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Was smiling again.

Was laughing again.

Was living again.

It was a breath of fresh air.

It made me feel less bad for leaving for the summer.

I know she didn’t do anything to make me feel bad for living and doing things, but when your as close to your mom as I was, it couldn’t be helped.

She actually encouraged me to come back and be with my friends again.

Her and my aunt were taking a vacation up north for a week or two.

It made me feel better that she was taking care of herself again.

Now, I just needed to fix my own head.

I keep driving down the road, my teeth clenched down on my bottom lip as I think back to how good they looked.

I mean, at this point would you even consider us friends?

I technically met them when I was seventeen, and this would be my third year attending the fair. But, we were “friends”?

I don’t believe so.

But, I wanted so badly to ask Willow about the masked men. To see if she could tell which is which.

The curiosity was killing me, and not knowing whose lips I have become obsessed with was driving me crazy.

My mind flashed back how demanding his felt on mine, and how my body felt like it was taking flight.

I chased that high for the whole year.

Nothing.

I mean nothing, at all, compared to it.

I think I went on ten dates total.

Tried to converse with them.

Tried to find the same hobbies or interests.

But, how can I describe that the most excitement that I’ve had recently was being chased by a masked man at a haunted carnival?

They would freak out.

“Raveeee. Can we stop and get some food before dad’s?”

I looked in the rearview mirror to see Ryan was wearing a impish grin on his face.

He was so precious.

“Sure can. Where to?”

TWENTY