Forward, Without Him Chapter 01

Forward, Without Him Chapter 01

The day my acceptance letter arrived, I knew I was in Columbia.
After a whole year of gap time, I was finally going to be a college student in New York City alongside my boyfriend Ethan and my best friend Lexi.
I kept it a secret from everyone. Flew to New York on my own to surprise them.
Instead, I found Lexi outside Ethan’s off-campus apartment, crying in his arms.
“Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close?”
“I wish she’d never gotten into Columbia.”
Ethan kissed her to calm her down.
“Don’t say that.”
“Last year, to make your birthday wish come true — the one where you wanted to date me — we snuck into her college application portal and clicked Decline Offer before Decision Day. Made her miss the deadline.”
“She had to take a whole gap year because of us. We’ve been dating here in New York behind her back this entire time. That’s already bad enough.”
“When she moves to the city, I’ll go back to being her boyfriend. Obviously.”
Lexi looked up at him, eyes wet.
“So we can still keep meeting like this? In secret?”
Ethan thought about it.
“As long as Taylor doesn’t find out.”
……
Right then, I was standing there with cupcakes in one hand. Sunflowers in the other.
A complete joke.
Ethan kept going, comforting her.
“I promised you a full year as your guy. Not one day less.”
“Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year. It runs through May 1st this year. I’ll give you an extra three months on top of that. I’m yours until the fall semester starts.”
“I already told Taylor I’m staying in New York this summer to do pre-med clinical volunteering at Mount Sinai. Not going home.”
“We’ll stay in the city together. Whatever you want to do, I’m there.”
I clenched my fist and thought back to last May 1st.
That was Lexi’s birthday.
It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.
I’d stared at my student portal showing “Offer Declined” and couldn’t believe it.
My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.
Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem. Only me — somehow, impossibly — had lost my spot.
My parents panicked and called the admissions office.
That’s when we found out. Someone had used my account to click Decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.
“How is that even possible?”
The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.
“Your record is outstanding. If we’d received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.”
“But what the system shows us is what it shows us. There’s nothing we can do on our end. Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?”
I was devastated. I couldn’t accept it.
And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.
“Taylor! My birthday party’s starting! Get over here!”
“Ethan’s already here, we’re just waiting on you!”
I told them what happened. I was crying.
Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.
“Oh my god! How does that even happen? These things happen to everyone sometimes.”
“So what are you going to do now? If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?”
I looked at my parents’ worried faces. Thought about four years of work. Shook my head.
“No. I’m taking a gap year and reapplying.”
There was a beat of silence on the call. Then Ethan’s voice.
“With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.”
“Focus on reapplying. Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.”
Lexi jumped in right after.
“Ethan’s right! Then my birthday wish this year is for our Taylor to get her Columbia offer next year, no problem!”
Back then, I was so touched I almost couldn’t speak.
Turns out every bit of it was something they’d planned together.
All of it just to hide what they were doing. To make her real birthday wish come true.
Dating my boyfriend.