Just like a few other chapters of this book, this chapter was one of the early scenes that were in my mind. Although I was exactly sure how Brianna would find out about what Ricardo was being accused of saying, the scene where she confronts him was clear as day in my mind.
Coming off the high of where the previous chapter ended, this was a quick u-turn in the story. Both Ricardo and Brianna are so excited to see one another, and then the news is broken to Brianna after she notices something seems off. After the lie is fed to her, Brianna questions it, but not long after, she begins to realize that every boy or man in her life that she’s cared for has already hurt and deceived her, and it wouldn’t be anything new if Ricardo were to do the same. She’s destroyed inside and stops thinking clearly, and instead, reacts when she sees Ricardo walk in.
Of course, Ricardo is caught off guard by all of this. The yelling and accusing drive his anxiety up through the roof, and he’s unable to speak. The fall and hit don’t compare to the pain he has in his chest. Why would the girl he loved, the girl who he had just become so close to in different ways, be saying these things to him?
Unable to talk and respond, suffocated, embarrassed, and devastated, he leaves the situation and hides in the tennis court area. There, he tries one more time to communicate with Brianna, but her response cuts deeper than anything she had previously said to him.
“It hollowed his heart out, and he felt so lost. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t go back in there, ever. He looked around, thinking he had to get out of there, and fast. After slowly gathering to his feet, he began to walk. He wasn’t sure where he was heading. He didn’t want to go home and have to face his parents right now. But where else could he go? Anywhere but here. Anywhere but this exact moment in time. Anywhere.