Chapter Twenty

Fuller

My alarm went off at exactly five o’clock, but it didn’t matter; I was already awake.

I picked up my phone and unlocked the screen for what felt like the thousandth time since I went to bed. I’d sent her more than twenty texts starting Friday night and ending last night after dinner, but she hadn’t replied to a single one. I didn’t even know if she’d read them, since they all said only, “Delivered.”

Opening my Instagram app, I typed in her username and clicked on her profile picture. Blocked. I sighed and let my phone fall to my chest.

I wanted to drive to her house and apologize in person, but if she wouldn’t pick up my calls or answer my texts, there was no way she’d let me inside her house.

The darkness in my room matched my mood. As I lay there with my eyes closed, Friday night’s events played through my mind on an endless reel. Wren running out of the gym, my parents telling me that she left because she was sick, the worry in my gut that it was something else coupled with the helpless feeling that I was stuck at school until the game was over…

Then finding out the truth afterward.

I rubbed my face with my hands. I was furious with Marissa, and I’d called her out on it as soon as I’d heard what she’d done, but how mad could I be? I was the one who made the bet in the first place. No one forced me to do it. Then, instead of being a man and confessing everything to Wren, I made my friends promise to keep my secret. I’d been pissed at TyShaun for blabbing to Marissa, but ultimately it wasn’t his fault. Everything that went down was my fault. Plain and simple. Marissa had simply been the final nail in the coffin.

Wren’s feelings had been crushed because I was a cocky jerk who always put himself before others. My friends knew it, my teammates knew it, and now the girl I’d fallen in love with knew it.

I rolled over onto my stomach and slammed my fist into the mattress.

Holding my breath, I cursed myself over and over again. I love her. I freaking love Wren Carter and I lost her! What is wrong with me? Why couldn’t I buck up and be honest with her? Why did I have to continue to hide the truth from her? I’m such a loser!

Desperate to let off some of this pent-up emotion before school, I got out of bed and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. My house was still as I slipped out the front door. Locking it behind me, I rolled my neck to the left and then the right before I started jogging down the sidewalk.

An hour later, sweat dripped down my body. While I felt exhausted from pushing myself to the max, I still felt like the world’s biggest asshole. Normally, I’d already have gone back to the house to take a shower and head to the gym to shoot some hoops, but I couldn’t possibly go back to the scene of the crime. Instead, I decided on heading in the opposite direction. I doubted anything would make me feel better, but an extra thirty minutes out here couldn’t hurt.

Friday was supposed to be one of the highlights of my senior year. The UGA Coach had shown up as well as three scouts from other teams. I’d played my heart out and managed to pull off a triple double, scoring twenty-three points and getting fourteen rebounds and eleven assists. Coach slapped me on the back after the game, congratulating me on my personal best. I’d been an animal on the court, and everyone had noticed.

Well, everyone but Wren. I knew she wouldn’t leave pregame unless something had happened. I was worried that her gramps had gotten sick again, but when I’d checked with Brandon at halftime, he didn’t know what was up, either. It had thrown me, but I managed to play through it. I figured Wren would want that…

Little did I know that she probably wanted me to trip on the half-court line and break my ankle. No… Wren wasn’t vindictive. She wasn’t like Marissa. Ugh! Marissa. It wasn’t really her fault, though. It was mine. I did this. Nobody else was responsible.

I raised my hands to my head. I was driving myself mad. Replaying the same things over and over in my head. There was only one thing that could make it better. Seeing Wren and apologizing face-to-face.

The pavement pounded under my shoes. If I could rewind time and take it all back, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d give up any of my possessions to be able to undo the pain I’d caused Wren.

That’s when I saw a figure racing across the street, a long braid bouncing off her back. She was hands down the fastest person I’d ever seen in real life. That’s when my conversation with Wren dawned on me. She could run seven miles in an hour. Praying it was her, I crossed the street. “Wren? Is that you?”

The figure skidded to a halt and spun around.

Wren’s face twisted into shock and then horror as her eyes landed on me. “Did you follow me here?”

“No, I wanted to get in a longer run. So, I, ah, I took a new route this morning.” Even though I didn’t want to believe it, the level of disgust in her voice hit me like a cannonball to the gut. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all weekend.” I took a step toward her.

She stepped back. “Get away from me.”

Her eyes were dark, and she wore a deep scowl on her face. My heart ached to undo the pain I’d caused. “Wait, please. Let me—”

She held up her hand, cutting me off mid-sentence. “No.”

I wanted to reach out and pull her into my arms. Kiss those soft lips that tasted like coconut. Make things better. But that wasn’t an option anymore. Wren didn’t want anything to do with me. I’d screwed up everything and lost her in the process.

“I know it’s going to be tough, seeing as we go to the same school, but listen to my words. I never want to see your face or hear your voice ever again. Understood?”

My heart thumped wildly in my chest. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Wren rolled her eyes. “You want to bet?” The word hung in the air between us, causing me to wince as though she had slapped me. Without another word, Wren took off and disappeared into the misty morning air.

…

“Fuller?”

A soft knock on my bedroom door followed. I caught the basketball I’d been shooting into the air.

“Can I come in?”

“Now’s not a good time, Hud.” I’d been staring at the ceiling for hours, trying to come up with a way to fix the destruction I’d caused.

“It’ll only take a minute,” his little voice called through the door.

He sounded so grown up. Like a younger version of our dad. When did that happen?

“All right, buddy. Come on in.” I tucked the ball under my arm and sat up.

Hudson came into my room and sat next to me on my bed. “Do you want to talk about it?” He placed his little hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

My heart broke into a million pieces with this simple gesture. As soon as the game was over, he wanted me to check in on Wren, make sure she was okay. When she refused to take my calls, he told me to go over to her house. At the time, I didn’t have the heart to explain to him what happened. He looked up to me. By admitting I made a bet about Wren, I’d be letting him down, too. The fact that he adored her would only make things harder. “It’s complicated, Hud.”

“She left your game before it even started. She blocked you on Instagram.” He scooted closer to me and wrapped both arms around my midsection. “I like Wren. So do Mom and Dad.”

My little brother’s concern cracked the tough facade I’d been putting on since I found out what happened on Friday night.

He squeezed me tighter. “Why isn’t she talking to you anymore?”

Blinking back the tears that had welled up in my eyes, I carefully hugged Hudson back. “It’s not good, little man.”

He tilted his face up toward mine. “Did you do something wrong?”

I let my head fall into my hands. “I screwed up. Bad.”

“Why doesn’t Wren want to be your girlfriend anymore?” His voice cracked, which almost sent me over the edge.

My hands fell into my lap. “I totally blew it. I acted like a complete jerk, and I hurt her.”

Hudson crossed his legs. “Tell her you’re sorry. Maybe make her a card. Bring her flowers or something. Girls in the movies always like that kind of stuff.”

Completely dejected, I leaned against the headboard of my bed. “I tried, but she didn’t want to talk to me. Honestly, Hud, I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me.”

Hudson shrugged. “What if you did something big? Like, you know, when Vanessa had that thing taken out of her so she and Deadpool could have babies?”

“Dude!” I gasped. “That’s definitely not something you should be talking about! You’re nine!”

My little brother rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Do something big. Maybe at the dance, so everyone will see how sorry you really are? Something that’ll win her back.”

I chewed on my lower lip. “You know, while that’s a wildly inappropriate example, you might be onto something.”

His eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Really.”

He clenched his fist and pulled his elbow backward. “Yes. Hudson for the win!”

I ruffled his hair. “I’m going to need some ideas, though. Think you could help me come up with a plan?”

“Duh! Like you could do it without my help.” He rolled his eyes again and, for the first time since Friday, I felt a shimmer of hope in my heart.

“Do you think it would be all right if I called two friends to help us out?” I asked Hudson.

Hudson put his little hand on my arm. “I think we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

…

Five hours later, Dae, Brandon, Hudson, and I looked at one another.

“Okay. What did we learn by watching those movies?” I asked.

I couldn’t believe they’d agreed to come over. I thought for a minute that they might show up at my front door and punch me in the face, but, after I all but begged them, they agreed.

Brandon stood up and stretched. “I learned that my butt fell asleep midway through Say Anything.”

“Very funny.” I turned toward Dae and Hudson. “These are Wren’s favorite movies. But we need to figure out how I can use them to win her back.”

“The grand gesture in Say Anything is pretty epic. I think you could pull off something like that at the dance,” Dae said. “But you need to incorporate The Princess Bride, too.”

“I have an idea! Be right back.” Hudson hopped off the couch and raced out of the room. A few seconds later, his feet thundered down the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Brandon asked with a chuckle.

Hudson had put on his Deadpool mask.

“You gotta dress up as Westley,” he said enthusiastically. “They go through heck and back as a couple, right? But he never loses hope. If you dress up like Westley and tell her that you haven’t lost hope, maybe that will win her back?”

“Dang. That was deep, little man,” Dae said with a smile.

Hudson winked at him. “Trust me, I know all about girls.”

We all burst into laughter.

“Hey, Hud. Can you do me a favor?”

He pulled off the Deadpool mask. “Sure.”

“Can you give me a few minutes with Brandon and Dae?”

“Yeah. I’m going to go play some Fortnite. Call me if you need any more help.”

I ruffled his hair. “Thanks, buddy.”

Once Hudson headed back upstairs, I turned my attention back to Wren’s best friends.

I took a deep breath. “I know this wasn’t easy for either of you, but I really appreciate you coming over here and hearing me out. I care so much about Wren, and I royally screwed up. A lot of people would have written me off permanently.”

Brandon nodded. “Not going to lie, Fuller, I wanted to punch your lights out, but there’s no way we’d make it to State without you, so I reconsidered. Also, Wren obviously cares about you and, even though you did a bunch of stupid crap, I think it’s obvious you really like her, too.”

“Thank you.”

“We hate seeing her so upset,” Dae added. “And if I thought even for one minute that she was one hundred percent over you and never wanted to see you again, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Wren is really lucky to have you two for best friends.” I thought about my own relationships. Would Marc or TyShaun go to bat for me like this? Would I do the same for them? I definitely needed to reevaluate how I treated my friends.

“Okay, so back to the plan,” I said, standing up. “I think I’ve got an idea, but I’m going to need your help in order to pull it off.”