[Teen and New Adult Romance]
"Life as a trailer trash kid is nothing short of shitty, especially when the love of my life pretends that I don't exist."
River wants two things: to get out of Gladstone and to be with the boy from her childhood. With h...
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The next morning, I woke up to my alarm, instantly remembering that I had to break up with Travis as soon as possible.
I'd thought about it a lot the night before, and after what happened to me, I knew that I couldn't be his girlfriend anymore. He'd nearly defended Remmy's group yesterday at lunch, which didn't sit well with me. Over the years, I'd been called every horrible name in the book. Why would some stupid rumor about the group of my attackers be such a big deal? Fake bullshit rumors had happened to me multiple times over the years.
If we were meant to be, we would gravitate toward one another again someday, but finding out that he'd once had feelings for Tanya had created a roadblock in our relationship. I didn't know if he meant to protect her or not, but it really didn't matter. The fact that Travis had been with one of my attackers for months during his sophomore year gave me a sour taste in my mouth. I knew that Travis had cared when I got kicked and beat to a pulp, but somehow he still felt bad for Tanya in this situation, which bothered the shit out of me.
I boarded the school bus with a heavy heart. I hated that I had to do this. I could've texted him, but I didn't want to be a coward. I was going to break up with him face-to-face.
When I got to school, Kaleb stood nearby, waiting for me to get off the bus. Noticing my bad mood, his brow knotted. "You okay?"
I shook my head sadly. "I have to break up with Travis the next time I see him. After finding out about Tanya, there's no way I can be with him."
Kaleb didn't smile like he'd won the battle. He only sighed as a frown stayed on his face. "I know it seems like a big deal now, but you'll be glad you did it once you learn more about Travis. He's not the nice person you think he is."
My eyes grew wide, wondering what he meant. "What don't I know already?"
"Well, at one point, Travis laughed about how people called you trailer trash. He thought it was hilarious, but I never did. I never joined in with the joke. It wasn't funny to me. Travis used to laugh about your life like it was a joke or something. I know I was an asshole to you, but Travis used to make jokes about you all the time, and I fucking hated him for it. He made me promise not to tell you about that when he started to like you when you were dating Randy." Kaleb kept his voice just loud enough for me to hear.
"Did he make up rumors about me, or did he just think they were funny?" This was all beginning to hit a nerve with me. I'd known that everyone in school had played their part in how I was bullied, but I had thought that Travis was too good for all that.
"Not that I know of, but he did notice that you wore the same two pairs of shorts for years. He might've started a rumor about your clothes, but other than that, he just helped pass them on. On the plus side, he made out with you publicly at my party, which was a big fuck you to the entire school." Kaleb's jaw tensed as his eyebrows scrunched together. Hearing about Travis and I making out had pissed Kaleb off.
