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...
My fingers hover over the block button, debating whether I should unblock Avery. Mind control has to be the most difficult thing in the world. Having your brain control your actions is great, but when the brain itself is unsure, it causes a hell of a lot of problems.
Like now.
Ignoring Avery is harder than I expected. She apologized, and I shut her out. After talking to Yashna, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time—to draw a line, to say, "This is enough," and move on. But now, staring at her name on the screen, the decision feels wrong. It's not just about whether I should unblock her; it's about everything that comes after that decision. Instead, I click into our chat history and read.
It brings some comfort to pretend we're in the past again.
It wasn't just her fault, either. It was mine, hers, Caleb's... A lot of people had a hand in what happened that day. Is it fair that I shut Avery out but still talk to Caleb? But then, this wasn't a decision based on who was in the wrong. I chose to do this to make sure my focus didn't dwindle.
Max has his own suggestions.
"You do realize what you did to Avery is worse than what she supposedly did to you." Max isn't angry, but he seems a bit tired of everything that's happening. Our rendezvous in my room is supposed to be for working on a play tactic, but this isn't where the conversation is going.
"Let me think. I think losing out on Notre Dame is worse than the school knowing about your life."
Max sighs, leaning back against the wall of my room. I remember the first day Avery was here and how awestruck she was by everything.
Not now.
"You're missing the point. You're blaming Avery for something that was out of her control. She didn't plan for things to go down the way they did, and now you're treating her like she's the villain. That's not fair, man."
I clench my jaw, feeling a pang of guilt. "She knew why it was important to me, Max. She knew how much it mattered to me."
Max shakes his head. "How was she supposed to know that you had a match? You're not even listening to me. You're so focused on what you lost that you're not seeing what you're doing to her. She made a mistake, yeah, but she's been paying for it too. And now, you're just adding to it by shutting her out completely. Tell me, are you really happy without Avery in your life?"
I stare at the screen again. My finger hovers over the button, and yes, I'm not happy.
"Max," I say slowly, not looking at him, "I'm not doing this because I hate her. I'm doing this because...I need to focus, and I need to keep her at a distance for that to happen."
