“Is that Wyatt McCann?”
“What? No way.” Alex looks to see for herself.
“Where?” I ask, trying to follow Chloe’s line of sight. And sure enough, a flash of floppy red hair catches my attention, and I sink a little lower to try to disappear. “Oh my God.” It’s been about four years since I’ve seen him and even longer since we’ve spoken, but somehow, the sight of him still makes me want to hide.
“Who’s Wyatt McCann?” Tyler asks, craning his neck to see who we’re talking about.
Chloe continues to stare, her expression somewhere between delighted and surprised. “Julia’s old boyfriend.”
“For, like, a week,” I tell Tyler. “We were twelve.”
Chloe leans around me and stage-whispers, “He dumped her for Lily Felton because she had bigger boobs.” I smack Chloe on the shoulder because I don’t need the reminder, and Ireallydon’t need Tyler hearing that. It’s just as embarrassing now as it was then. Even if my breasts have filled out nicely, thank you very much.
“Debatable,” Alex says and stands in front of me like a humanshield. I put my arms over her shoulders and lean forward, resting my chin on top of her head.
Wyatt hovers near the deep end with two girls and another guy I’ve never seen before. He’s a little scrawny, very pale, and looks as if he hasn’t showered in days. I scrunch my nose. We were only twelve, and even then, I never had any grand ideas that we’d last through sixth grade, let alone middle school, but somehow, I still feel as though I’ve dodged a bullet.
“Did he go to Welton?” Tyler asks, eyeing him a little more suspiciously now that he knows a piece of my middle school history.
“Nah,” Alex answers. “He was funneled to Spring Hills.”
“He was my very first boyfriend,” I say, thinking back to how excited I was to find out that he liked me back.
“And the worst,” Chloe supplies.
“Also debatable,” Alex adds, and I smile. I’m fairly certain that other than Tyler, Alex has disliked everyone I’ve ever dated or shown interest in.
“He gave me this gold necklace with a little jewel on it,” I explain, trying to give Tyler a little more context. “But when he dumped me, he asked for it back to give to Lily.”
“Because she had bigger boobs?” he says, trying hard to keep up. “I’m sorry, babe. Want me to go punch him?”
“Alex already tried that.” I squeeze Alex’s arms and drop a kiss on the top of her head before pulling away.
“He was a dick,” she says casually, as if Chloe and I didn’t have to physically hold her back from marching across the pool deck and knocking him to the next state over.
“He was a hormonal preteen,” I amend when Alex turns to face me. It’s easier to forgive in hindsight. Even if, at the time, it did feel like he threw my heart into a blender.
I take the bow and arrow pendant dangling from the silver chain around my neck between my fingers and fall into a memory of later that night, when Alex threw rocks at my bedroom window and asked me to meet her outside. We sat on the swings on my backyard swing set and she unhooked this chain around her neck and fastened it around mine.
You’re way cooler than Lily Felton. And prettier, too. I just wanted you to know how special you are and that you deserve to have your own necklace. You also deserve way better than stupid Wyatt McCann.
I remember the tears that pricked my eyes and the gentle weight of the pendant and how it felt warm against my skin. Alex’s necklace, her good luck charm, the one piece of jewelry I never saw her without, was now mine and acting like a balm for my bleeding heart. Her Sagittarius archer.
She never let me return it, and eventually, I stopped trying. So I wore it like a badge, a constant reminder that the Wyatts of the world would come and go, but my best friend would always be there to pick up the pieces. A reminder of how loved I already am.
I press the tip of the arrow with my thumb, then drag it along the outward arch of the bow. Alex follows the movement, and we share a smile.
“She did push him into the pool during break and got him benched for fifteen minutes,” Chloe says, pulling Alex and I from our unspoken exchange. I remember how proud Alex had been afterward.
“Do you think he knows it’s you?” Tyler asks, still eyeing him warily.
Wyatt seems perfectly lost into his own little bubble, and I sit up, no longer feeling the need to hide. “I doubt he even remembers me.”
Tyler puts his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close. “I don’t think so. You’re impossible to forget.” He bends his head, and I meet him for a kiss.
Chloe leans back to rest her weight on her hands. “Eh, screw Wyatt. You’ve upgraded since then.”
“Aw, thanks Chloe,” Tyler says, sounding genuinely touched by her compliment.
