Promising Light has a bit of a love triangle, at least at first. Grace is secretly seeing Dar until an anonymous man warns her that he’s dangerous. When Dar hears of this, he leaves the country. The prince shows his interest in Grace soon after Dar’s departure, even asking her to accompany him on a royal trip. Grace thinks the prince is charming, but she can’t seem to leave Dar behind.
I had my own love triangle when I was a teenager. I was fifteen and going out with a boy named Nick. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent. . .and the not-so-innocent.) We went to school together. We had a lot of fun together, but we were also kind of moody and would have random, unprovoked arguments. Nick was funny and very nice to me. We thought the other was awesome.
I left for the summer to work at a Christian summer camp. I was a waitress, and it was my first real job. I’d gone to this camp for years and I was ecstatic to finally work there! While there, I met a boy named Alex. He was quiet and played hard-to-get, but over the first few weeks, we started to like each other.
For those of you who have never worked at a summer camp, I’m not sure if you understand how much of a different world it is. Especially when you’re fifteen. No parents. Rules are barely enforced. Just do your work and have fun on your off-hours. I got caught up in this other world where I stayed up until two playing video games, stargazing at the campfire pit, watching scary movies, walking home in the dark. My mind revolved around camp and the people there, not the boyfriend I’d left behind.
Unfortunately, flighty fifteen-year-old I was, I cheated on Nick with Alex. I tried not to, honestly, but I was all about instant gratification. I saw Alex nearly everyday. I talked to Nick every couple days. I saw him on the weekends when me and my friends would decide to stay at my parents’ house instead of at camp, but generally, Alex was a much more pressing matter in my mind. I could talk to him and touch him and flirt with him. I didn’t have to wait until I got home.
During that time, I was probably like one of those characters in young adult novels that you just want to hit with a log truck. All she cares about is her current romantic interest. Not her friends or family or job. Alex, Alex, Alex. When it was happening, I was having the time of my life. I looked forward to every minute with Alex. He was intoxicating. Occasionally, we’d have slip-ups. Why isn’t he talking to me today? Why can’t my best friend just let us hang out for a little while? And the main question, what’s going to happen to us after the summer?
I finally broke up with Nick. Coward that I was, I lied about Alex. I didn’t want to hurt him, so I kept the truth from him. Well, Nick wasn’t stupid.
I planned to stay a couple weeks after the main summer camps ended to work in the kitchen. Alex planned on it, too, as well as some of our other friends. Suddenly, though, Alex’s mom died, and he went home early. I remember trying to comfort him after I found out, trying to imagine what that would feel like. He left before we talked about our future. To be honest, that was pretty much the end.
We talked a few times on the phone after that, but it wasn’t like it used to be. I thought maybe we’d talk everyday and make drives to see each other every now and then. I thought we’d talk on AIM or e-mail or something. He was busy with life, though, and I went back to school, where Nick was.
Nick didn’t believe my lies about Alex and he told most of his friends that he thought I cheated on him. I still denied it, and my friends tried to stick up for me. Nick and I liked being around each other again. We had fun together. We played a few games of truth or dare. Then we ended up going out again. I don’t know why Nick trusted me, but I told him it would never happen again.
Fortunately, it didn’t. But we grew apart. I remember at the end, we hadn’t talked for days. I don’t even remember why. He came to my locker and I said, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” He said, “Neither do I.” That was the end. It was a mostly amicable breakup, and we stayed friends for the rest of the year. Occasionally, he’d tease me about Alex.
It took me months to get over Alex. I’d cry and cry, wondering he’d ever truly loved me or if he’d lied just to make-out with me. Who knows? We were fifteen and in love. I fell in love easily. I’ve probably spent the last ten years of my life in love! But, to me, being in love is just a feeling, an emotion that can pass quickly. I found that out with most of my boyfriends. I’d fall in love and then be bored with them a couple months later.
That changed, though, when I met Chris. . .but you'll see more of that in part two, coming next week. Yes, another love triangle!
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