Page 19 of Sure, Pal

8

Evan

The rest of senior year fucking sucked. I spent six months watching Sienna from across rooms, fields, parties. It didn’t matter where we were. Ava was glued to her side, and Sienna was completely off-limits.

Sometimes when I watched Sienna, she’d catch my eye and give me this sad, heartbroken look before she’d turn away and paste on her fake smile.

And when I wasn’t watching Sienna, adoring her, wanting her, I was dodging Ava and her rage. Right after I dumped her, she’d call me every day just to talk. At that point, she wanted to get back together. But as time went on, and I refused to bend to her will, she got angry, and her true colors revealed themselves. Ava was a selfish, manipulative brat with only a handful of redeeming qualities.

Three weeks after I broke up with her, Ava started a rumor that I’d cheated on her and that she was the one that ended it. I only found out about it when Rob gave me a funny look in the history class we shared.

“What, dude?” I asked.

Rob shrugged. “You’re crazy, man.”

I narrowed my eyes at my best friend. “Why?”

“Cheating on Ava… I can’t believe I didn’t know. When did you even have time to do it?”

“What?”

Then the story came out. Ava convinced some girl to start telling people that she sucked my dick at a party at the beginning of the year. Ava artfully crafted the lie to make it seem true, even to Rob, who knew me better than anyone.

She’d say anything to paint herself in a good light, wouldn’t she?

Why hadn’t I seen her for what she was a long time ago? Why couldn’t Sienna see it? How could Sienna sit there and listen to Ava tell lies about me to everyone we knew?

Maybe Sienna didn’t really feel anything for me. Maybe I’d dodged a bullet after all.

I tried to move on and stop thinking about Sienna and Ava and the whole shitty mess. I focused on school and the spring soccer season. I worked my ass off and got a scholarship to play for UMT, literally on the opposite side of the country.

Now I had another reason to get over Sienna. Even if the fucking stars aligned, and she decided to choose me over Ava, I would be two thousand miles away. It wasn’t going to happen.

I was okay with it, and then one day, five weeks before graduation, I drove past Sienna’s house and saw a For Sale sign in the yard. The sinking feeling in my chest made it clear that I wasn’t actually fine with things. I was lying to myself.

I loathed the way I didn’t know anything about Sienna’s life anymore. I wanted to punch something when I thought about walking away and never seeing her again.

I sent her a text, hoping to god that she’d answer. Why is your house for sale? Can we talk?

Much to my surprise, she replied immediately. I’m at the park.

I drove to the park and found Sienna under her favorite tree. She was wearing a light gray t-shirt and cute little black shorts. Her long brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she was furiously scribbling in a notebook with wrinkled pages. Sienna paused and chewed on the end of her pen for a minute before frowning and going back to writing.

“Hey, pal.” I offered her a hesitant smile. “Can I sit?” I pointed to the grass at her side.

Sienna looked up at me with pain in her eyes. “Oh, um, sure.”

I sank down next to her and let out a deep breath. It had been ages since I’d been this close to her. She still made my heart race. I asked, “What’s going on?”

She shrugged, and I couldn’t help but notice the tears that glistened in the corners of her eyes. “My parents are getting divorced.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s for the best. I honestly don’t even know why I’m crying. The writing has been on the wall for years, and it’s almost more of a relief than anything.”

“I’m still sorry.” I wanted to take her hand in mine. “Are you leaving before graduation?”

Sienna shook her head. “My mom’s heading to New Mexico to rent a room from one of her artist friends from college. My dad is going to buy a cheaper place about an hour south of here. I am actually going to stay with…” She glanced over at me and then back at her hands. “Ava,” she almost whispered her name.

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