told you I needed some time to think,” Terese adds, lighting some aromatherapy wax melts. The scent of jasmine blossoms.
“Yes, and I understand that, but—”
“Did you know”—she strides toward me, arms folded, flower print flowing at her heels—“those Warrior repairmen may have replaced the glass, but they couldn’t fix everything. When your boyfriend came flying through the window, broken shards slit holes in two of your classmates’ paintings, damaging them beyond repair.” Bejeweled glasses look down at me, as if I didn’t already feel bad enough.
I rub my forehead with my palm, my heart starting to race. “I didn’t know.” I was so emotional that night, I left without grabbing my artwork. I worked on that piece for weeks; I’d be heartbroken if it got ruined. No wonder none of my classmates have reached out to me since. They probably all hate me now, just like those online WarNat trolls who love pointing out how I’m not worthy to date a hero. “I’m so sorry.”
Terese frowns, uninterested in my apology. “I was surprised to discover this wasn’t even the first time something like this has happened. Your mother told me all about your high school graduation.”
Oh god. Graduation. Why did Mom have to bring that up?
Matt and I had been dating for two years at that point, but he’d been homeschooled for most of his senior year since being recruited for Warrior Nation. It was a chaotic time for both of us, trying to learn how to be in the public eye while finishing high school, but our principal agreed to let Matt walk as long as he didn’t make a scene.
My art club friends and I had created this beautiful installation that our school used as a backdrop on the stage. Dozens and dozens of hand-painted tiles formed to make a golden eagle, our school mascot. The plan was to permanently install the tiles as a mural in our cafeteria, but unfortunately, that never happened. Matt used his invisibility to stay hidden for most of the ceremony, but when they called his name, he reappeared, and the crowd went nuts. Some WarNat forum had published the location of our graduation, and little did we know that fans had filled the football field, patiently waiting for the second they could get closer to him.
It was like nothing I’d ever seen. Girls rushed the stage, pushing and fighting to get a piece of my boyfriend. He disappeared behind the mural, but they wouldn’t stop, ultimately tipping it over and smashing nearly all the tiles. I can still remember the sound of all that porcelain shattering as it hit the ground. So much time and talent, destroyed in an instant.
A girl I’d never met punched me right in the face, jealously screaming that I didn’t deserve Matt, that her love for him was pure. At the time, I thought it was an unforseeable, freak disaster, fueled by fans with nothing else to do. I didn’t care that I had a black eye or that a couple friends cut ties with me; I’d probably just lose touch with them after high school anyway. I was just grateful that in the end Matt and I were both okay. A little bruised, but okay.
I didn’t know graduation would be the first in a long string of unpredictable catastrophes, an endless line of terrible surprises waiting to ruin our everyday moments. No one plans them; they’re nobody’s fault. But still, they happen, over and over again, wreaking havoc on the trajectory of my life.
There’s nothing I can say. All the sugar in my veins has hardened into one solid lump in my stomach. I’m not getting this job. I’m not getting anywhere.
“Do you know what I think?” Terese says, more gently than before. “I think you’ve been carrying around a lot of deadweight for a long time. Drop the boy and move on.”
I cover my face, embarrassed to feel a swell of emotions in front of someone I’m trying to impress. “It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
“Because you love him?” She clicks her tongue. “Trust me, hon, when you get to be my age, you learn that love isn’t always enough.”
I hate the way her words sound. So cold and brutal, so absolutely certain. But what I hate even more is that part of me agrees. I’m not an idiot—on paper, my relationship with Matt is a total train wreck. I’ve been kidnapped more times than I can count, held for ransom on more than one occasion,