Campus Love (sequel) Malexmale

25

Casper →

Rowan and I sat silently beside each other, pondering the meaning of these subliminal messages.

I slapped down the newspaper and rubbed my temples in frustration. "I shouldn't even be bothering you with this. I - I'm sorry for coming here."

"I understand why you came. David is your happiness and you don't wanna lose him. I know exactly what that's like."

Silence fell between us after his statement, but only for a few seconds. "I know you miss him. But you had eight years to come back. I'm genuinely curious, and if you don't mind me asking... Didn't you expect he would've moved on?"

He swallowed, giving me my phone back. "I do mind you asking." He shook his head, turning away from me. "But yes... And I despise myself, I despise the world and I blame everything. I blame anything. Because I'll never have the life I want. I want David back, I want my leg back, I want Alex back, I want... my life... back." Rowan looked at me, surprised by the sadness in my eyes. "I-I wasn't trying to garner your sympathy, I swear."

"No, no." I blinked twice. "I know, I just... I do sympathize because that's just who I am, I guess. Poor Alex, I know he's in foster care and I hope the adoption process goes as smoothly as possible. How was he, when you went to see him?"

There was a heavy sigh in Rowan's voice. "It felt amazing to see him in person and not in an ultrasound scan. He's so smart. We spent the entire day together and, well... I finally have something to live for, you know. So that's good."

I didn't know how to respond. Did he not find life worth living?

"I'm surprised you're sympathetic," he continued to speak. "I thought after everything, you'd wish I'd disappear."

"I did, for a few days. But David loved you for a reason, so I knew you were a good person. You said it yourself, we're both alike. Speaking of which... How exactly are we similar? Were you really as shy as I was?"

"So shy I didn't say a word to anyone, but it was mostly due to trauma. I read a lot of books, spent most of my days in the library, sitting down on the floor in the back reading Bridge to Terabithia and other novels."

My eyes widened and I sharply faced him. "There's no way! I went silent after a traumatic experience and all I did was read. Bridge to Terabithia is a classic." I shook my head, chuckling for a second. "Are we seriously talking about books?"

"I guess it doesn't hurt."

I smiled, nodding. "I should probably get going, huh?" I grabbed the newspaper from the table and stuffed it in my backpack.

"You sure? You just got here and I know it's a long drive back. We were just starting to share our experiences."

"I don't have anything interesting to tell. I was pretty boring before I met David."

"Speaking of David," Rowan lifted a finger as a thought came to his mind. "You don't even wanna know what he was like years and years ago? Maybe an embarrassing moment or two?"

I considered it, and I had to admit that the idea intrigued me. I always found myself wondering what David was like before I met him. Before his tumor, before grief led him to become reclusive.

"He was such a personality; everyone loved him. We were literally the opposite of each other."

"W-what was he like before now? What'd he like to do, who were his friends?" I inquired. A part of me knew it'd be best to just sit down and listen to David's past from David himself, but I couldn't stop Rowan from telling me.