“Thanks, love. I know.”
I slip away and head into my room, tossing myself onto the bed. The second my head hits the pillow, I close my eyes and hope the ache in my chest dulls with sleep.
It doesn’t.
But maybe, if I pretend long enough, I’ll start to believe it’s gone.
18
Aspen
“Aspen! I’m so glad I caught you!” Rebecca, the front desk clerk, calls out just as I’m heading to see if my brother wants to grab lunch on our break.
“Hey Beck. What’s up?” I ask her.
She glances down at a yellow sticky note in her hand. “Someone left a message for you. Her name’s Genevieve. She said she’s sorry, but she had to go home and won’t be able to make your date tonight.” Her voice softens as she hands me the note, sympathy written all over her face.
No.
This isn’t happening.
How did I forget she was only visiting?
I thought we had more time.
My stomach drops like I caught an edge on a steep run—one second I’m coasting, the next I’m tumbling. My palms are slick with sweat and suddenly I’m freezing, even inside.
“Did she leave a number?” I ask, my voice hollow.
Rebecca shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”
I nod, swallowing hard. “Thanks, Becks.” Then I head to the bathroom and take my first bump of the day.
I guess now I can buy more snow to get by. It’s the only thing that will help me get through this pain.
No, I can’t. I promised myself. For Genevieve.
But I need it.
In the bathroom stall, I take a small bump, allowing the snow to work it’s magic: numb me from pain.
I can’t believe she’s gone. Just like that.
No goodbye. No number. Nothing.
Did I seriously mean nothing to her? I felt like I stuck the landing… and turns out I wasn’t even in the competition. Was I the only one who felt something?
No way this is real. Genevieve isn’t the ghosting type. She wouldn’t just vanish like that without another word.
Except that’s exactly what she would do. I just thought I was different.
Maybe I read her wrong, or the situation wrong. Maybe I was all in while she was still strapping in.
What am I going to do now? I have no way of reaching out.
For crying out loud, the only reason I met her in the first place was pure chance. A random night, a fleeting moment—my brother just happened to get invited toherparty and I just happened to show up.
That same kind of luck doesn’t come around twice.
