ManyWriters

On graduation night, I gave my first time to Leonardo.
The pain was real, but so was my joy, believing my devotion had finally been seen.
But I never imagined that at the bonfire party the next day, I would hear his teammates joking with him.
That night after graduation, Leonardo took everything from me.
"Nice work, man, you finally sealed the deal with your little shadow."
And Leonardo, who had been so gentle the night before, replied with a lazy drawl.
"Jessica is the real prize. I’m just getting in some practice with Kira, don't want to fumble in front of the queen."
I said nothing, just turned and walked away.
Then, before the final deadline, I changed my college choice from Seattle to Los Angeles.

The Coast Between Us

For a long time after that, we had no contact.


I specifically told my parents not to mention the Rossi family around me.


In my new city, I made a lot of friends, joined a film club, and kept myself busy every day.


I realized that building your entire life around one person is actually pretty boring.


Thinking about it, I started to understand Leonardo's point of view from back then.


The world is big, and life is long. Why tie yourself down to one person so early?


I was grateful I had chosen a school in a place without a real winter.


The rainy season and the traffic were tough, and there were indeed a lot of bugs.


But I could see flowers blooming all year round. Soon, I couldn't even remember what snow looked like.


Over Christmas break, a high school friend visited LA. Sophie and I took her out for brunch.


Chapter 10