Page 1 of Reaching Avery
Chapter One
Maverick
Picture a box. Just a simple square box with an ordinary color scheme, or perhaps it’s dull and brown. Maybe it has tears in the corners like some worn ones do. There are words scrawled on the front, labeling it assports itemsor something else generic.
But what if there was more to it than that?
Maybe it wasn’tjustbasic sports stuff, but it held one-of-a-kind items, like autographed baseballs from sports legends that have long since passed away.
Once labeled, it would be hard to imagine the box holding anything other than that, as if the labeling of it defined its only purpose and nothing else mattered.
I felt like that sometimes. A poorly labeled box.
People only saw my appearance: tall, broad-shouldered, and jock-like. But none of them actuallysawthe real me. I loved sports and was damn good at them, but I also loved science, specifically Biology, and that I thought it would be awesome to be a marine biologist when I grew up—to explore the ocean and the life within it.
In my junior year, I’d had a role in the school production of Sleepy Hollow, and I’d enjoyed every moment of it, but most people only thought I’d done it as a joke.
It sucked.
Last year, I’d also had a boyfriend. Guess I still did, but Chris was leaving.
I should’ve prepared myself for it; the inevitable moment I knew was coming. A part of me thought if I ignored it, it wouldn’t be real.
Long distance relationships could work, right?
“It’s not goodbye for forever,” Chris said, resting his head on my shoulder. His spikey, blond hair tickled my cheek. “I can visit on breaks and holidays, and you can come see me too.”
But even as he said the words, I felt it truly was goodbye. August would start my senior year of high school there in Port Haven. He’d already graduated and was moving to New York for college where he’d make new friends and start a new life.
A life without me.
“Sure,” I replied, keeping my true feelings to myself so we’d avoid a dramatic goodbye.
The situation would have the same result regardless—him leaving and me staying behind—so it was pointless to make it even more difficult.
“I love you, Mav,” he whispered, still nestled into his favorite spot on my shoulder.
I knew he meant the words. We were each other’s firsts—kiss, boyfriend, and sexual encounter—and we’d been together since November. Love wasn’t always enough. With time, it would fade as new people came into our lives and the distance between us would become not only physical but emotional as well.
“Love you too.” I kissed the side of his head before pulling back to look at him. Silver eyeshadow colored his lids and really set off his blue eyes. He hadn’t even left yet, and I already missed him. “Let me know when you get there, okay?”
He nodded and grabbed his carry-on bag. As he walked away, he didn’t look back. Not once. In the movies, they always looked back, as if they needed that final gaze before they left. Chris didn’t.
I watched him until he disappeared into the crowd of people, feeling like a boulder was on my chest.
And I thought of the damn box again, wondering if Chris had labeled me too. Just the cute, jock guy to bang until better things came around. The sexy fling until he left to start his own life.
He loves me, though. I’m not just a high school fling.
But, why didn’t he turn around?
I went home after that.
“You okay, sweet pea?” Mom asked as I came through the door. No matter how old I got, she still used those childlike nicknames. It didn’t bother me, though, like it probably did most kids. At least I had a mom who loved me. “Was Chris nervous about leaving home?”
No. He seemed rather eager actually.
“Maybe,” I answered instead. “It was kind of hard to read him.”
