LOGINLUKE’S P.O.VWhen Dre wakes up the next day, it feels like every word I poured into her the night before has finally taken root. She’s being a lot kinder to herself. The weight she’s carried for so long has started to lift. It might take time for her to fully see herself the way I do, the way she truly is—but I’m going to walk beside her through every single step until that day comes. I’m never letting go.She stirs; her eyes are puffy but clearer than they were last night. I don’t waste a second when she wakes. I pull her into my arms. My lips find her forehead, her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, then the corner of her mouth. My kisses say everything my voice sometimes can’t. Then I spend the next ten minutes drowning her in hugs, showering her with love and more reverent kisses, whispering reassurance against her skin. I’m never going to get tired of this—of reminding her how deeply she’s loved.She smiles warmly, rubbing lightly against her flushed nose.“I thought about what
LUKE'S P.O.VI pull back just enough to cup Dre's face in both hands, my thumbs gently brushing away the tears still clinging to her lashes. Her eyes are red-rimmed and glassy, her lips swollen from crying and biting on them nervously. But she has never looked more beautiful to me.“Baby,” I whisper. I shake my head and let out a broken sigh, the words catching in my throat for a moment because I don’t yet know exactly what to say, only that I have to say something to her because it hurts, Dre. It hurts so much to hear you say this.“I don’t know what will make you believe whatever I'm going to say, but I’ll say it over and over again till you fucking believe it. You’re none of those things you mentioned, Andrea. None of them.” My voice cracks, but I push through, needing her to hear every word. “I love you. I love you so much it hurts. If anything, I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. No one deserves you. You're so good to be true, Dre. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to
LUKE’S P.O.VDre looks over her shoulder while I walk a little quicker, falling into her steps. I stay quiet, trying to pick up on her mood since she hadn’t responded to my last text about the date.It took everything I had to send the text. My confidence does surprise me sometimes, because I still find it hard to believe I actually sent it—without the usual fear of scaring her off that’s been choking me lately. I thought about it before class, and the next thing I knew, I was hitting send.Now, I can’t gauge her tone or how she really feels about the whole date thing from her one-sentence response. But from the way she’s looking, I don’t think she likes the idea.The sky hangs grey above us as we reach my car in the parking lot. It’s always like this when we leave school. Our schedules of late line up because of games and practice, so I get to drive her home after her tutoring sessions and my training.I open the passenger door and help her in, watching her for a few extra sec
DRE’S P.O.VGeneral class has begun, and the subject is plain, simple mathematics.I like the general classes aside from the fact that everyone I don’t want to see is present. I don’t have to stress as much as I do in AP classes, because they're less challenging. I scan the class out of habit, searching for Luke. I’m considering slipping into the back row with him so we can goof around like we do sometimes, but he isn’t here. He and the rest of the team got permission to train instead. Silver sits next to me, glued to her phone because she doesn’t take this class seriously either.“Well, aren’t we a prideful pair,” she jokes when she notices I have no books or pencils out to take notes.I tap a finger to my temple and grin. “It’s math. We can solve any question easily in our heads.”“Exactly!”It’s great having Silver around. If I’d made that same joke to Luke, he would’ve rolled his eyes, muttered something about me being a nerd, and then laughed anyway. I like doing well
LUKE’S P.O.VI took Dre’s advice. After practice, I hang back on the benches while the rest of the team heads to the locker room. Vincent is still in Coach’s office. I wait for him, eyes fixed on the whiteboard where he’d drawn up the new formation days ago. No one has erased it or made any alterations. My name and number stand out in black marker written in Vincent’s handwriting. FORD 34, and right beside it, HAWKINS 29, written directly over where REECE 01 used to be.It looks wrong; it has always been “FORD AND REECE.” Seeing another name aside his will take me a while to get used to.Vincent and I haven’t been the closest. He damn well hates me, especially after he found out I’d been messing around with his then-girlfriend Ruth. He has every right to hate me, and he does, but he never let his hate bleed into the game. He put it all behind him and put the game first for the sake of the team. I respect him a lot for that.But still, just because he’s trying his best to tolerat
DRE’S P.O.VUnlike me, Luke actually likes it when I show up for his games. Win or lose, he doesn’t care. Besides, the basketball playoffs were more exciting than any of my math competitions. The entire school had packed the gym for the last game, and another massive one was coming up this weekend.Lately, though, Luke has been oddly nervous about it. Earlier in the season, he’d been loose and more confident. But things were different now than before. Then SATs were still months away; now they’re breathing down our necks. He also has constant back-and-forth meetings at his lawyer’s office trying to free himself from his father’s mess. Basketball isn’t the clean escape it used to be for Luke. He tries to hide it, but I can see the weight pressing on him. Once I’m awake, I roll over to the edge of the bed, only to find him wide awake, thinking.The moment his eyes meet mine, they soften.“Hey,” I whisper. “Can’t sleep?”“Not really,” he says roughly, his voice weak with exhaustion.I
LUKE’S P.O.V It’s day two. Tomorrow is the last day for me to willingly meet with my Dad, lest I be forced to see him. It has also been days since I last saw Dre. I texted her yesterday, but she didn’t respond, which is unusual. I did weird her out and make things uncomfortable for us. B
DRE’S P.O.V Warm hands wake me up from sleep. My eyes open as I take in my environment. “Sleep well?” Nate murmurs beside me. That’s right, I spent the night with him. I smile watching him lean in to kiss my nose, then my lips. “Yeah, I did,” I say. “Did you have fun last night?” He whis
LUKE’S P.O.V“Do you want something to drink?” Ruth asks, appearing by the door.“I’m good.”It was a slow day, slow because I spent most of it alone.Every activity went like a haze, like I wasn’t physically present for them: classes, practice, lunch.And this all happened because I decided to con
DRE'S P.O.V "Andrea!" my mum screams from the house. Luke looks away and we get out of his truck. Mum's already dressed for work, she leaves in about ten minutes. "Hi mum," I greet, looking around for anything I can help her with. "Hi, Baby," she replies. She goes to meet Luke, who's standing







