Chapter 29

Should I Stay

Or Should I Go?

May 10th, 1989

My how our lives have changed since the football season ended!

I see Donnie everyday after school, and we hang out until around midnight every night. We try to alternate between his dad's house and my mom's house after school, but every weekend I sneak out to sleep at his house. His attitude has been great - more relaxed, and enjoying the last few months of his senior year of high school.

Mike and Nicole, or 'The Honeymooners' as we call them, are madly in love and they let everyone around them know it, too! They spend as much time together as possible, but Nicole works at Buddy's Burgers now after school. She's trying to save up some money so she and Mike don't have to live in the dormitories at whatever college they both get accepted to. To this day no one knows that are legally married, and it's only a matter of time until my aunt finds out!

"What do you want to do tonight?" Donnie asked, slinking his arm around my shoulder; "Skip the homework and have sex all night?"

"Donnie!" I said, elbowing him in the stomach and looked around at Mike, Nicole, and Brian who were all standing around us in the parking lot after school. They all looked back at me and rolled their eyes. Typical Donnie.

"I gotta go to work" Nicole moaned; "Yay. I get to smell like grease again"

"I'll miss you" Mike pouted.

"I'll miss you more, honey"

"I'm not going to miss this" I commented, shaking my head and everyone laughed.

"Hey Chavo what you doing tonight?" Donnie asked his best friend.

He shrugged his shoulders; "I have finals to study for"

"Ha. Chavo? Studying? You don't need to study remember?" I teased.

"Highest GPA in the class, and your going to go study?" Donnie asked; "Come hang out"

"Yeah. Wish it was that easy, guys. I'll catch you all later"

"Looks like it's just us" I said, leaning on Donnie; "How about going to the movies?"

Donnie thought about it for a minute; "Depends. Will you go down on me in the theater?"

"And...that's our cue to leave!" Nicole said, butting into our conversation; "You guys have fun with that"

"We will" Donnie laughed, squeezing my ass.

"Later Don" Mike said over his shoulder, and held Nicole's hand as she led him to her truck; "Bye Kelly!"

Mike and I have resolved our issues and he's thanked me a million times over for coming to the courthouse the day he and Nicole got married. I'm glad we are on speaking terms. It means a lot to me to be close with Donnie's friends.

"Well?" Donnie asked raising an eyebrow; "Field Of Dreams?"

I sighed; "Yeah sounds good. I wanna swing by my house first"

"Why?" he asked, grabbing my hand and holding it in his as we walked through the parking lot to his dad's car.

"I'm still waiting for my acceptance letter from NYU"

Donnie sighed; "We might miss the movie"

"Donnie, weather we go there before or after the movie the letter is going to say the same thing" I knew he was dreading me getting that letter. He didn't want me to go back to NYU, even if it is for college.

I stared at him across he roof of the car; "Fine" he gave in.

We drove through town blasting the radio and signing along to the song playing, 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' but New Kids On The Block; "You got he right stuff baby Love the way you turn me on You got the right stuff baby Your the reason I sing this song" My singing turned to laughing, but Donnie kept going; 'All that I needed was you Oh girl you're so right And all that I wanted was you You made all my dreams come true"

"Aww" I laughed, and turned the music down; "Do you mean it?" I joked.

"That you made my dreams come true?" he asked, as he pulled up the curb outside my house; "Yeah pretty much"

I smiled; "I'll be right back" I kissed his cheek quickly then ran inside to check if my mom or brother had gotten the mail. A pile sat on the kitchen table and I looked through it quickly. On the bottom was a letter addressed to me, and the return address was from New York University. I turned it over and was about to rip it open but I decided to open it with Donnie. I turned and ran out of the house excitedly.

"What's up?" he asked when I opened the passenger side door; "You get in?"

"I don't know yet. I didn't open it"

"Well what are you waiting for?"

"I wanted to open it with you"

"Oh" he looked slightly disappointed; "Okay, well open it"

"Okay but..."

"But what?"

"I love you. I just want you to know that. I love you forever okay and I don't want to break up just because I go to a different college"

Don't looked down at the envelope in my hand then back up at me; "I love you too"

I ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter. I read it to myself, only getting four lines in before I put it down; "I didn't get in"

"Oh" Donnie said and put his hand on my knee to comfort me.

"I didn't get into NYU. I can't believe it" It's the only college I ever wanted to go to.

"It's alright babe"

"Yeah" I forced a smile, and tried not to cry; "Man that just sucks. Well...I may not go to college there but I'll be living there again before the end of the year"

That caught Donnie off guard; "Living there?"

"Well yeah I was planning on going to college there so I...kind of made plans with my grandparents to move in there until I can get my own place"

"So your still moving back to New York?"

I didn't tell Donnie I was moving back because I was waiting to get the acceptance letter, that way it would be obvious that I would have to leave Texas; "Yeah..."

"Why?"

"New York is my home"

"Okay...but what am I, Kelly?" he was pissed, and almost yelling at me. He started the car and pulled away from the curb.

I kept looking out the window; "Your my boyfriend, and I love you"

"You keep telling me you love me but a girlfriend that loves me wouldn't just move back to New York for the hell of it"

"For the hell of it?" I yelled, and finally turned back to Donnie; "You know I never had any intentions to stay in Texas! Since day one I just wanted to go back home!"

"You said yourself that after you met me you didn't want to go back there. Were you lying to me?"

"No!"

"Were you?"

"I said no!" I yelled. We stopped at a stop light and I took a minute to calm down; "I'll come back and visit you, Donnie"

"I don't want you to visit me" he said. I barely heard him because he had his hand up to his face, in anger, covering his mouth.

"What did you say?"

"I said I don't want you to visit me"

That hurt; "What? Why?"

"Because I want you to stay here, in Odessa, with me! I want you to stay here, okay?" he yelled, speeding down the road towards the mall movie theater; "I want to see you everyday, I want to sleep next to you every night, I want to wake up with you, and I want to kiss you when I want to kiss you and fuck you when I want to and...I...I just don't want to lose you, alright"

"Well Donnie I want all of that too but..."

"But what? Why can't you stay here?"

"I just don't want to stay in Texas my whole life, there's so much more out there"

"Look, I know your from New York and you miss it but...what makes you think after you move there you won't stay in New York your whole life? What's the difference?"

I sighed and laid my head back on the seat; "I don't know"

"I don't want you to go anywhere, okay? I mean how would you feel if I told you I was going to move to Chicago or something and-"

"I get the point" I interrupted him; "it's just a big decision you know? Graduating high school, going to college...it's a lot"

"Well what's wrong with staying here? We can both go to college around here, work, save some money. You know, start a life together"

"What? Be like Mike and Nicole?" I laughed.

"I didn't say that" he rolled his eyes and pulled into the parking lot; "Texas isn't all that bad. I'll prove it to you"

"You already have, Donnie. Really, you have"

"Then stay. Stay with me"

I sighed; "Okay"

"Yeah?"

I nodded; "I probably will"

"Probably?"

"I will. But..."

"But what?"

"I am going to go back to New York every once in a while. You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl"

He laughed; "Alright. I promise you Kelly, it will be great"

"What will be? The movie?" I asked, looking at my watch.

"No" he laughed and took my hand; "Our life. It will be great. Together"

I looked over at him and stared into his eyes. I was in love with him. From the moment I met him I knew he was going to be mine, but I had no idea what kind of roller coaster relationship we were going to go through. The highs of winning games, sneaking out, and partying along with the lows of cheating, a pregnancy scare, and of course not making it to the Texas State Championship.

But today as I sit here next to him, my future unsure, all I can say is...can I have another ticket for the roller coaster, please?