Page 29 of Fight for You

I immediately drop to my knees on the blanket.

He chuckles at my enthusiasm and hands me the flowers and chocolates. "For you," he says, smiling. "But you have to share your chocolate with me, little monster."

I laugh, sticking my tongue out at him. He already knows there's not a chance I'm sharing.

He pulls food out of the basket as I peer around, grinning from ear to ear. We're the only two people in the park. Right after Cade kissed me last year, Kaleo shot out several of Ma Lucia's windows, resulting in Cade and Titan organizing the MC into an even tighter group.

With them patrolling, no one comes into the park without their permission now. Not unless they want to answer to Cade and Titan. Everything is a lot nicer now.

I'm not sure what will happen when Cade goes to college. It worries me sometimes. I'm not afraid of Kaleo, but he's dangerous, and doesn't like that Cade won't bow to him. He's desperate to get Cade under his thumb for some reason. When Cade leaves, I think Kaleo will make life much harder around here than it should be just because he can.

"What are you thinking about?" Cade asks as we eat the sandwiches and chips he assembled for us.

"Just thinking about when you leave for college next year," I say, staring down at my food.

"You worried about me leaving you, January?" he asks me, his voice serious.

"I know you have to go, but I'll miss you. That's all."

He reaches out to tug on a strand of my hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

"What do you mean?" I frown at him.

"I mean, I'm not leaving for school next year." He shrugs. "I'll probably just go to community college for a while."

I drop my sandwich, staring at him like he's crazy. "Cade, you have to go to college," I say. He's way too smart to go to community college. His grades are better than mine, and I usually make straight A's. He should be at a good school. I know he applied to several of them. "A good college. You're too smart for community college."

"I didn't say I wouldn't go to a good school," he says, wiping his hands on his pants. "I will go to one eventually."

"When?" I demand, narrowing my eyes at him. The way he avoids looking me in the eyes is worrisome. He's up to something.

"In a few years," he mumbles.

"You mean after I graduate," I whisper, my heart sinking. Part of me wants to do a happy dance that he doesn't want to leave me behind. The other part—the less selfish part—knows I can't let him do that. For as long as I've known him, he's talked about making something out of his life. I can't let him throw that away for me. Not very many people make it out of our neighborhood. I want him to be one of the few who do make it.

"It's not a big deal." He takes a big drink from his water bottle. "I'll take basic classes at community college, and then when you graduate, I'll enroll where you go to finish out my degree."

"No."

His brows pull together as he stares at me. "It's my decision. Besides, Ma Lucia can't afford to pay for me to go to college. She barely makes it by as it is."

He's not going to budge on this. He's going to throw his shot at getting out of here away because of me. My stomach churns with nausea.

"I want to break up," I blurt.

"What the fuck, January?" he growls at me.

I jump to my feet, knocking my plate off my lap in the process. My heart thumps hard, feeling like it might crack apart, but I won't back down. Breaking up with him will probably kill me, but I won't let him put his future on hold or ruin it because of me. He's too important to me to let that happen.

"I'm breaking up with you." I hate how my voice shakes and my eyes blur with tears. "I don't want to be with you anymore."

He carefully sets his plate to the side and climbs to his feet. His eyes never leave mine. "Liar," he says softly.

"I'm not lying," I lie, hiding my hands behind my back so he can't see how they shake. "I don't want to be with you anymore, Cade. I-I think we should see other people."

Pain fills his eyes, turning them more blue than gray now. The sight kills me.

What are you doing? I silently scream at myself…but I don't take the words back.