It’ll just be him and me.
And for some reason, that thought scares me more than medical school.
Chapter Five
Danika
Theflatblackcapleaves my hand and I cover my head so I don’t get a concussion as it comes back down. Graduation caps rain down around us, and Sydney, Margot and I laugh as we run out of the fray.
“We did it!”
Sydney hugs me, and I squeeze her right back. I can’t believe that it’s finally here. Our graduation day. The three of us have worked hard and partied even harder this last semester and it’s come down to this moment.
Margot grips my hand and I grin at her, beaming with pride at all three of us.
Her boyfriend, Alex, comes up behind her and grabs her by the waist, swinging her around. With him is her father and her grandma, Memaw, who winks at me from behind Margot’s back. The four of them head out of the auditorium to find a less crowded place to take pictures of Margot in her cap and gown.
When I turn toward Sydney, her family is there too. Her mom has her in a vice grip and her dad is beaming with pride as he holds her little sister, Kerry’s, hand. They walk off too and for the first time all day I realize…I’m alone.
I don’t even bother looking around for my parents. There’s no way in hell they’d be here. I did get a text from my mom with some excuse as to why they “won’t be able to make it”, but I didn’t even read the whole thing before I deleted the entire text thread. Excuses be damned. My mom should’ve been here.
Glancing around at all the happy families one more time, I take a deep breath.Happy graduation, Danika.Just as I’m resigning myself to an evening of microwavable mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets, a voice directly behind me pauses my footsteps.
“Dani.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing exactly who is standing there. Turning slowly, I face him.
“Congrats,” he says, his expression sheepish, which for him, is a feat. He hardly ever looks anything but cocky.
“Thanks, Nico.” I look him up and down, dressed in the same attire as me. “You too.”
“Thanks,” he smiles. “Can you believe it? We actually made it.”
“Yeah, I can believe it. And now we can go off and live our very separate lives and never speak to each other again.” I turn to do exactly that when I feel his hand wrap around my wrist, pulling me back.
“Dani, come on, wait.”
I rip my arm out of his grasp so quickly, his hand might as well have been on fire. “Don’t touch me, Nico. Please, just…just move on.”
Nico’s hand drops to his side and I take two steps away. Once I determine that he’s actually going to let me walk away, I turn around and head toward the door.
I can’t believe that he’s still pursuing me after all these years. And even now that we’ve graduated and I’m sure he’s going onto bigger and better things…what could he possibly want with me?
When I get to the door, I pause, seeing Margot posing under a tree canopy for a picture with Alex, her grandma fawning over them as her dad snaps the shot. They look so happy. Alex wraps his arm around Margot’s back and she looks up at him, scrunching her nose which he kisses lightly.What I wouldn’t give to have something like that in my life. Someone…
“Congrats, brat.”
The deep voice comes from my left, startling me back into the present.
“Arden,” I breath. “You surprised me.”
He kicks off the wall he was leaning on and walks over to me. “You still not used to me being here?” He teases.
When Arden had told Margot he was starting classes at TU, he was adamant that he would mind his own business and he did. Only a handful of times would I see him on campus or at the coffee shop and those times were cordial and polite. Honestly, it was kind of jarring having him there but at the same time, it gave me an odd feeling of comfort and protection knowing he was near.
“No, I guess I’m not,” I laugh.
Even though Arden has been taking classes this semester, we really haven’t seen him. Him and Margot would get together for lunch or dinner every other week or so, but other than that, it was like he wasn’t even there.