Too Keen For Me

Chapter 32: Where Are You Going

Song for the start of the chapter!

Miles looked at his phone again, as if his screen would tell him something different. It had been days since Isla sent him the 'hey' message. Every time he looked at it, his heart fluttered. He just wished that she had sent him a message a day earlier, when he was still single. But he was dating Izzy now, and as much as he tried to convince himself that was a good excuse, he wasn't sure if he believed it.

There was so much he wanted to say to Isla, but he knew it would be better to wait until he returned to Redding. A part of him was angry that she waited this long to message him. They hadn't talked in months, and she only slid into his DM's with a 'hey', it was too simple but yet it was completely Isla.

Breaking Miles out of his thoughts was the sound of his name in the distance. "Miles! Come on! We're going to be late!" Izzy called out to him as she stood on a set of steps of the plane.

Miles put his phone back into his pocket. As long as his phone was away, the storm cloud over his head vanished. "How can we be late? This is, after all, our plane," he said as he walked towards her.

He took off his sunglasses and hung them on the collar of his long-sleeved T-shirt. It was hot outside, but he didn't dare push his sleeves up, hiding his dark secrets beneath the soft fabric.

He walked onto the plane and sat down next to Izzy, who smiled at him then wrapped her arms around his. He winced as she brushed against the cuts on his arm he made the night before.

Sensing his discomfort, she slowly rolled up his sleeve. Her eyes traced and red marks on his arm. Instead of addressing the elephant in the room, she sighed. She had seen this before and done this before since she was not a stranger to self-harm herself. "Just don't let the public see it," she said and rolled down his sleeves again, letting the conversation die.

A lump appeared in Miles' throat as gave her a sharp nod. He wanted more aid than that. Deep down, he was asking for help yet she wouldn't give it him, and probably never would. She wasn't good at having conversations, not like Isla.

Why was everyone telling him to hide who he was? He was tired of being someone else. But sadly, he knew all too well how to keep secrets.

"Please buckle in. Your flight to Tokyo will take off in a minute," the pilot said as he flipped a few switches.

Izzy nodded as she popped a few pills in her mouth and reclined her seat. With a smug smile, she eyed Miles. "Are you sure you don't want one?" she asked as she rattled the pill bottle.

Miles shook his head. He had a lot of problems, but a drug addict was not one of them. "I'm good. Thank you though," he said as she closed her eyes.

Miles looked out the window as the plane took off. Rodger said that dating Izzy was a smart move, but he didn't feel like it was a smart move and a good promotion. He wasn't happy, instead, he felt empty.

Miles sighed as he looked at his phone again. Without thinking about it further, he responded, 'hey' back to Isla.

<><><><>

"Hey Isla, can you get the mail?" Mom called out from somewhere in the house. "I tried texting you, but you didn't answer."

I nodded. There was a reason I didn't answer. I didn't like the old flip phone I had and often I left it places and forgot about it. I didn't really see a point in having a old school phone now that school was over. Besides Zoe, no one really texted me anyhow.

"Sure!" I called out and walked out of the house to get the mail.

Quickly, I sorted through the papers as I walked back to the house. I stopped when I noticed one letter addressed to me with UCLA stamped on it.

The letter was heavy in my hands which caused my stomach to tie into knots. Even if I got in, I could still never afford that school. I didn't even remember applying for it, to be honest. But then again, I didn't remember practically any of the schools I applied for. That point in my life felt like so long ago.

I walked back into the house and dumped all the mail on the table while keeping the note from UCLA in my hands. "Mail's on the table," I called out to Mom.

I walked into the family room and sat down as I opened the letter addressed to me.

My eyes scanned the letter of admittance as my heart started to race. They let me in. My dream school. But as much as it was my dream, the idea of paying for it caused despair to sink in. I felt my eyes welled up with tears, feeling disappointment take hold. Applying was such a waste of time.

However, I still couldn't help myself as I turned the page. That was when my heart stopped. Written in detail was documentation about a full ride academic scholarship for the first year with possibility of extension.

I sucked in a breath as I tried to control my breathing. My hands shook as I read the letter again. With this, I would finally get out of Redding. I was going to UCLA. "Mom?!" I called out, unable to move from my seat. "MOM come here."

Mom came running into the room with fear in her eyes. "What?"

I held the paper out to her so she could see it. "It's a scholarship. To UCLA. They gave me a scholarship."

"Oh my goodness, Isla," Mom said as she covered her mouth in shock. "I'm so proud of you."

I nodded as Tristen walked into the room to see what the fuss was about. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to LA!" I said with a smile on my face.