Prologue
Ten Years in the Past
Three days before I graduated from high school, I accepted a proposal for marriage.
Well, sort of. Let me explain.
We were the unlikeliest pair of high school students to ever make a marriage pact. You know, the one that goes “if we aren’t married by a certain age, we’ll marry each other.” But three days before our high school graduation, we did just that.
The two of us were so different. Ran in different circles. Led different lives. And when we did come together, it was sweet but fleeting. So, a sudden wedding proposal—or I guess a marriage pact—seemed a bit much.
Especially one coming from Adrian Campos, the most popular jock and notorious ladies’ man at Peterson High School.
There we were during Senior Beach day, enjoying the salty sea breezes with everyone else who skipped class. It felt a bit surreal, hanging out with Adrian on the beach. Throughout our time in high school, we never really hung out as friends, but we weren’t strangers either. Every morning, he’d greet me and ask how I was doing, and I’d mumble a brisk answer before rushing off to my next class. There were other times when we’d have a small conversation in the hallway. He’d ask about what exam I was studying for this time and I’d politely make an excuse to get the heck out of there because I don’t do well with social situations.
That said, we looked out for each other the way locker mates should. Case in point, Adrian returned my very expensive noise-cancelling headphones to me when he could have easily left them there for someone else to swipe. To make it up to him, I smuggled him out of school on my back—yes, my actual back—successfully skipping the dreaded Earth Day celebration Peterson throws each year.
Despite the awkwardness, we fostered some sort of camaraderie that lasted until the end of our junior year.
We didn’t talk much during senior year, though. I chalked that up to him being fully focused on his relationship with Jenna Lewis, the undisputed Queen Bee of Peterson due to her good looks and massive popularity. It was a relationship for the ages, the class goddess passionately entangled with the “hot” (everyone else’s words, not mine) jock. Everyone commented on how beautiful they looked together and how it made sense that two beautiful people would end up together. I wouldn’t know. I’m not the type of person that’s drawn to another person’s looks. But that’s beside the point.
Adrian and Jenna began dating two weeks after the Earth Day celebration and up until about a week ago, they were inseparable. Everyone thought they’d be together forever, until their nuclear break up, complete with ugly arguments and a slap or three, played out for everyone to see. She accused him of having a wandering eye. He called her out for being jealous and insecure. By the time the dust cleared, Jenna ran off in tears, her entourage following behind, and Adrian stood frozen in the hallway, a massive red welt across his cheek. It’s a wonder the school still stood in one piece.
If I were a regular girl, I suppose I should have been flattered since one of the “hottest” boys chose to hang out with me on Senior Beach Day. But I knew better. As a neutral party of the nerdy variety, I was the safest person to hang out with. Also, I got the feeling that since we didn’t talk much in the past year, Adrian wanted to make up for lost time. I could have saved myself from any potential conflict by politely turning him down. But I couldn’t do it. It was the end of everything—the school year, my senior year, my high school experience—and after graduation Saturday, I’d never see him again. Agreeing to hang out with him allowed me to say goodbye and to gain closure. Closure from what, though, I wasn’t sure.
“So, you’re off to Foster University, huh?” Adrian asked with a smile. “That’s about two hours outside of the city, in Sycamore, right? Didn’t want to be too far away from home?”
“The school has a great pharmacy program, but I guess that works too.” I didn’t want to tell him that Foster offered me a scholarship and if I didn’t take it, I wouldn’t go to college. He didn’t need to know that as hard as my mom worked to provide me with so much, college was bloody expensive. Foster was my second choice, but that didn’t matter. By accepting this scholarship, I could one day fulfill my goal of helping her. “I don’t think I’ll be coming back home much.”
“Looking forward to getting your freedom too, huh?” Adrian flashed me a wide-toothed grin. “I hear you. I’m looking forward to not having my mom always breathing down my neck. Good thing too, since where I’m going is a hell of a party school.”
“A party school, huh?” I smirked. “Sounds like the perfect place for you and trouble.”
“Trouble’s fine as long you don’t get caught.”
“Heh, and you would know.” A small flush of crimson crept across his face. “Do me a favor and try not to get into as much trouble at Carbondale as you did at Peterson, okay, Adrian?”
“We’ll see.” It was his nice way of saying "hell to the no."
I could feel the burning gazes of the other girls burning up my back. They knew I was his locker mate but that didn’t stop them from shooting off dirty looks and whispering about us. The quiet, unassuming nerd boldly hanging out with Adrian? I was breaking all the unspoken rules of etiquette when it came to high school politics. The audacity! Just who does she think she is? That’s probably what they were saying. The discomfort was unbearable. I spent the last four years being invisible and now there was this huge spotlight-slash-target on my back. I guess they weren’t too thrilled about my status as Adrian’s so-called “chosen one.” How could someone so handsome (again, their words) choose someone so plain?
I don’t think I’m as bad as they’ve made me out to be. If I had to rate my looks, I’d rate myself as average. Good enough, I guess, if I felt generous. If I had to point out a weakness, it would be my wavy brown hair. It was slightly below my earlobe now but by the end of the summer, it would touch my shoulders. Mom called it “effortless and messy” but I called it “a dirty mop in a disgusting shade of brown.” I much preferred my button nose and almond-shaped brown eyes. I even took pride in my warm, olive skin, acne-free due to Mom’s insistence that I stick to a skincare routine since I refuse to do anything with this mop on my head other than put it up in a haphazard bun.
“All these folks and you chose to hang out with the boring girl.” In the corner of my eye, I saw Jenna Lewis, a scowl on her face. “The boring girl nobody likes, apparently.”
“I regret nothing.” My heart skipped a beat before I could warn it against being flattered by the sweet words of a handsome guy. Unfortunately for him, it takes more than good looks to sway me. “Anyway, you’re not that boring.”
“Shut up.” I giggled, playfully swatting at him. Of course, he dodged it easily. Playful or serious, I can’t hit to save my life. “I meant what I said. If anybody tries anything, I’m going home.”
“No one’s gonna try anything. Not when I’m sitting right here.” I knew he meant it. I knew I’d be fine. But high school girls are a scary bunch. I should know—I’m one of them. “I’ll make sure you leave the beach in one piece.”