Lights like Stars [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 8

I pulled up Google maps to see how long of a walk it was. Nine hours. I tried seeing if there were any Lyfts or Ubers but there were none. Not over break. No buses. Nothing. Who was on campus? I didn't know, but I pulled up Snapchat to look at people's stories. Most weren't on campus, but there were a few saxophone players who let it be known they were on campus and partying for the holiday. Garrett was in a lot of their stories, and he even had one himself.

Garrett. Garrett was so good. So kind. So loving. Out of everyone who I could find on Tinder I found a bad person. Most of them were probably bad. There were so many bad people in this world but then there was Garrett. I called him.

"Hello?" he asked, confused.

"Garrett," I breathed.

"What?" he asked.

"Garrett," I said louder. "It's Alex."

"What do you want? I'm at a party." He sounded annoyed. I couldn't ask him to leave his party. He didn't need this. Still, I had to get away.

"I need a ride."

"What? Didn't you just get a new car?"

"Yeah but I didn't drive to where I am now and I need a ride."

"Where are you?"

"Wabash College."

"Are you kidding me? You want me to drive all the way there just to pick you up?"

"Garrett, please. You know I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate. Please."

He sighed. He was so nice. "Okay. I'm heading to my car now."

"Thank you."

He hung up. What did all of his friends who were with him think? Did he complain to them about me? Was he really coming? What if he wasn't? The wind blew across my ears, numbing them. I walked down the block to a hipster diner and waited. I ordered a coffee, needing something, my hands shaking. About forty minutes later he texted me, asking where to meet him. I told him the name of the diner. A few minutes later I saw his car outside the diner. I got inside the warm car and he sped off.

"What were you doing out here anyway?" he asked, his voice hard. "Like, how did you plan on getting home, huh? Why didn't you plan this? And why me? I highly doubt I was the last person you knew who was on campus. And what about people here? Who drove you? I'm missing a party because of this, and I'll probably miss the ball dropping and New Year's, like what the hell Alex?"

I started crying. Sobbing. Uncontrollably.

"What's wrong now?" he asked. "What Alex? Did you expect me to be happy about picking you up? Huh?"

I kept sobbing, harder than I ever had. "I'm so sorry."

He groaned. "Not now Alex. Not ever. I don't want to hear it."

"No, you deserve to hear it. You deserve to hear it. You're too good for this world."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're so amazing, Garrett. I'm so sorry. You don't hurt people. You don't hit them. You don't expect anything from them, or touch them if they don't want it. You don't slap people. And you especially don't break their nose in a million pieces. You don't do bad things."

He was quiet. "Alex." His voice was quiet. "What are you talking about? Really. What do you mean about 'touch them if they don't want it,' what does that mean?"

I shook my head. "I didn't want to have sex with him, I just wanted to talk, to have a friend, but no. He didn't want that."

"Who? Who touched you? What happened?"