farewell (18+)

33. The Downside Of Being Optimistic

I hadn't spoken to Vlad in a while after my birthday. It had gotten weird between us again. I was determined to fix this, but he was always so busy with the band. They were becoming incredibly popular, not only locally, but throughout the country. At least I could be happy about that. Besides, it was probably for the best, since we had a history, and being close to him might be weird for Max.

Speak of the devil, I was skyping him one weekend, trying to figure out ways to cope with the distance, when someone knocked on the front door frantically.

"Hang on, baby. Let me get this." I got up. As soon as I opened the door, Vlad came in, sweeping me off my feet. "What are you doing?"

"My band's gonna open for Rotten Apple in the American leg of the tour!"

"Oh, my God! That's amazing!"

I started jumping around with him, hugging and screaming at that news. Rotten Apple had played in Rio a week ago, and somehow, Jonas had managed to get the guys an opening act spot. He was really delivering. For a moment, I even forgot Max was there, watching everything through the computer. He cleared his throat loudly, startling us. We calmed ourselves down, letting go of each other.

"Hey, man." Vlad scratched his head uncomfortably. "Didn't see you there."

"It's okay," Max said, but his look suggested it wasn't okay at all. "I guess congratulations are in order."

"Thanks." Vlad stepped away from me, eyes dancing between me and the screen. "I... I'll be out of your hair now."

"Talk to you later?" I said.

"You bet."

"Hey. Congratulations."

"Thanks." He stopped at the door, losing his composure again for just a second. "I'm gonna work with Nathan Cody and Leif Hanson!" he whispered hysterically before closing the door behind him.

"Wow... They're getting big, huh?" Max said.

"Yes. He fought so hard for this," I said, still looking at the closed door. "He really deserves it."

"He?"

I turned back to Max and saw his lip twitch just slightly from the quality of the call. "Yeah! I mean... they. You know, I'm closer to him, so..."

"Yeah, sure..."

"I'm sorry he came in like that." I looked down, trying to avoid eye contact.

"It's not your fault, right?"

I looked back at him. The question mark at the end of his sentence was unsettling. We had talked about me setting some boundaries for Vlad, UT it was harder said than done. The guy had been in my life for almost half of it. What kind of a jerk would I have to be to suddenly draw a line on the sand because of a boyfriend? Of course, I hadn't pushed Vlad away, nor had I stepped back. I hadn't even flinched when he tried to kiss me two weeks ago. I just stood there, tingling with the prospect of affection as I let him come to me.

I hated that Max was jealous, but I couldn't even blame him. I was torn between two of the most important men in my life, and I didn't know what to do.

***

I came home after a very long, very hot day in school. The AC in one of my classrooms had broken, and the students decided to protest by sitting outside in the middle of the patio. I had failed miserably at my attempts to calm them down and bring them back to the classroom, which resulted in me getting scolded by the Principal and a bunch of outraged parents after-hours. I had to explain to them, very politely, that the conditions in which their kids had to study that day were less than favorable, and that I hadn't wanted to interfere with their freedom to fight for their rights. I couldn't just tell them that, in reality, I just didn't have a spine or any control over a group of teenagers.