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"Hey!" I heard someone call after me as I walked out the front door. Turning around, I came face to face with Sam.

"Hi," I mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"I- um... want to sit?" Sam asked and I nodded. I followed the boy around the back of the house where there were many people. Sam led me over to a swinging bench and took a seat. I sat next to him, pulling my dress down a bit to cover my legs.

"So," Sam started. "I guess Cash and you have a bit of history?" He asked and I bit my lip, nodding.

"Yeah, um, Josh dared me to get back together with him and I did," I vaguely explained. Sam didn't need to know every detail of my past relationship. "Do you live here?" I asked, gesturing to the large house.

"Yup," Sam was the one to nod now. "I live here with Mychael, Josh, Cash, and a few other boys."

"I didn't even know Cash went to college here and now he lives in the frat house?" I asked.

"Well, Mychael's dad got him into school here," Sam explained as a million questions filled my head.

"Mychael's dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's kind of a legend around here so Mychael got into school here obviously from his dad," Sam slowly rocked the bench, letting it swing lightly back and forth. "And Mychael was able to get Cash to come to school here easily."

"What the hell?" I sat up straight, processing the information. "You're telling me all Cash had to do was tell Mychael he wanted to come to school here and- and poof? He's here?" My eyes were wide and Sam nodded.

"Pretty much," he spoke, stopping the bench from swinging.

"But why would he want to come to school here?" I asked and Sam shrugged.

"Beats me," Sam said. "The boy barely leaves his room so I haven't gotten to know him very well."

"I..." I stood up, turning to Sam who was also ready to stand up. "I have to go," I told the boy, waving to him before walking back into the house. I dodge multiple bodies to find a familiar blond head of hair standing by the counter in the kitchen.

"Come with me," I demanded, taking Cash's wrist and dragging him up the stairs. He followed right behind me, a solo cup in his hands. "Which room is yours?" I asked and Cash's eyes went wide.

I watched the boy dump whatever was in his cup into a potted plant by the stairs. He walked down the hall and entered a room. I walked in as well and watched Cash close the door, locking it.

"This is your room?" I asked, taking in the white painted walls. There were a few posters on the walls, a large bed in the corner, a dark brown desk on the left and a closet on the same side wall as the door. Cash plopped on his bed, his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out straight.

"Why'd you come to school here?" I asked him, crossing my arms and watching him pillow his hands behind his head. When Cash didn't give me an answer I sighed deeply, taking a seat at his spinny desk chair.

"If you're never going to talk to me again, that's okay. I know you promised you would never leave me years ago when I was crying into your chest, but I also know that sometimes it snows in the middle of April or weeds grow in the middle of a rose garden, so I understand that things happen that aren't supposed to," I spoke out. I watched Cash who was staring at the wall in front of him.

I just-" I sighed again, running a hand through my hair, "I just don't understand why you would want to come to school here when you knew I was going to school here," I knew for a fact that Cash knew I was going to go to school here because I called Cailee the day the envelope came and Cailee was with both Mav and Cash when I called.

"I thought this wasn't high school anymore," I tucked my hair behind my ear. "Can't you just answer me?" I asked.

"My parents got divorced," Cash spoke out for the first time since we entered his room. "They had been fighting for a while now and that's why we broke up the first time when we were sophomores. They just- they just fought over the littlest things and I didn't know how to handle it so I pushed you away," Cash explained, raking his fingers through his hair.

"My dad moved to Boston," Cash spoke as if the words were poison on his tongue. "Money became tight and I knew I'd be able to get into college here for free because of Mychael."

"Does he know you're using him?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Mychael? Yeah, he knows. Hes actually a pretty cool guy and he was all for the idea," Cash explained. My heart hurt for the boy in front of me, even though I shouldn't have felt as bad as I did.

"Oh," I truly didn't know what else to say.

"You crossed my mind the whole time. But I thought I could come here. I thought I was finally over you. I really thought that I was finally over you. But my mind slowly always creeps back to you. No matter the situation, the people around me or what I'm doing. You're always there. In the deepest parts of my mind," Cash let out an exasperated sigh and I watched him get off the bed and walk over to his window.

"Do you ever think about us?" He asked me, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his ripped skinny jeans.

"Of course I do," I told him truthfully. "I think a lot about how timing really is everything. We had the chemistry, we had the love, we had the whole universe. Except for that one tiny detail; we weren't ready for each other."

We looked at each other, for the first time in years. And just like back then, there was so much love in our glance. And yet somehow, the timing is still not right. And it seems like this is how it will always be for the two of us, our timing will always be a little off.

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skjdksks my mom refuses to turn on the ac i'm sweaty

literally snowed a week ago and today it was 80° welcome to new england :)

It Started With a Detention ➣ Cash Baker ✔️Where stories live. Discover now