Both Sides | ✓

Chapter 50

Cleo's POV:

I pulled up to Via's driveway, reluctant to let go of my girlfriends hand. She squeezed mine nervously as she looked up at the house. After a week of her mother and Allison texting, a week of spent nights at my house, a week far away from this place; Olivia decided it was better to return then to stay. I disagreed but giving in seemed like my only option. Our fingers separated as she took a breath.

"I'm really fucking nervous," Olivia muttered, glancing at me. "I don't want to talk about anything that happened. I don't-"

"Baby, it's all going to be okay. Worst case scenario, you go back to my place, right?" She nodded but continued to nervously chew on her bottom lip.

"You... You don't mind that I'm going home, right? I just... you know," Olivia spoke.

We hadn't talked about the possibility of me leaving. Though we both wore smiles, you could tell by the thickness of the air around us that we both had the same thing on our mind. I might be moving in just a few weeks.

"It's okay," I replied, averting my eyes slightly. "It'll be... better to think things through separately."

Via inhaled and nodded after a moment, releasing her seatbelt from its confinement.

"I love you," she says, looking to me again. "And... I just want you to be happy. I don't need you to worry about me when deciding."

No. Of course I was taking Via into account. All I wanted was for her to beg me to stay and loop around me like some kind of mold. I wanted her to tell me that I shouldn't even want to leave. But, I did. I just wanted her to be with me, too.

"Right," I breathed out. "I love you too. Call me when you can, kay?"

Olivia nodded and pressed a short kiss to my cheek before exiting the car and walking up her driveway. I watched as my girlfriend twisted the handle of the house that had spit her out before. Via took a step and the door shut behind her, swallowing her up once again.

* * *

The letter from Swelyn Academy turned in between my fingers, causing a rush of ideas to flood my brain. I wondered how the other students would act at an art school. How the teachers would act. How the dorms would look. I tried to shake my thoughts away but I only ended up reaching for my phone and looking up the Swelyn Academy website. Greeted with a myriad of pictures of the campus, students, and administrators, I took a breath. I imagined how it may feel to wake up everyday in a dorm room and put on a fancy uniform. I imagined sitting in a classroom and drawing alongside other students. I imagined what kind of friends I would make there. Maybe a fresh start was exactly what I needed. This year had been a mess of good and bad, but mainly bad. Between my suspension, my mother's death, and the school finding out about Via and I, I was ready to find a new place to reside.

But then, there was Olivia.

Though she was far too stubborn to admit it, she needed me with her at school. Via had lost most of her friends because of me. I was the reason her mother can thrown her aside and now I was just going to leave? But, then again, maybe that would be best for a Olivia. I seemed to be at the root of all of her problems. She fainted this year due to stress and I can't help but wonder if I was the cause.

I gulped and pulled the letter in front of me again, glancing down to the number printed on the bottoms of the paper. I dialed it and put the phone to my ear.

"Thanks for calling Swelyn Art Academy! This is Christina speaking."

"Uh, hi, Christina," I said. "I received a letter of interest after turning in my portfolio."

I hesitated for a moment, flecks of this year shuffling through my brain. Olivia, Will, my mom. Daydreams about an art school forced their way into the mix. I couldn't stop thinking about Olivia, though. All the trouble I had put her through. The pain emotionally and mentally. I couldn't beat the fact that I was hurting the person I loved more than anyone. I took in a breath before continuing.

"I'm interested in enrolling."

A/N

Sorry about the oddly short chapter, guys! Happy holidays!