Friday. Four days of unanswered phone calls. Four days of unread texts and unopened emails. Four days of not seeing Brynn's smile, or hearing her laugh. I lie in bed and just stare blindly in the darkness, wondering when I did I become this over dramatic about life.

There's a gentle knock on my door. "Finn?"

My mom turns on my light and I shrink back from it like a vampire does sunlight and throw my arm over my eyes.

"Finn, this has to stop," she says upon entering my room. I immediately hear shuffling as she begins to pick up the various clothes and items I've left discarded.

"I'm sorry. Is the fact that I'm hurt bothering you?"

The shuffling stops and I know I once again overstepped my bounds. I know I should care but I don't. I've gone to school as expected. I've participated in all the activities as expected. I've turned in my work, took my test, and done everything as expected. Right now, I just want to be left the hell alone.

She smacks my good foot. "Get up, shower, get dressed and be downstairs in 15 minutes. I'll drive you to school today."

"I'm not going," I tell her.

"Excuse me? Are you sick?"

"No."

"Are you injured?"

"Physically? No."

"Then you are going to school."

"No."

"No?"

"No. I've done every piece of paper they've pushed at me. I've taken every test and quiz. I have no reports, essays or projects due today. It's Friday, so they are not going to start any new material. I have zero reasons to be there. I don't want to be there. So I'm NOT going in today."

"Finn you have perfect attendance so far this year, why screw it up over..."

I don't let her finish her sentence. My arm flies off my eyes and I sit up and glare at her. "Seriously, Mom? You seriously think at this point in my life I give a damn about being given a piece of paper that says, "Yay! You've managed somehow to get you ass school. Go through all the same boring shit and still chose to come back, day, after day, after day. Go you!"

"Watch your language!" Mom reprimanded. "For four days I've watched you mope, retreat from life, refuse to eat. You've got yourself into a wonderfully deep depression. Go you." She adds that last bit of sarcasm to let me know mine wasn't appreciated.

"No more. You're done."

"Really? Because I don't feel done. I feel pain. I feel hurt. I feel like no one gives a sh...crap. And all I want is one day where I don't have to go to that school. I don't have to see our spot by the tree and no Brynn. I don't have to push through the exhaustion of another pointless day. Is that too much to ask?"

"So you can what? Lay here in your room, in the dark and wallow?"

I shrug.

"Finn, there is more to life than Brynn. You may not be able to see that now but it's over and you need to move on with your life."

"Yeah. Sure. There's more to life than Brynn, but there was also the life I wanted with Brynn. Which thanks to the blessed rules I no longer have."

"Are you blaming me for what happened between you and Brynn? That was her choice, NOT mine."

"It wasn't her choice to tell her Dad, so she'd be taken away from the only home she's ever known."

"You think that should have mattered? If she wanted to continue to see you, Finn she would have found a way."

I flop back onto my pillow.

"You're right. She could have but I guess the idea of dating Wonder Boy is too much to ask. I have spent my life doing all the right things, whatever was expected of me, and I was supposedly building up this GREAT life for myself, only to realize I don't want it. I don't want any of it.

No one bothered to ask me what I wanted? What my interests were? And because I'm Finn Nash, Valedictorian, Mr. Popular... I've lost the only girl who ever meant anything to me. Who made me question. Forced me to delve in deep into myself, to figure me out. Do you know what I discovered? I spent the last 18 years of my life not being me.

I thought I knew who I was before Brynn. I don't know who I am with Brynn but for the first time in my life, I felt like I was figuring it out. She made me want to figure it out. She made we want to stop being someone everyone else is proud of and become someone I can be proud of."

My Mom comes over and sits on the edge of the bed. I look up at her and I see unshed tears in her eyes. "You think I don't care, but it kills me every day that I can't take this hurt from you. That I have no choice but to sit back and watch you suffer, knowing that it's Brynn that is making you feel this way, makes we want to hate her but I can't because I am very much aware of what a special a person she is. But if you think for one moment I'm going to let you throw your life away, I'm not.

Newsflash for you. Your Dad and I don't have all the answers. All we know is what we screwed up, we don't want to see happen to you and so we've tried our best to steer you around those obstacles. You have your whole life to figure out who you are. We just wanted to give you a life where you'd have options."

Her words made me feel so ungrateful. I close my eyes because I didn't want to get sucked in again. I immediately want to make her happy. I want to fix this, but I can't and so, I know I'm just going to disappoint her.

I feel her tuck a hair behind my ear. "You want a shot to put thing right?"

"Yes, but she's gone radio silent. Complete technology blackout. I have no way of talking to her."

"You do IF you go to school."

I turn my head and look at her again. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Think Finn. She's staying away because of what's happened. She won't want to show her face until she can hide it somehow, but do you really think after all the work she's put in, that she'll forego the play?"

I sit up straight in bed. "The play." Today is Friday. "Opening night!" It's tonight.

I no longer need urging to get out of bed. I'm up. I grab my uniform. I look at my mom. "I'll be downstairs in 5 minutes." I kiss her cheek. "Thank you!"

She smiles at me but it still appears sad. She gets up and walks to the door. Her hand rests a moment on the doorjamb.

"Finn?"

"Yeah."

"Just do me a favor?"

"If I can."

"Try not to get your hopes up too high. If she hasn't reached out all this time, she's probably manifested a good defense as to why she's right for doing so."

"Yeah," I say frowning. "But she hasn't counted on my coming up with a good offense of all the reasons we belong together, and I've schooled myself on how to get around a good defense."

My mom smiles at me for real this time. "I love you. You know that don't you?"

"Never doubted it for a second."

"5 minutes, downstairs."

"Got it."

She nods and leaves the room. I work at lightning speed to dress, brush my teeth, I just finger comb my hair, shove my books in my bag and I'm down with a half a minute to spare.

She hands me a bag with what I can smell is some sort of breakfast sandwich and bottle of water. "For the road, she tells me."

I look at the clock. "I can still catch the bus." I realized with renewed vigor. She may not be on it but if she was, I'd at least know, she came to school.

My mom nods and shoves me out the door. "Good Luck, Finn."

"Thanks!" I say, I reach down and take off the boot. It's coming off tomorrow anyway and it will only slow me down. My mom takes it from me. "I don't need this anymore."

And I took off running.

I waited patiently at my own stop. It killed me not to go to Brynn's but I wanted to be on the bus when she got on. This way I have a chance to see her before she tries to disappear on me. If I was waiting at her stop and she'd seen me, she could very well turn around and go home.

Ms. Vera picks me up and I wait patiently for her to reach the next stop. The bus slows and I wish I sat on the other side so I could see as we approach but just the fact that Ms. Vera is stopping sends my heart racing.

The doors open and I see black hair but then I realize it's not Brynn. It's Adam. Damn it. I look away and then I hear Ms. Vera say, "Nice to see you back, Ms. Shelby." And my head shoots up. There she is...

She's cut her hair. Her bangs are now swept over one side of her face. The side I know was bruised, she still has her one streak of color. Today it's red. She doesn't look for me. She just takes her seat and keeps her head down.

Adam moves further back and glares at me before taking a seat. Almost like he's warning me to stay away from her, but I just ignore him. She's here, and that all that matters.