“That’s good.”
He reaches out, gently brushing a strand of hair from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek. His gaze softens, and then he leans in. I know he’s going to kiss me, and I let him. It’s a lingering kiss that holds everything we’ve been through and everything we never were. When we pull back, there’s a sadness between us.
“Do you forgive me for sending those messages?” he asks.
“Yeah. I do.”
“I really did like you, Gemini.”
I smile at him. “I liked you too, Everest. But let’s face it—you’re too cheerful and optimistic for a cynic like me.”
“Hey. Might I remind you, I killed someone? Technically that makes me a bad boy now, doesn’t it?”
His voice is light, but the joke is a dark one, the kind I never thought he’d make. It makes me laugh in spite of myself.
“Maybe.” I nudge his shoulder. “But even bad boys need a fresh start. After you fix things with Nikki and your dad, go to Alabama. Roll Tide. Start over. Leave all of this behind.”
“I will.”
“And forgive yourself. You were just a kid, and what happened with your mom was an accident.”
As I say those words, something shifts in me. I feel the weight of my own childhood, the terror and helplessness of hiding under the bed while my father shot my mother. I was just a kid too. I couldn’t have stopped him. I hid because I was scared.
That doesn’t make me weak; it makes me human.
I feel the shackles of guilt start to loosen. I’ve carried this for so long, but now I realize I don’t have to.
We both deserve to start again.
I need to pick up my cap and gown at the high school today, but I’ve been helping Maggie with an open house, so I’m cutting it super close by the time I make it to the gym.
I get there just as they’re about to wrap things up. Most of the gowns have already been claimed.
“You almost missed it, Miss Shipley,” Principal Healey chides as the volunteer hands me the cap, gown, and tassel. “I hope you’re not late for graduation.” I’m about to apologize when she adds, “That goes for you too, Mr.Hedlund.”
I turn to see Chase sauntering into the gym. “I’m hurt,” he says. “I’d wait around all day for you, Principal Healey.”
He collects his cap and gown, winking at me.
As we walk down the empty hall together afterward, he says, “Have you made up your mind yet?”
“About what?”
“The epic road trip? I’m leaving the day after graduation.”
I hug the garment bag to my chest as I try to keep up with his long strides. “I still can’t tell if you’re joking.”
“I never joke.”
“I don’t know if I can. Or, I guess, if Ishould.”
Chase flashes a cocky grin. “You definitely should.”
“What about everything that happened? What about Everett?”
“What about him? Everett’s my friend, sure, but I know he’d get it. He’d want you to be happy.”
I let out a breath, wanting so badly to believe him. To believe that I deserve something good after everything. But another part still fights, still clings to the darkness because it’s the only thing that’s felt certain for so long.
