"I'm not going with you" Ashley says causing Colin to stop in his tracks. She heard the music from her after graduation party in the background. Desperately wanting to go back inside and enjoy the night. "What you mean you're not coming with me?" he said turning around facing her "This is what we talked about. This is what we wanted. To start our life in California and finally be together." "That's the life you wanted Colin. Not me. I was to love struck to know any better. I have dreams and goals and none of them are in California." "You already turned NYU down so what-" He started "I never turned them down. I accepted about two weeks ago." Colin laughed, but it was dry. He was angry that he was wasting his time. That she was wasting his time. "Jake is going to Syracuse for football." he said "I should've known you would want to go to NYU because it's been your guys plan since you started dating. You think that suddenly Jake decides to change for you that things will go back to the way they were? Well then you'll be stuck in this high school fantasy your whole life." "This isn't about him." Ashley said confidently "I didn't make my decision because of him. I did this for me. Maybe the type of Ashley you have in your head would drop everything for a boy, but not this one. And you don't get that because you're selfish you always have been." "Me? Selfish? Please tell me fucking how I'm selfish when I spent three years coming back to this shitty town, dealing with your shitty bullshit, for you? You think that's fucking selfish?" He yelled "Because you never were going to let me do what I wanted to do. You never had. You weren't going to keep settling for a long distance relationship because it never worked between us. So you manipulated me into thinking that I would be happy with you in California while you chase your dreams of playing professional baseball and what I can't be happy? You never ever cared about anyone, but yourself and you know that. You never loved me. I was too blind to see it because I loved you. You kept treated our relationship like you were the saint and Jake was the monster. When Jake was there for me whenever I needed him despite what was going on between us. And at least he had the decency to change. Not just for me, but for himself, but you'll never change Colin." Tears were bubbling up in her eyes Colin looked down at the ground curling his fist up into a ball "And I hope one day, for some girl you truly love, you'll be a better man because you have it in you. You just haven't brought him out yet." She continued. He looked at her. She saw the tears in his eyes "Well I guess this is goodbye because I have nothing else to fucking say to you." She sighed as she watched him walk away. She knew she did the right and he just confirmed it for her. She walked back inside her house getting engulfed by the loud music. She looked around seeing that everyone was having the time of her lives until her eyes met his. His beautiful blue eyes and that wicked smile. Colin was wrong about one thing... she never stopped loving Jake. Even when the became friends with benefits, even throughout all the fights, even when they decided to be just friends. With Colin it was all "what we could've been" with Jake it's "what we are". Jake winked at her as he started to walk up to her. "So you decided to stay." He said "Well I can't say I'm not surprise. You were never that girl to drop her dreams for a boy." She smiled "For the record I have decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to California. It's not me and Colin isn't the guy that I want to be with anymore. We just lost whatever we had a long time ago." Jake nodded his head "So now what are you going to do? Didn't you turn down all your schools?" She smiled wickedly "Not all of them." He laughed "You didn't turn down NYU did you?" "Nope. You know that's been my dream school ever since you've known me just like Syracuse has been yours." He smiled "Good because I don't think I was ready to let go of you just yet." Ashley laughed "I wasn't ready to either." They both leaned touching their foreheads against each other smiling from ear to ear as the music in the background started to fade. It just felt like they were the only two people in the room, ready to start over and fall in love all over again.
Excerpt from a book I'll never write/ Finale part 1












