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Pressing the upload button, I close my laptop and slide it into my bag.
The bed creaks as I lift myself off the mattress, and my eyes wash over the blue sheets and back up to the basketball net.
Maybe I’ll go to a basketball game while at Grace Hill.
I walk through the house, feeling something steep in my stomach. The emotions start to bubble up my throat.
Why am I feeling sentimental now of all times? I grit my teeth, pushing through the hall and into the kitchen.
Images flash through my head.
Mimi on the floor, planning her manuscript, Leon sitting on the counter with a latte that’s more almond milk than coffee, and Ella practicing her bumps in the most open area of the room in hopes of not breaking anything. Even if I told her, I didn’t care if she shattered every window in this house.
I still don’t care what happens to this house, but now there are memories I don’t fully hate.
When I see the kitchen, I don’t see my bio parents fighting or telling me I’m a burden.
I see my siblings’ smiles.
Jaxon being his reckless self, annoying Ella to death, trying to mess with her practice.
Oliver.
Oliver’s smile, his smell, his arms wrapped around me with a kiss on my cheek and neck.
I flush, feeling the heat of every moment over again. I bite my lip, hoping the little jolt of pain pushes away that sudden emotion.
I might love him more than anything, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m never coming back here again. I can’t, no matter how many good memories I make, replace the bad. I will still be seen as someone I’m not.
I’m not him anymore.
I’m Sally Reed.
With the last bit of strength surging in me, I press forward, opening the front door and closing it shut.
Pressing my forehead against the cold wooden door, I let out one last sigh before twisting the key and locking it. My head lifts, and look at the rooftop before my body carries me away from the door and to the backyard.
In order to truly let this place go, I need one last look at it from the only spot that gave me comfort. I climb onto the roof and head towards the edge, looking over the yard, my family’s car, and the small, wooded area that separates Oliver’s and my childhood home.
“Hey.”
“Ahh!” My heart jumps out of my chest as I turn around Oliver comes into view. He’s standing just a few feet away with his chest rising and falling in a harsh rhythm like he ran all the way here. “God, you snuck up on me like a ninja.”
He lets out a chuckle. I notice he’s wearing his uniform from Water’s Edge, which means he came from work. He must see the confusion on my face because he then says, “You used to always call me a ninja when we were kids.”
I frown at his attempt to bring up our past. “I don’t have time for this, Oliver. I have to leave.”
I walk past him, half expecting him to reach out and grab me, but he doesn’t.
“You know, you were right before.” His words stop me in my tracks.
I turn around to face him, and he’s already staring me down. I open my mouth to talk, but it snaps shut.
The question on my face must be easy to read because he continues. “There are a lot of things I don’t know. I don’t know what I’ll do in five years. I don’t even know what I’ll have for dinner tonight. But I do know I don’t regret the memories we made as kids or the memories we made this summer.”
My mouth falls open. I’m speechless.
“I know I want to keep making memories with you. I refuse to let your image fade away. I want to picture your hair, your eyes, your smile, the way you laugh and walk through a room. I want to picture it like I just saw it that morning.”
