Close Your Eyes: Book Two

Chapter One

"Well we don't really want Duke anyways, but it could come down to it being our only option," he says. "Whatever happens, it's only one, and we applied to twelve different places."

I nod anxiously and peel open the envelope.

"I'm so nervous." I mumble as I pull out a piece of paper.

I unfold it and begin to read.

Dear Ms. Noel,

Thank you for your interest in Duke University.

               After careful consideration of your application, we are sorry to inform you that we are unable to admit you to Duke University this year.

I don't bother reading the rest.

"Well?" Liam asks.

Without a word, I hand him the letter and stand up, walking into my bedroom to grab a sweater from my closet.

I pull it over my arms, and I hear footsteps coming down the hall.

Right when I turn around to face Liam, he opens his arms and pulls me into a hug.

I wrap my arms around him and shut my eyes.

This hug lasts longer than usual, and after a little while, I pull back to look at him.

"It's one college." He says gently. "And we already talked about this. Neither one of us really wanted Duke anyways."

I look down, biting my lip.

"But what happens if you get in? And I don't get in to the next one and you do? And then I do get into one and you don't? What happens then? What if none of ours match? If we don't get into them together, I'm not going."

"That's not going to happen." He says.

"You can't know that though. There's no way for you to know that."

"I can know that." He argues.

"How?"

"Because I feel it. Because I have faith."

"What if we don't match up for any of them but University of Hawaii?"

"Savannah, I already told you that the only reason I applied there was for my Mom. I'm not staying in Hawaii. I don't want to be near Andrew."

I understand that.

But I don't want to be away from my best friend.

"Okay." I say.

"We're going to get into one together." He says. "I promise."

"You can't promise that because there's no guarantee." I mutter. "And what about when you said you would come back to Hawaii for me? What about that?" I fold my arms across my chest.

I know, I'm acting like a child, but I love Liam, he's my best friend and I don't want to be away from him.

"Exactly, I said I would come back to Hawaii, not that I was going to stay here."

"But coming back would qualify as staying here." I argue.

"But I would have already left. I don't want to be around Andrew, you out of anybody should understand that."

"I get that, but if you aren't around Andrew, you aren't around me."

He shoves his hands in his pockets and opens his mouth to say something, but I shake my head and grab my car keys.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just going to go to work. I don't want to be late."

"What, we're not going to drive together now?"

"I want to be alone."

I grab my wallet and keys, along with my phone, and walk out of my bedroom.

He follows me.

"You always do this, Savannah. Every time we get into any type of disagreement, you shut me out!"

"I do not!" I turn around to face him and he almost slams into the front of me.

"What are you doing right now?" he asks. "What did you do in junior year when I hit my truck with that pole?"

"You weren't answering me!" I exclaim.

"I was sleeping!" he throws his hands up.

"Well it's not my fault you stayed up all night! You were probably dicking around with Aubrey!"

"Aubrey?!" he repeats. "Why the hell would I mess around with Aubrey?"

"Anybody can see how much she likes you! Every fucking time you come anywhere near her, she's running to you and hugging you! Last week when the six of us went out to dinner at the beach, she made Ava move out of her seat so she could sit next to you!"

"So?! Are you jealous or something?" he asks.

I shake my head, "I'm not jealous. You could marry Aubrey for all I care. The point is, you stayed up all night with her, and because of it, you nearly killed me the next day, and then you were yelling at me for asking why the hell you were up so late!"

"God dammit Savannah, are we fighting over something that happened a year and a half ago! We already made up over it! I said I was sorry!"

"Because you brought it up!" I snap, my eyes drifting to the clock on the wall. "Forget it, Liam, don't worry about it. I'll go to some shitty community college while you run off to Harvard! And don't bother saying anything back! We have to be at work in fifteen minutes."

With that, I turn around and march to the front door.

"Lock the door behind you." I snap.

The door slams loudly behind me and I stomp across the grass to my blue Toyota Rav4.

How is he seriously okay with us not being near each other after high school? Friendships from high school barely survive, so how is it okay for him? How is he okay to live half the pacific and the length of the mainland away?

He's my best friend. I don't want to live somewhere he's not.

_________

Okay so after writing this chapter I realized I literally only want this book to be about college so high school won't last long at all :)

Also I'm sorry but I love the fight they just had it made me happy

~Sam