Page 138 of Isolation

“I think that’s a mature decision. He is not worth it.”

“Har har.”

We walk back to the house in a comfortable silence as I contemplate how to get them all out of her system. I will find a way to do it, one by one, till she sees no one else but me.

Just like how I can see no one else but her.

CHAPTER 2

August 11th, 2015

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Reid

Raven and I have been in Paris for most of the summer. Raven got here in May, to help Theressa set up her shop.

I joined in mid-summer, as planned. I was excited to be in Europe with her.

Just us two, without New York City distractions.

No Milo.

No one from our infamous parties.

And no way for her to meet older men through Milo’s friend group.

I thought everything would change for the better. It did not.

Raven and I finally discussed her obsession with Milo at our seventeenth-birthday-party, and it all clicked.

Raven is not in love with Milo. It’s just her usual obsession of pleasing parental figures. She is such a teacher’s pet. Always has been.

The moment I explained how her behavior looked to others, Raven had no problem distancing herself from him. She has barely made any contact with him this whole summer.

I was supposed to have her all to myself again. She was not distracted by Milo anymore so I thought I could use this summer to tell her how I feel.

I wanted to beef up before seeing Raven again. Plus, Milo seemed frustrated this whole summer with his app and the new business.

Before coming to Paris, Milo and I started an even stricter gym regimen than ever before. We both bulked up significantly.

I swear, we received more attention from the opposite sex than ever before. Milo and I have always fared well with the female demographic. But by the time I left for Paris, every single chick in our immediate vicinity was throwing themselves at us.

Yet, I refrained.

In the past, I have had my share of sexual experiences but I never went all the way.

Milo and Raven both think I am actively having sex, but I keep holding out. I keep waiting, pathetically, forher. It’s such a pussy thing to do, especially for a horny teenager.

In the back of my miserably hopeful mind, I keep waiting for Raven tomove on from this obsession with Milo and toseeme.Because if there was one thing I have been wanting to share with Raven my whole life, it’s this.

After my conversation with Raven at the birthday party, and after I got the all-clear that she is not into Milo, I thought about telling her how I feel over the summer. We were going to spend the summer in Paris. I thought this summer we could finally… ugh!

I ignored all other girls up until I came to Paris, only to get to Paris and find her with a boyfriend.

Are you fucking kidding me?

We talk every day. How the hell did she not mention this?