“That’s great! I mean, I knew you’d get in because of your grades and all, but I wasn’t sure if you applied too late.”
His lack of an immediate response made me nervous. “About that,” he said and then paused while my heart fluttered wildly. “I’ll only have to be at Westwood until next January, but we’ll make it work. I’ll come see you every chance I get. I promise.” Nooooooooooooo! This isn’t happening. His words nor his optimism did anything to calm me down. Westwood was almost eight hours from Charleston and driving or flying, it was an expensive trip to make. There was no way his father would help him pay to visit me. I’d have no choice but to get used to being away from him. What AJ and I were dealing with lately with him being grounded would be a walk in the park compared to what was facing us.
“Wow,” I said flatly. That was all that would come out without me getting emotional on the phone. My mind was racing too quickly for me to grasp on to any one thought. I hoped that he’d chime in and tell me that he was joking or that there was maybe something that he could do. I waited, but he was silent.
“I’ll try to call you back. Love you,” he whispered just before he hung up. I opened my mouth to tell him that I loved him too, but I was too late. This happened every time he thought he heard his father coming into his room. Mr. Hahn made it a habit to check on him every hour throughout the night ever since he got caught sneaking out. My guess was that he was going to be even more watchful because it was Valentine’s Day. With a heavy sigh I shut my phone. Deep down I knew that I wouldn’t hear back from him that night. His father was doing his best to drive a wedge between us, but he had no idea how impossible that task was.
I lifted myself from Daddy’s desk chair and left the study. I lay across my bed in the darkness and let it sink in that I was going to have to spend my first semester at Charleston without AJ. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. We’d be apart for nearly six months and to me it seemed like an eternity. I tried not to think about it, so instead I thought of what this day was supposed to be like for AJ and me. We should’ve spent the entire day together even if we did nothing at all. Being in his arms would’ve been enough for me. But instead this special day had been reduced to one short whispered conversation. Our feelings for one another were so simple, pure even. But for some reason we couldn’t seem to outrun the dark cloud that hovered above us. I took a deep breath and exhaled. “I love you too AJ,” I whispered to myself then turned over and fell asleep.
I didn’t hear from him at all, Sunday. So, needless to say, I missed him terribly by Monday. In sixth hour, Ms. Jamison was absent, so the substitute gave us a short assignment and then let us converse for the rest of the hour. I took advantage of the opportunity to spend time with AJ. He stared blankly at the chalk board with a frown on his face, slumping down with his arms folded over his chest. Something was definitely bothering him, but, considering our situation, that could be any number of things. “What’s the matter?” I asked softly.
He exhaled sharply, closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of his seat. “My dad. This whole thing is so stupid. And now that I know we won’t be leaving together, it pisses me off even more.” He sighed and opened his eyes, but he still didn’t look at me. “We should be spending all our time together, but instead he’s keeping us apart. I’m just frustrated I guess.”