"Oh, hi," I say, holding up my finger. "Yeah, that's no problem. I'm sure, really. Okay, I'll see you then."
"Who was that?" Brooke asks, barely waiting long enough for me to end the call to start prying.
I look down at my phone, still a little stunned. "Liam. He just asked me to go with them this weekend."
Her eyes go wide. "Well, well, well. Would you look at that?"
I slide the blanket off my legs and scoot closer to the edge of the sofa. "I wonder what made him change his mind."
Brooke shrugs. "Who cares? You just bought yourself three nights to figure out a new living situation."
I laugh under my breath as I stand, grateful that she's right. "I better go then. I want to pack before Trevor gets home."
Brooke joins me as I walk back into the living room. "Seriously, if you need a place to stay when you get back from Grand Oaks, we have plenty of room."
"Thanks, but I don't want to intrude."
Brooke shakes her head. "Oh, stop, you're fine. Drew and I would survive a few days."
I look behind her at her fiancé and his best friend wiping streaks of paint off of each other's cheeks. "Oh, I wasn't talking about you two."
She creases her brow and follows my gaze. Smiling, she turns back to me. "Aren't they adorable? It's like I'm marrying into a boy band."
"Only they skate and hit rather than sing and dance."
Brooke holds her hand up, stopping me. "Eh, sometimes they do both."
My mind wanders back to the video she showed me of Drew asking her to be his girlfriend by serenading her on the ice. He sang MGK's Cliché while dancing on skates with Brett and his two other teammates as backups.
"You got yourself a good one," I say, smiling from the memory. My face falls as the next thought surfaces—the reminder of what I'm going back to. Of another ending.
“Hey,” Brooke says softly, reading my expression. “Go to Grand Oaks and clear your head. Use the time to think about things.”
I nod, wrapping my arms around her. "Thanks, B. I will."
She squeezes back. "Of course. Have fun this weekend. Oh, and bring a bathing suit."
I look at her half-confused and half-intrigued.
"Just trust me," she says.
I smile, then glance once more at the guys—Drew grinning and shaking his head at a paint-streaked Brett—then head out. “See ya later, boys."
Pushing open Trevor's apartment door feels harder today. Like the weight of the unknown is stacked behind it, slowing my entrance. Everything has happened so fast—I went from dating Trevor,staying home this weekend, and not really knowing where I stand with Liam to ending things with Trevor, traveling with the Gators, and well… still not really knowing where I stand with Liam.
The good news is that my mood has lifted. On the drive back here, I realized that as shitty as a break-up will be, I've prepared for this all along.
We already weren't together much because of our schedules, and recently, even when we were physically in the same place, we were never really present and connected. That's the reason I don't know any of the people he seems to be friendly with at work and why my siblings literally can't even remember his first name. We lived side-by-side but separately, in love with the idea of each other, but not actually invested. We were technically together, but basically alone.
And that was fine at the time.
With that in mind, I almost feel better as I step inside, still hoping he hasn't made it home yet. Maybe this will just… end. Amicably, clean. I mean, deep down, we always knew this was coming. I'd rather just move on.
The place is empty, thank God. No lights on, no TV humming in the background. In fact, the apartment is almost peaceful, as if it knows our time together is coming to an end—dark, still, silent except for…
What is that?
I freeze, my grasp tightening around the strap of my purse pulled across my chest. A clink rings out like metal tossed to the floor, followed by a high-pitched…was that a giggle?
