chapter 37
Mandi
I stared out the screen door at the spot where Nic had parked his car, wishing that it would somehow magically reappear, wishing that somehow I could go back in time and say the things that I’d wanted to say, to tell Juan to f**k off and demand that Julian leave. I wanted Nic. I needed him.
I’d always felt helpless around Julian, but Nic, Nic understood me. He never shutdown any of my opinions, even if they differed from his. And he always listened to my dreams. It never bothered him that I made better grades than he did or that math came easier to me than him. He’d just sit back and smile, his eyes filled with pride. He was the wind that lifted me, letting me soar through the sky.
And Julian? I couldn’t turn him away. How could I? If it weren’t for his brother, Mom wo
