomly stand up and walk around without warning.
"Yes, I messed up. Great. Is that what you wanted to hear?" I exclaimed, my anger reaching peaks. Why the hell was Max making this seem like my fault, even though it was clearly Avery's, and she was the one who told her mom that I was a delinquent and a thief?
Max sighed, pacing the locker room. It was after practice, and all the other boys had left, leaving just Max and me chatting about how I messed up with a girl in my first ever real relationship.
My middle-school crush on the high school girl didn't count, and now that I thought about it, what was wrong with me?
"Avery Turner tells things the way she sees them. I don't know much about her, but she used to talk in class. Now, she just minds her own business. Talks to no one. I wonder who did that to her?" Max told me, and I immediately felt a pang of guilt.
"So, you're saying this is my fault," I nodded, feeling betrayed. If my best friend wasn't going to take my side, then who would?
"Kyran, I don't know if you're always used to being right or something, but let me give you some free advice. Avery did what she had to from what I heard. People's family circumstances are always very different. Just because you can tell your family everything doesn't mean that she can. Also, she apologized or tried to anyway. You pushed her to her limit. Now she won't talk to you. Simple."
I knew that Max was right. I knew that ultimately, it was my ego, my dramatics, my unreasonable reasoning that caused this.
"Are you going to say sorry?" Max asked me, and for a brief moment, my heart was saying yes. Say yes, Kyran.
