Truth, Dare, or Kiss? -COMPLETED-

Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28:

"Hey Gorgeous." I smiled and looked up to see Zander standing right outside the open window of my truck. Zander had driven it over after dress shopping a few days ago. "Hey Zander." I said leaning out my window. I gave Zander a quick kiss before rolling up my window, grabbing my backpack, and climbing out of the truck. As soon as my feet hit the pavement Zander intertwined our fingers. "Time for school!" Zander exclaimed. "No. Time for bed." I groaned as Zander pulled me forward.

"Hey y'all." Lilli said walking up to us, Trevor in tow. "Wait up guys!" Kya called from behind, Jenna walking beside her. "Y'all are so cute." Lilli told Kya and Jenna. "Hell. We're all cute." Jenna said smiling. "Can you guys believe we graduate in a week?" I asked them. "Yes. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of hell." Trevor said, snorting.

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I pulled into my driveway and climbed out of my truck. After opening the front door and picking up the mail, I thumbed through it before my eyes caught on something at the bottom of the pile: the decal of the University of Mississippi. Holding my breath, I pulled the envelope out from under the others. It was large and thick. I let out my breath and fumbled for my phone in my back pocket. I clicked on Lilli's name and listened to the ringing, staring at the envelope holding my future.

"Did you get it too?" was the first thing Lilli said. "Yes!" I screamed into the phone. "What's it look like?" she asked. "It's big and thick." I told her. "Mine too! Get over here right now so we can open them together." Lilli screeched into the phone. "Alright. I'll be there in 20 minutes." I said quickly before hanging up. I wrote a quick note to my parents explaining my absence, in case they got home before I did, and grabbed my keys and the letter.

Fifteen minutes later, I rang the doorbell of Lilli and Zander's house. The door opened to reveal a smiling man in an apron, wooden spoon in one hand. "Hi, Ava. I didn't know we were expecting you." he said. "Hi, Mr. Eriksson. Lilli and I both got our Ole Miss letters so we decided to open them together." I explained, following him to the kitchen.

"Who was it, honey?" a voice called as we entered the kitchen. A second later, Zander and Lilli's mom entered the kitchen. She smiled when she saw me. "Ava, what are you doing here?" she asked. "She and Lil got their Ole Miss letters and wanted to open them together." Mr. Eriksson explained for me, stirring sauce in a pan. I smiled and held up my letter as evidence. "From the looks of that letter, you've got good news ahead of you." Mrs. Eriksson said with a smile. "I hope so." I told her as she wrapped me in a hug.

"Will you stay for dinner?" Mr. Eriksson asked, pointing his spoon at me. "I'd love to Mr. Eriksson." I told them, a smile on my face. "I've told you to call us Alice and Alex, dear." Mrs. Eriksson said, finger pointed at me in mock dissapproval. I laughed as the stairs creaked, someone running down them. A second later, a screeching Lilli was hugging/choking me. I gagged a little and she let me go. "Sorry. I'm really excited." she said, cheeks reddening. "Dang Lil. You're stronger than you look." I told her, voice hoarse as I rubbed my throat.

"Lilli, are you being murdered? I could literally hear you screaming from outside." Zander's voice echoed from the hall. Lilli rolled her eyes as Zander came into view. He had changed since school and was wearing a sweaty white t-shirt with basketball shorts and shoes. His eyes widened slightly as he took in my presence before grinning. "Ava, if you wanted to see me, you could have texted." he said, smirking, as he walked toward me. "I'm actually here to see Lilli." I informed him in my still hoarse voice. His grin disappeared when he heard my voice. He turned an angry expression on Lilli. "Were you trying to kill my girlfriend Lilli?" Zander asked, pulling me toward him. I put a hand on his chest to stop him. "I'm fine." I told him, my voice finally returning to it's normal state.

"Why are you here anyway?" Zander asked me, still inspecting my neck. "She and Lil got their Ole Miss letters today and wanted to open them together." Alice explained from behind us. "Speaking of which, come on!" Lilli said, grabbing my hand and yanking me up the stairs to her room. I sat on her pale green comforter as she snatched her letter from the desk in front of her window. She sat down beside me and we held up our letters for comparison. "Same size so at least we have the same fate." Lilli said with a nervous laugh. "Alright. We open them on three." I suggested and she nodded.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

We ripped open the envelopes and shared a gasp. I quickly looked up at Lilli and saw my own disbelief in her eyes. "I got in." I told her. "Me too!" she screamed, bouncing up and down on her bed. I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt but my smile soon vanished. Zander was standing in the doorway with a look of utter despair on his face.

Lilli followed my gaze and her smile vanished too. A second later, understanding flashed in her eyes. "Go talk to him. We can celebrate later." Lilli whispered to me, taking my acceptance letter from my hands. I walked over to Zander and grabbed his hand before leading him down the hall to his room. Once inside, I sat on Zander's bed as he shut the door behind us. I patted the bed beside me but Zander stayed by the door.

I stood and walked over to him, taking his hands in mine. "What's wrong Zander?" I asked, trying to make eye contact with him. When I finally looked into his eyes my heart broke a little. There were tears swimming in his blue eyes. He squeezed my hands tighter before speaking. "When I saw you and Lilli opening your letters, it hit me that we aren't gonna be together next year." he said. He was right. Zander had been accepted into the University of Kentucky with a basketball scholarship, and I was going to the University of Mississippi, seven hours away. The next time I looked up at his face tears were swimming in my own eyes. He pulled me into his arms and we stayed like that for what I hoped was forever.

When we broke apart Zander wiped the tears from my cheeks and kissed where they had been. "I don't wanna leave you." I whispered, my eyes still closed. I opened them to see blue ones looking into mine. "I don't wanna leave you either." he whispered a second before kissing me. He kissed me gently, causing my heart to only hurt more. "What do we do?" I asked his lips. "We make the most of the time we do have." he answered, pressing another kiss to my lips as tears streamed freely from my eyes.

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