Free Cruiser by Dee J. Stone Page B

once more and leaves my room.
    Wish he’d understand that I don’t mind taking the fall for him.
    He’s all I got.

Chapter Sixteen
    Lex
     
    Rey’s practicing the violin in his living room. I forgot which song this time. He’s been going at it for two hours, and I’ve been cheering him on, giving him all my support. As much as I love hearing him play, I wish he’d take a break and sit with me on the couch. But I don’t want to sound selfish. Rey stresses over these recitals and the last thing I want is to hurt him.
    I lie back on the couch and continue to smile and clap.
    After another twenty minutes, he rests the violin and bow on the coffee table and stretches his arms. I’m about to tell him to join me on the couch and suggest a movie, when he says, “Bathroom break and then I’ll practice some more.”
    My heart drops. I twist my hands in my lap, biting down on my lip. When he returns, I say, “Rey?”
    He grabs the violin and presses it to his neck. “Yeah?” He picks up the bow.
    “I…” I take a deep breath. “I kind of miss you.”
    He raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
    “You always seem to be busy and we haven’t been spending that much time together.”
    “We’re spending time together now.”
    I run my hand through my hair. “I know. But you’re playing and I’m just sitting here.”
    Now he looks confused. “I told you at school that I need to practice.”
    “I know. But you don’t have to play all night, do you? I thought you said we’d, you know, be together.”
    He looks even more confused. “When did I say that?”
    I play with a few strands of my hair. “In school. You said your parents and Cruiser will be out until midnight.”
    He runs the bow lightly across the violin. “Oh. I didn’t mean anything by it.” He lifts his eyes to me. “I’m sorry, but I really need to get this piece right. I’m nowhere near there and the recital is only a few days away.” He releases a heavy breath. “My teacher told me one of the scouts has his eye on me and another guy. I need to ace this.”
    It feels like he squeezed my heart too tight with his bare hand s. “I understand.”
    He starts playing again, and I try to hold back the tears threatening to burst out of my eyes. After a few minutes, Rey sits down near m e and takes my hand. “I’m sorry.”
    I wipe my eyes with the back of my palm. “Have things been off between us?”
    He stares at the TV and puffs out some air. “I don’t know.” He turns to me. “What do you feel?”
    “I don’t want to break up.”
    “I don’t want to break up, either,” he says.
    Relief washes over me. But I feel a small tug of something else. Disappointment. As if deep down I hoped he’d want to break up with me. I shove it away.
    “So what’s the problem?” Rey asks.
    “Do you love me?” I ask.
    “Yeah, I do.”
    “Are you sure? Or do you love the idea of having a girlfriend?”
    He rests his hands on his knees and stares down at them. Then he says in a really low voice. “You think we feel like we need to be together because we’ve always been best friends?”
    I shut my eyes. Those exact thoughts swirl through my head as I lay awake at night. “You’re so busy,” I say. “All your clubs after school, your violin lessons, your recitals. It never used to be like this when we first got together.”
    He rubs the back of his neck. “My parents want me to take as many extracurricular activities as possible. You know, to get into a good college or music program.”
    I bite down on my lip. “And what about me?”
    His eyes meet mine. “What do you mean?”
    “Are your extracurricular activities more important than me?”
    “That’s not fair. You know that’s not fair. You want me to quit my clubs?”
    “I don’t know!” I cover my face. “I don’t know.”
    He gets up from the couch and grabs his violin. “I can’t deal with this right now. I need to practice.”
    Tears enter my eyes. I stand. “You can’t