Both Sides | ✓

Chapter 50

Cleo's POV:

I pulled up to Via's driveway and took her hand in mine. After a week of her mother and Allison texting, a week of spent nights at my house, a week far away from this place; Olivia decided it was better to return then to stay. I disagreed but giving in seemed like my only option. Our fingers separated as she took a breath.

"I'm really nervous," Olivia muttered, glancing at me. "I don't want to talk about anything that happened. I don't-"

"Baby, it's all going to be okay. Worst case scenario, you go back to my place, right?" She nodded but continued to nervously chew on her bottom lip.

"You... You don't mind that I'm going home, right? I just... you know," Olivia spoke.

The last time we'd talked about the letter from Swelyn, Via barely spoke. She seemed like she almost wanted me to leave.

"It's okay," I replied, averting my eyes slightly. "It'll be... better to think things through separately."

Via inhaled and nodded after a moment, clicking her seatbelt off.

"I love you," she says, looking to me again. "And... I just want you to be happy. I don't need you to worry about me when deciding."

We both knew that was impossible. All I wanted was for her to beg me to stay, to anchor me here, to tell me I shouldn't even want to leave because the one thing in the world that could make me happy was in this town. But, I did want to. I just wanted her to come with me.

"Right," I said. "I love you too. Call me when you can, okay?"

Olivia nodded and pressed a short kiss to my cheek before exiting the car and walking up her driveway. I watched as my girlfriend twisted the handle of the house that had spit her out before. Via took a step and the door shut behind her, swallowing her up once again.

* * *

I started imaging what waking up in a dorm room would feel like. How sharing my space with a girl my age would be. What I'd decorate my room with. Which classes I'd take. I started daydreaming about going to school, which felt really weird. I felt like Via. I researched Swelyn Academy the night before and here's what I found:

The school was surrounded by tall fir trees. There was an art museum on campus. The classes were all artistic, even the math ones. Teachers would make you draw cartoons with all your notes. There were about a thousand school traditions and not a single one included football games or pep rallies or everything I hated about high school. It felt like Swelyn was a world away. It might as well have been. 207 miles felt like a universe to me.

I felt guilty for considering this. I had screwed up Via's life over and over, and now I was thinking about leaving her to clean it all up. I could hear a part of me screaming that I was just like my mother, and what's worse is that it didn't stop me. I still wanted to leave this place. After some thought, I wondered if me moving away would be the best. If I was the root of Olivia's problems. If everything bad in her life would resolve itself once I was out of the picture.

She had been outed at school.

She fainted due to stress.

She was kicked out of home.

All three were my fault.

I found the letter from Swelyn on my bedside table and scanned for the phone number at the bottom. I dialed it and put the phone to my ear.

"Thanks for calling Swelyn Art Academy! This is Christina speaking."

"Uh, hi, Christina," I said. "I received a letter of interest after turning in my portfolio."

I hesitated for a moment, considering my life here, what my life could be there. Everything that went down last semester and the two roads this next one could bring me down. I thought of Via, and how badly me being around and hurt her. I took a breath and continued.

"I'm interested in enrolling."