I peel into my parking spot at school. I park over the lines in two places, but I don’t care. All I can think about is getting inside to talk to Jak. I ran from Faith to my car in the parking lot at the mall, and now I’m running from my car toward school and toward Jak. I smile to myself, thinking about how many Fitbit steps I’ve already racked up today on the way to this grand gesture. I knew I felt something deep in my gut when I spent half the night in Jak’s bathtub nursing her back to sobriety. But maybe my subconscious was protecting me from realizing the truth. There were so many obstacles that would have prevented us from getting together: our friendship, Adam, Tristen, the pledge Jak swore to remain platonic after Faith left me heartbroken. Tristen certainly remains an issue, but my feelings for her are complicated. I do care about her. Just . . . not in the way I care about Jak. I’m not in love with Tristen. I’m in love with Jak. I’m in love with Jak! I have to end things with Tristen.
