I wiped my tears away, swallowing the lump in my throat. God, this entire situation really hurts, and the fact that Karter couldn't answer me made it all worse.
But I know we'll get through it—we always do.
Karter looked up, gently grabbing my hands as she stared down into my eyes, "You don't deserve to be put through all of this," she whispered, letting go of one of my hands as she carefully wiped the stray tears away from my cheeks.
I felt my bottom lip tremble, sliding my arms around her torso, "You can have the best of both worlds... I'm sure the frat would understand if you didn't want to drink as much."
My insides practically gathered in knots when Karter shook her head, "No... they'd only replace me with another freshman who's more willing to," she said as I leaned in to hug her to me.
She had a point—if she didn't involve herself in the frat as much then they would replace her. On top of that, she wouldn't gain entry into the frat.
Without entry, she would have a really low chance of starting this year since the captain has the power to dictate that.
I felt tears grow in my eyes as Karter hugged me back—why did it feel like she was giving me a goodbye hug?
"I'm really sorry, Sloan," Karter whispered weakly.
I sucked in a breath, feeling my tears grow heavier as they dampened Karter's sweatshirt, "It's okay. I can deal with it—whatever it takes to get you to go pro."
Karter only sighed, "You shouldn't have to deal with anything," she said, pulling away from the hug slightly.
I stared up into her eyes with furrowed brows, "I can though—really, we can talk this out and figure out a solution," I assured her.
Karter shook her head, tears growing painfully clear in her eyes as she said, "There is no solution, baby," she whispered, brushing a few stray hairs out of my face.
I felt my throat close up, having an idea of what she was trying to say, but hoping that I was imagining it, "What does that mean?" I forced out, but when she only remained silent, I felt my breathing grow breathless, finding it hard to even gather air into my lungs, "Karter what are you saying right now?" I breathed out as my voice trembled completely.
The heavy tears finally spilled from Karter's hazel eyes as she said, "I'm breaking up with you, Sloan."
I felt my entire body tremble as heavy tears began flowing down my cheeks at an insane pace, "You-you don't mean that—really, I can move past it. We can move past it," I forced out, practically full-on crying at this point. I seriously can't lose her.
Karter frowned harshly as more tears fell from her eyes, "It's selfish of me to continue to put you through this," she breathed out, wiping the tears away from my flushed cheeks. "And even if I give up this dream, I'm not quite sure you'd let me anyways," she whispered, and upon hearing the words, I hated to agree that she was right.
I would never let her give up on her dream of going pro for basketball.
I wanted to scream at how unfair this felt—how does she just get to make this decision for us?
I could deal with the frat and anything else that came with it, I could move past it since it came at a cost to her dream.
I shook my head, "Please don't do this. Please?" I begged, holding onto her tighter as I buried my face into her chest. "I love you," I sobbed out as she held onto me just as tight as I held onto her.
Karter hummed weakly, "I love you too," she whispered weakly as she pulled away from me slightly. "That's why I have to do this," she said, letting go of me completely.
