“It means I won’t make a choice,” I say, smiling through the tears and cocking my head to one side. “I don’t want to choose. I love you all. I do. And losing Charlie, it’s taught me that you don’t throw love away because of some arbitrary rules or because someone tells you to. Because the world wants you to. I love you guys, and I … I’m not ready to say goodbye to anyone else, at least not yet.”
“What you’re saying then …” Zayd starts, getting it before anybody else does. “Is that you want to keep doing what we’re doing?” I nod, and he steps forward, cupping my face in his inked hands. “Does that mean we get to go to college with you?”
“I’d hope so. It’s a little late for you to change your minds,” I start, my lip protruding as a sob wracks over me. I’m weeping now, missing Charlie like crazy as Zayd takes me in his strong arms. “The application deadline’s passed, so you’d have to take a gap year—”
“Marnye, shut up,” Zayd whispers, burying his face in my hair. He holds me tight and close until the crying passes, and then he steps back, looking me in the eyes without flinching. “Nobody tells me what to do. I make my own rules. If I want to date a girl with four other boyfriends, I will. Fuck the world. It’s none of their business anyway.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, my hands shaking.
Zack steps up next, panting heavily, tears resting on his lashes.
“Charlie …” he starts, and then he shakes his head, reaching up to scrub a hand down his face. “He raised an amazing daughter.” I keep smiling, even though everything hurts. Everything. My heart, my soul. “I’m in. I … don’t want to know what college is like without you.”
“You know I’m here for you,” Windsor says, voice soft and low. “Always.” The wind tousles his hair, and he smiles. “Maybe one day, you’ll really marry me. You can even keep these assholes around. I don’t care.”
“I knew it when we kissed on the boat that night, in the cold,” Creed interjects, stepping forward. “You’re my soulmate, Marnye. I’m sure of it.”
“Told you!” Miranda calls from somewhere nearby, pulling a small, sad laugh from me. “#TeamCreed!”
I pause then, and notice Tristan’s eyes are closed.
When he opens them, he looks up at the sky.
“If you’re worried about your tuition, I’ll pay it,” Windsor says, and Tristan drops his gaze to the prince, smirking.
“I got a full-ride scholarship, you pompous ass. Guess next year, I’ll be the freshman charity case at a new school, won’t I?”
“Hopefully the students don’t try to bully you,” I whisper as Tristan turns to look at me.
“God help them if they do,” he says, and I know he means that. There’s a long stretch of silence as he studies me. That’s when I know it for sure: he’s going to say no. Tristan is going to say no, and he’s going to walk away, and that’ll be the end of all this.
Not every story wraps up in a beautiful package at the end, huh?
My time at Burberry Preparatory Academy is over, and with it, ends this chapter of my life. Marnye Reed, scholarship student, daughter of Charlie and Jennifer, honor roll enthusiast, lover of old architecture and boring historical facts.
“Marnye, when I make a decision, it’s swift and immovable.”
“I know,” I choke out as Zack scowls and Windsor’s shoulders stiffen. Creed and Zayd exchange a look, glancing back at their fellow Idol like they are more than willing to kick his ass.
“So when I decided that I was in love with you, and that you were mine, I chiseled that decision on my heart in stone.” He steps forward and puts his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up to meet his. “You’re mine, Marnye, and I’m not letting go. Not even if I have to share your heart. The way you love, it’s infinite. That’s more than enough for me.”
I throw my arms around his neck, and Zayd exhales with relief.
“Group hug, everybody? Yeah, yeah, group hug.” He throws his arms around us next, and even though Tristan makes a growling sound, he accepts it. Creed is next, when Windsor. Zack wraps us all in his huge arms before Miranda comes bouncing around the corner, dragging Andrew with her.
We embrace right there in the graveyard, with Charlie Reed watching over us.
And the warmth of the sun … it feels just like his smile.Bornstead University has one of the biggest and most beautiful campuses in the country, situated in the picturesque mountain air of Colorado.
I carry a box of personal effects up the steps of the girls’ dorm, Miranda on my heels. She’s got Good Charlotte’s California (The Way I Say I Love You) playing on her phone, humming the lyrics as we climb the stairs. I don’t tell her, but the lyrics are making me cry.
