“I could never hate you.” Scott stamped a soft kiss on her lips.
“But you’re going to California.”
“Unless I want to spend the summer doing nothing, I have to.”
Suddenly cold, Haley lifted the bedspread over her shoulders. “Where does that leave us?”
“In a long-distance relationship for two months?”
“You don’t want to take a break?”
“No, never. Why would I want a break? I’m in love with you.”
“So the fact that I kissed David doesn’t change the way you feel about me?”
Scott stiffened next to her. “The thought of his lips”—he traced hers with a finger—“on this mouth makes me want to punch a wall. I’m jealous of my brother and he is jealous of me in a way it’s hard to explain if you don’t have a sibling… But the past doesn’t change how much I love you, not for a second.”
“Are you sure?”
Scott pushed a lock of hair away from her forehead. “After David told me about the kiss, I wanted to die, to disappear, to go as far away as possible… and now I’d give anything to take it all back, but I can’t. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor and I need this internship. I’ve been so stupid to believe—”
“No, you haven’t.” Haley laced her fingers with his, bringing their joined hands to rest over her heart. “David never lies,” she said. “It’s something he knows you’ve always trusted, and he used it against you, but it’s not your fault for believing him.”
“I just keep wishing that I’d waited a few hours. Or I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t seen the email. I’m torturing myself imagining everything else that could’ve stopped me from sending that damned response.”
“And my brain is stuck in a loop of ‘if only I’d told him sooner.’ But I didn’t and you didn’t and there’s nothing we can do about it now. David twisted the truth and used it against us, but we can’t let him win.”
“He’s already won, he got exactly what he wanted… to keep us apart.”
“It doesn’t matter where we are, physically. We’re still going to be together. David hasn’t won anything.”
“It still sucks.”
Haley scoffed. “Agreed.”
She noticed that Scott wasn’t asking any questions about the kiss. How it’d been. If Haley had enjoyed it. If she’d thought about David after that night. He had asked if she liked David while they were still in the middle of a shouting match, but nothing afterward. Maybe Scott didn’t want to know. Or he could be afraid of what answers she might give him. And he’d be right, because the truth wouldn’t make the kiss any easier to digest for him.
If he ever asks, I’m not going to lie, Haley promised herself, before shifting the topic to more practical aspects. “When does the internship start?”
“June 20th… It’s a Monday, but I’ll have to get to California a couple of days early to find a place to live and get settled.”
“So you’re basically leaving in a week.”
“I haven’t planned anything yet.”
“And you won’t have much time to plan,” Haley said, straddling him. “Because I’m going to want to spend every minute you have left here together.” She kissed him.
“Hey.” Scott ran his hands down her lower back. “It’s just a summer… nothing will change.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Scott
Scott didn’t bump into his brother again for the next two days. On Friday morning he found David seated at the kitchen bar wearing a suit and eating cereal out of a bowl as if he didn’t have a concern in the world.
Scott stopped dead in the middle of the living room, undecided on what to do. A part of him wanted to scream at his brother, to beat him into a pulp. But at the same time, he wanted to pretend David didn’t exist.
“Oh, come on, brother,” David said. “No need for that disapproving scowl. I’ve heard the princess come and go these past few nights… Guess all is well again in paradise?”
“No thanks to you.”
Scott had to muster all his self-control not to get dragged into another argument with David. Better to skip breakfast and leave before he did something he’d regret.
But his brother wasn’t as ready to ignore him.
“May I ask why you stole the coffee maker?” David said, in a perfectly conversational tone. “Is caffeine deprivation your ultimate revenge strategy?”
“The coffee maker is mine and I can do whatever the hell I want with it.”
“Are you finally moving out?” David asked. “Couldn’t help but notice you’re getting all boxed up. How are you going to afford a new place?”
“If you really have to know, I’m moving to California for the summer for an internship.”
“Woooh.” David smiled viciously. “I hope my little slip of the tongue had nothing to do with your sudden decision to move cross-country.”
“What do you want me to say, David? That your mastermind plan to ruin my life worked? Well, bravo.” Scott clapped his hands mockingly. “You’re officially a dick.”
David licked his spoon and dropped it into the bowl before saying, “At least now you’ve tried first-hand how fun half-truths can be.”
“What are you talking about?”
David’s blue eyes flared. “You know what.”
“Not Brigitte again. How many times do I have to tell you that I didn’t know?”
“How convenient…”
“I can’t do this again, you refuse to listen—”
“Oh, I hear you just fine. Pity I don’t believe you.” David got up from the stool and rounded the kitchen bar, his eyes searching Scott’s face. “Were you really dumb enough not to notice? Not to ever wonder?”
Scott didn’t reply.
“Come on, Scotty, say it,” David pushed. “Let it out, you’ll feel better afterward, I promise.”
“I DIDN’T KNOW!” Scott shouted, exasperated.
“Didn’t know?” David spoke in a quiet hiss, his cold fury topping Scott’s blunt anger. He took a step forward and shoved Scott backward. “Or didn’t want to know?”
David gave him another push until Scott’s back was pressed against the wall. In a quick move, his brother jagged his forearm against Scott’s throat, leaving him just enough room to breathe. “Tell me, brother,” David said, still speaking in a soft, angry whisper. “Whenever Brigitte told you not to make your relationship public, to keep it a secret from me, you never suspected it might be because she was still with me? Never?” David pinned him with a glacial blue stare. “Not even once?”
Scott lowered his gaze, unable to sustain his brother’s glare. The truth was that, deep down, he had suspected something was wrong with the way Brigitte had behaved. Scott hadn’t known for sure, but he had preferred to look the other way. To pretend he believed her version one hundred percent.
“There.” David gave him another light shove and then let him go, bouncing backward. “Feels good to finally admit the truth, doesn’t it?”
Scott wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “What do you want me to say?”
“Apologize for once. Admit you didn’t care if what you were doing was wrong, because you wanted Brigitte more than anything you’d ever wanted in your life. And even after you found out the truth, you still didn’t care…”
“I am sorry, David. I’ve been sorry for a long time. But can’t you see she strung both of us along? We both loved her, and she probably didn’t care about either of us. Can’t we just let that go? Start over?”
“Nice speech. One I could’ve respected if you hadn’t decided to fish in my pond again.”
“Your pond?” Scott scoffed. “Because you kissed a girl one night, a girl who couldn’t even tell who you were?”
“It was a rather special kiss.”
“I’ve been with Haley for the past six months, in case you haven’t noticed.
I never knew you’d met her first, and now it’s too late to call dibs.”
“Seriously? You didn’t know? Is that your good-for-all excuse?”
“Haley is with me now. Forget the fantasy and open your eyes to reality.”
“I want what I want, brother.”
“Keep your hands off her,” Scott threatened.
“That, brother, is only for Haley to decide.”
“She hates you.”
“Mmm… maybe…” David’s mouth curled up at the corners, his eyes sparkling with malice. “Well, then, you have nothing to fear.” He straightened his tie and jacket and opened the door. “I only hope she doesn’t get too lonely while you’re gone…” David waved mockingly. “Bon voyage.”
Twelve
Haley
Scott’s last week in Cambridge seemed to fly by for Haley in no time at all. Being both still free from any other commitment, they spent every minute available together—mostly in bed. But all too soon, the last day before the departure arrived.
Haley barged into her apartment, eager to grab a change of clothes and be back on her way toward Scott’s house.
“Hey, you’re alive,” Alice joked from the kitchen. “I’m making coffee, want some?”
“Hi… no, thanks. I’m just going to pick up a few things and go back to Scott’s place. It’s our last night together.”
“How’re you holding up?
“Super-duper,” Haley said sarcastically. “I’m kinda in a hurry… Mind if we talk another time? Tomorrow I can tell you all about how sad and depressed I really am.”
“Yeah, about that.” Alice stepped into the hall to face her. “I wanted to give you a heads-up…”
“About what?”
“Did you have anything special planned for tonight?”
“No, Scott and I are just going to hang out at his place. Why?”
“Good, because the guys are planning a send-off party, Jack told me about it.”
Haley didn’t think it possible, but her mood worsened dramatically. The last thing she wanted tonight was to party. Parties were for celebrations, and there was absolutely nothing to celebrate here. “A party?”
“More of a dinner, really. I told Jack to tone it down as much as he could.”
“Can’t you tell him to call it off entirely?” Haley hated the way she sounded super petty, and the fact that in the span of a week she’d become the neediest, clingiest girlfriend. But she couldn’t help being selfish. Scott was leaving and every minute they weren’t alone together felt like wasted time.
“Too late for that.” Alice shrugged apologetically. “Jack left only a few minutes ago, but he was going to give Scott a call.” Disappointment must’ve shown on Haley’s face, because her roommate hastened to add, “But I’ll ask him to book a table early and I’ll make sure they keep it short. I’ll also tell Jack and the others not to insist on going for drinks afterward. Sound good?”
Haley relaxed. Alice was only trying to help, and Scott’s friends had a right to say bye to him before he left. As much as she hated it, Haley would have to share. “Yeah,” she said, pulling Alice into a hug. “Sorry for being so snappish, I’m in an awful mood.”
Alice patted her back supportively. “I know, babe.”
Just as they pulled apart, the apartment door opened again.
“Hi, roomies,” Madison said, coming in. “What’s up?”
“I was telling Haley the boys are organizing a dinner for tonight to say goodbye to Scott.”
“Aw.” Madison unconsciously lowered her gaze to the floor for a second before staring back up at them. “Sounds fun.”
“Can you make it?” Haley asked, to let Madison know she was invited.
“Mmm… yeah, I’m free tonight.”
“Great. Can I also ask you a favor?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
Haley felt super shitty for what she was about to ask, but Madison was still one of her best friends. And they had an unspoken agreement not to let the fact that they both were in love with the same guy change their friendship. And if Scott were any other guy, Haley wouldn’t have had a problem asking her best friend for a favor… so…
“Can I borrow your car tonight?” Haley asked. Madison was the only one out of the three of them with a car. Her entire family was from Boston and she’d literally just driven a few blocks from home to come to Harvard. “I want to give Scott a ride to the airport; I would hate it if he had to take an Uber.”
“Yeah, of course.” Madison smiled, her cheeks reddening. “Do we need to drive tonight?” she asked Alice.
“No, Jack wanted to keep it walking distance.”
“Perfect.” Madison grabbed the keys from the small cabinet in the entrance and handed them to Haley. “The tank’s full, you should make it to Logan Airport and back without troubles.”
“Thank you.” Haley took the keys and hugged Madison. “You’re the best.”
“No problem.”
“Well, I’d better get going.” Haley put the keys in her bag so as not to forget them, then dashed for her room, saying, “I’ll see you both later.”
***
Less than an hour later, Haley was lounging on Scott’s bed, back against the wall, MacBook open in her lap. She was keeping him company while he packed. And to distract herself from the reality of Scott’s largest suitcase lying open on the floor, Haley was playing around with some data. The self-assigned task was to organize a large set of scattered figures into a statistical report that would make sense. Yeah, a geek at heart.
Haley was focused on a particularly dense section when Scott’s voice penetrated her concentration. “I know you wanted to spend tonight alone, but Jack called—”
“Alice told me about the party,” Haley interrupted. “No worries. You know who’s going to be there?”
“Just you girls and a few of the guys on the team, the ones still around.”
“Is David still MIA?” she asked.
“Yep,” Scott said, folding a sweatshirt. “Haven’t seen him or heard from him since our latest brotherly chat.”
Haley abandoned her numbers for a second to watch Scott. “It’s good that you finally discussed the Brigitte issue, though, isn’t it? It’s the first step to fix your relationship…”
“Brigitte isn’t the issue between us anymore… you are.”
“Then you have no issues at all because I’m with you and that’s never going to change.”
Scott squatted low, turning his back to her as he rearranged a few items inside his almost-full suitcase. “So that kiss really meant nothing to you?” he asked, almost casually. “Because David keeps hinting it was a big deal.”
Ah, the dreaded question had finally arrived.
Haley squirmed on the bed. Alice’s advice to play down the truth rang in her ears. But she’d promised to herself she wouldn’t lie to Scott. “I was caught up in it at the time.” She watched his shoulders tense. “But more in a fairy tale fantasy sort of way. It wasn’t real… And, honestly, I hadn’t thought about it in forever, because now I have you.”
Scott got up, a slight grimace on his face. His expression said he didn’t like what he was hearing, but he thanked her for the honesty.
“TMI?” Haley asked.
“No.” Scott walked toward her. “You kissed David. I don’t like it, but I’ll have to deal with it.” He leaned in to retrieve a stack of underwear from the chest of drawers near the bed, throwing a peek at her Mac’s screen as he bent. “What are all those numbers?” Scott asked, as if nothing of importance had been said, the let’s-change-the-subject subtitle all too clear.
“A baseline of data. I’m trying to build a sorting algorithm.”
“My eyes cross just looking at it. I’ve always hated calculus and math.”
“Maybe the theory, but once you see what you can do with all the formulas, it’s amazing. Like, here, take this data—when it’s raw and unprocesse
d, it’s pure chaos… but when the algorithm sorts and organizes the numbers, they begin to tell a story.”
Scott threw a skeptical glance at the sheet. “Sorry.” He shrugged. “Still looks like gibberish. I prefer stories told in words. Numbers were never my thing.”
Haley rolled her eyes, disappointed. Scott never shared her enthusiasm for computers and programming. And whenever he tried to enlighten her on the beauty of poetry, she often found herself half bored to death. The only novels Haley enjoyed reading were sci-fi sagas and the occasional vampire novel—books all too commercial for Scott’s literary fiction tastes—and she preferred to watch the movie versions of most books anyway. Both Scott and Madison would gag if they heard her say this aloud.
She pressed save and shut her laptop; it was getting too warm on her legs, anyway. Haley threw a wistful glance at the brimming case on the floor. “Almost done here?” she asked, tearing her eyes away from the suitcase and its implied meaning. Scott was leaving her… Tomorrow, he’d be gone. It’s only two months, she kept repeating to herself.
“Yeah, I need socks…” He took them out of another drawer and shot six balled pairs into the suitcase, basketball style—feet in a slightly staggered stance, body elongated, arms up, and six flicks of the wrist—sending all the tiny balls to land precisely in the center of the suitcase. He looked sexy as hell, like whenever he was on the basketball court. “…And I’m done.”
He smiled, and Haley couldn’t resist—she swung her legs off the bed and pulled him to her before he could go close the suitcase. She rested her hands on his hips, looking up at him. “So what’s the latest housing plan?”
“I’ve booked a Holiday Inn for tomorrow and Friday night. And I have six housing appointments scheduled; I hope to find a place before the weekend.”
“I liked the one near the beach.”
Haley had helped him sort through the Craigslist listings to choose which appointments to book.
“Of course you liked that one.” Scott dropped his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs caressing her trapezius muscles. “But it’s also the farthest away from the hospital, and everyone says traffic sucks in California.”