Chapter 17

It's as if Medusa herself has come to Earth and frozen me where I stand.

Words keep coming over the intercom. Marriage, babies, pizza, filter through the haze. I'm vaguely aware of Hudson and Wyatt running off.

"I can't stay here," I say finally. "I have to go."

Lexi stands in front of me with a look of determination I haven't seen since he was trying to convince himself Ryder wouldn't break his heart.

"You like Tucker. You literally can't stay away from him, and he lights up at the mere mention of your name. You need to figure out what you're doing because right now, the only person hurting you is you."

I nod. "I know, but I can"t do this. Not here." He looks at me sadly and turns back to look up at the commentator box.

I run down the halls and don't even bother to grab my gear. I need to get to my parents" house so I can fucking compose myself before Tucker turns up.

We stayed at my place Saturday night, and after mutual blowies, we had a shower and came back to my parents' house where we watched one of Dante's hockey games. My mom force-fed us her homemade Snickerdoodles the entire time.

At no point did we discuss what we started in the rideshare Saturday night. Okay, we talked about foozdriverian and his weird Insta feed, but that was as close as we came.

If I have to look deep down inside myself then I can state that I know, unequivocally, that Tucker doesn't see me as a rebound.

And I am so head over heels in love with him.

It's terrifying.

Which is the sole reason I have been lying to myself. Because, yeah, I have been hurt in the past, but Tucker has the ability to break me into so many pieces that no one can fix me.

I'm twenty years old. I wasn't expecting to find the great love of my life during college. I wasn't prepared for this. Why the fuck isn't there at least an infographic on Pinterest to tell you what to do in situations like this.

I realize that I have pulled up at my parents" house, and I'm not gonna lie, I don't remember the journey at all. Thank fuck for muscle memory I guess.

I'm barely through the door before my dad is lifting me and swinging me in a circle. I'm a little surprised he picked me up so easily and a bit confused as to why he decided I needed spinnies when it's been eight years since we last did this.

The second he puts me down. My mom and Nonna are all over me, kissing my cheeks, and pinching my side. Not sure what that is about.

"Did Dante put weed in your snickerdoodle mixture again?" I shout above the squeals and clapping.

"No we are just so happy for you-wait, what do you mean again?" Mom narrows her eyes at me, but at least she's stopped pinching me.

"Just a joke," I spit out. "So what is this reception for?"

"We were listening to the radio. We heard everything Tucker said. That boy loves you as much as you love him."

"How did you hear? It was just the PA system. Did someone record it?" I look at my mom in horror, which just deepens her scowl.

"I think those boys, Charlie and Ryder, sat on more buttons. They were also on the radio and the stadium intercoms."

"Where is Tucker? I want to meet him. Don't you worry. I will teach him how to order a pizza in Italian. And ice cream. He can propose to you on the riverfront."

"I came straight here," I whisper. "Everyone was looking at me and I panicked. He'll meet me here, right?"

My dad looks at me softly. "He declared you his forever, and you ran away, son. I know neither of you were expecting this to happen, but I don't think he's going to turn up. I think you might need to run in his direction this time."

My dad pats me on the back and heads into the living room with Nonna following behind him.

"I love him, Mom," my voice breaking.

"I know you do," she says, pulling me into a hug. "Now, go let him know that."

"Thank you. All of you. I wish Tucker had parents like you guys," I sniff.

Mom breaks the hug and takes a step back. "Tucker doesn't need parents like us. He has us. I've already picked out the photo for your engagement announcement."

I huff out a laugh before heading out the door. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you too, my boy."

I pull out my phone as I get into my car and type out a message.

Cheer Queers

Gio: Does anyone know where Tucker is? I need to find him.

Hudson: Dude he was crushed when he realized you left. I think you need to give him some space before you officially dump him

Gio: I'm not going to dump him

Wyatt: Okay, well, whatever it is when you tell a situationship it"s off.

Gio: It isn't a situationship. I want to talk to him first but I'm not going to hurt him!

Nate: It's Charlie here. If you're not going to hurt him then he went back to the football house. If you are going to hurt him then he booked himself an Airbnb in Pine Valley.

Lexi: It's Ryder. Charlie, I say this with love. Stop helping and give Nate back his phone.

I ignore the rest of the messages, which to be fair, are mainly Hudson and Wyatt sending facepalm emojis and GIFs.

I know where my man is, and that's the only thing I care about right now.

The plan is simple.

Break into the football house because I'm not stupid enough to think they will just let me in.

Find Tucker"s bedroom.

Profess my undying love and adoration.

Live happily ever after.

That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. Right?