Chapter 22: Parallel Lives

I was going home! James and I were driving, leaving the hustle and bustle of MIT behind. We both had a whole week off from class! This was the perfect chance to breathe and recharge. And nothing made me feel more relaxed than a long road trip with my boyfriend.

He let me choose the music, and I played ~Psycho~ by Ava Max.

“Oh, she’s sweet but a psycho. A little bit psycho,” I sang.

James glanced my way. I didn’t miss the way the corners of his mouth tilted up. He looked calm, but I knew he felt the undeniable chemistry and tension between us. Those feelings just never went away.

I caught him stealing glances at me when he thought I wasn't looking. His gaze lingered a little too long, his smile a little too bright. And I returned the favor. My heart raced every time our eyes met. My stomach did somersaults at the thought of what might happen next.

I had so many naughty thoughts about this man…

And maybe I’d have some time to act on those thoughts. Life had been tough. College was demanding. My studies were long, and projects were hard. But I loved college life. I liked the friends I made. I enjoyed the intellectual conversations. I loved getting good grades.

The only thing I missed was my time with James. But, we’d be able to make up for it now, wouldn’t we?

The song ended, and I played a new one. This time I played ~Cardigan~ by Taylor Swift. I glanced over at James, noting the subtle shift in his demeanor. His smile, which had been so bright just moments ago, seemed to dim ever so slightly.

He looked tired.

There were bags underneath his eyes. And, come to think of it, he was unusually quiet.

“Hey, are you having a good time?” I asked softly as I adjusted the volume dial, reducing the music to a mere whisper.

James kept his eyes on the road.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” he replied, his tone casual.

“Do you have any song requests?” I asked. Maybe a different artist would lighten his mood.

“How about some Ed Sheeran?” he said, moving his hands on the wheels.

“Yeah, that sounds perfect,” I agreed.

I scrolled through my playlist until I found a suitable track, and with a tap of my finger, the songs of Ed Sheeran filled the car.

We listened to him all the way home. But we didn’t talk much.

“Thanks for the ride, James,” I said, as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll help you carry your things inside.”

I didn’t have much—just one suitcase. I’d only be home for one week. James grabbed it and we walked to the front door together. I could hear my parents chatting inside as I entered the house. They turned to greet me as I walked in, their faces lighting up with smiles.

“Hey, sweetie, how was the drive?” my mom asked as she wrapped me in a tight hug.

“It was great, Mom,” I replied, returning her embrace. “James and I had a good time catching up.”

“Catching up? Don’t you two go to school together and see each other every day?” Dad asked as he hugged me too.

Before I could answer, James returned from my room. He’d left my bag there.

“James! It’s good to see you,” my dad clapped him on the back.

“You look tired, dear,” Mom remarked.

“It was a long drive,” James said.

“Would you like to stay for lunch?” Mom motioned to the kitchen.

“Thanks, but my parents are expecting me,” James said. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

I felt like the goodbye was brief and abrupt. I almost didn’t want to let him go. I stared after him.

“Keily, we’ve missed you!” Mom said. “Come and tell us all about college.”

As we settled into the living room, I told my parents about my late-night study sessions, quirky professors, and impromptu dormitory dance parties. I told them about how I was excelling in my classes, proudly mentioning that I was at the top of my class. I mentioned how my roommate, with her vibrant blue hair, had become one of my closest friends.

“And get this,” I said, excitement bubbling in my voice as I reached into my bag and pulled out a stack of museum passes. “I get free passes to all the museums in the city! How cool is that?”

My parents listened with rapt attention, their expressions shifting from pride to amusement. When I finally finished, they exchanged a glance before turning back to me with matching smiles.

“We're so proud of you, Keily,” my mom said. “It sounds like you're really thriving at college.”

My dad nodded in agreement. “You're spreading your wings and making the most of every opportunity.”

***

The next day, James and I met up with our high school friends.

I’d been so busy lately that I hadn’t given them much thought. But now that they were here, I realized just how much I had missed them. We were all at a café, trading stories.

Matt regaled us with a story about the time he woke up in a different state after a particularly wild night out, much to the amusement of everyone at the table. Lola had to drive four hours to go and get him!

Addison and Sadhvi, inseparable as always, told us that they had tried to bake special brownies, but they had set the fire alarm off. The firemen had shown up and walked away with some of the brownies. Addison never told them the brownies were ‘special’.

And then there was Lucas, looking slightly sheepish as he hesitantly confessed his latest romantic misadventure.

“So, I started dating this girl, right?” he began, his cheeks flushing pink. “But it turns out she has a twin, and I accidentally confused the two of them. Now I have no idea where we stand.”

The table erupted into laughter.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving his hand at us. I assumed this meant that he and Myra were done for good. Then he tried to take the attention away from himself. “Keily, tell us a story?”

Clearing my throat, I launched into a tale, “There one night where I accidentally locked myself out of my dorm room. I was only wearing pajamas and had to beg the RA to let me back in!”

“Where was Charlotte?” James asked.

“She sleeps with noise-canceling headphones on… she didn’t hear me bang on the door,” I said.

“You didn’t even know Keily was locked out of her room?” Sadhvi asked, raising her brows.

James paused. “No… But did I tell you about the time I accidentally walked into the wrong lecture hall and ended up sitting through an entire class on advanced quantum mechanics? Let's just say, I've never felt so out of place in my life.”

Nice save. Everyone laughed at that.

“Do you two have any stories together?” Lucas asked.

“What?” I asked, looking his way.

“It’s just that neither of you are in the other’s stories…” Lucas said.

A hush fell over the table as the realization dawned on all of us simultaneously. Our stories were separate. It was as if we had been living parallel lives, orbiting each other but never quite intersecting.

Well that… sucks.

“You don’t want to hear our stories,” James said with a wink, and grabbed my thigh. He was so good at playing things cool.

“Gross!” Sadhvi laughed.

“Okay, okay. We got unlucky with our schedules. But everything is fine,” James said. He squeezed my leg.

But that wasn’t true.

Things weren’t fine.

We barely saw each other.

James shifted the conversation back to Lucas and his romantic conundrum. It was easier to talk about someone else's problems than to confront the growing distance between us.

“So, Lucas, what would happen if you called your girlfriend by her twin’s name?”

Lucas laughed nervously at James’s question, a hint of unease creeping into his voice as he replied, “I hope I never find out, man. That would be a disaster waiting to happen.”

We finished our breakfast. As we parted ways outside the café, we exchanged smiles, hugs, and promises to hang out soon.

Things between me and James had ended on a sour note.

James drove me home.

The silence between us stretched on. I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. I played with my hair.

This car ride was awkward.

I stole a glance at James out of the corner of my eye, but he kept his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead, his jaw set in a tight line.

How long could we keep this up? This was a charade of pretending that everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t. Did we have to lie to ourselves and to everyone else, burying our true feelings beneath a facade of smiles and small talk?

As James parked the car in front of my house, I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.

James turned to me with an intensity that took my breath away. His eyes blazed with a fire I had never seen before, a passion that stirred something deep within me.

He was going to say something big, wasn’t he?

I just knew this moment would be life-changing.

I felt my heart start to beat wildly.

He said, “Let’s move in together.”