**THIS IS THE NEW COMPLETED VERSION OF CAMPUS CRUSH. GO TO MY PROFILE TO READ THE OLD VERSION**
BOOK ONE in Campus Series
Casper Niely is a shy bookworm who overcame a childhood of silence and heartbreak.
With college being the next big step in his...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
˚₊‧✩ଘ✩੭✩‧₊˚
Falling asleep was near impossible. With all the miseries on my mind, from the surgery to Mom's infidelity, I tossed and turned all night. I couldn't understand it. How could she get upset that I hadn't told her about David when sitting on the fact she'd cheated? How could she do such a thing to Dad? To us?
Dawson explained to me that they were trying to work past it for our sakes and that Dad loved her enough to stay. I respected him for that. Obviously, I didn't want them to grow apart, but I wouldn't have blamed Dad if he'd chosen to leave.
As for my mom, how I could face her after this? Should I say anything about it at all? Pretend I didn't know?
Honestly, I couldn't recall how I got through the night, and my mind wasn't in a good place the next morning.
It was about seven a.m. when I slid my feet into my soft slippers and went to brush my teeth. Dawson was standing in front of one of the sinks, washing his face, so I stood in front of the second sink.
"Did you get any sleep?" He asked, but he looked like he already knew the answer.
"Unless you call rolling around in my bed and jolting awake every ten seconds 'sleep.'"
"I know what you mean."
I pursed my lips. "Come here." I pulled him into a tight hug. 'You shouldn't have been the one to tell me about Mom. It was her responsibility to sit me down and admit what she did. And I'm sorry you went through it alone."
We let each other go. "I'm sorry too."
I heaved a sigh. "How do I look her in the eye? What do I say to her or Dad?" I squirted some paste onto my toothbrush, furrowing my eyebrows.
"They don't talk about it much anymore. I think they're tryna ignore what happened, but then again, they barely talk to each other at all. School helps get my mind off it. I have to be there in an hour. Ugh, I hate that you're gonna be gone when I come home."
"Don't worry. I'll come visit every other weekend from now on, okay? I promise. We'll get through this. All of us."
Dawson and I walked downstairs together for breakfast. Mom was setting the table and Dad was already drinking his coffee and scrolling through something on his phone. Wow. If I hadn't known any better, I would think it looked like a typical day in the Niely household.
"Morning, boys," Mom greeted us. "I'll drive you to school, Dawson."
I helped her finish the table and we sat down to eat. I kept stealing glances at Dad who had a blank expression. My heart hurt for him.
"So, um, you never told us about this person you said you love," Mom brought up. "Who is he? I need to know."
"His name's David." I pushed around my scrambled eggs. I just couldn't find an appetite, and I didn't know if it'd come back any time soon after the news of Mom's affair.