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“Come here.” She stands up and extends her hands.
I reluctantly let her pull me up. The second I’m on my feet, she wraps me in a hug.
“I mean it. You’re going to be okay.”
“Thanks, Sarbear,” I whisper.
She steps back, squeezes my hands, and nods. “Want to walk back to the dorm with me?”
I glance around. “Thanks, but I think there’s somewhere else I need to go right now.”
“Okay.” She gives me one more hug, then says, “Call if you need anything.”
“Sure.”
She stares at me, emotion in her eyes. “I love you, A. We all do.”
“Yeah. I love you too.”
I watch as she walks away, then hop in my truck. Scrolling through my phone, I find a murder mystery podcast, then navigate out of the parking lot, hoping I can keep it together for the drive ahead of me.
Rae
I’m a hot mess.
Snot bubbles coming out of my nose crying, I wander across campus toward the dorm.
Yeah, I’m officiallythat girl.
I’m clearly not paying attention, because I nearly run into a body that appears in front of me. Hands grab my arms and a deep voice says, “Rae?” Then I’m wrapped in strong arms and I breathe a sigh of relief. They might not be the arms I want to be in, but they’re still safety.
I look up into Miles’s emerald eyes, which are dark with concern.
“What happened?”
“Aaron and I—Aaron and I—” I sniff on more tears. I can’t say it.
“Oh, shit.” He squeezes me tightly as I cry. He doesn’t ask questions, which I appreciate. Eventually, he loosens his grip, locks one arm behind my back, and starts guiding me back toward the dorm.
“What do I do now, Miles?” I ask.
He leans down and says softly, “You keep living.”
“But how? We were supposed to have everything.”
“You still will.”
I lean against him. “It’s hard to believe that. It’s hard to even want that. Then it’s hard not to.”
“Look, we’re eighteen. It’s our first year of college. We’re all figuring shit out. It’s not easy to do that as a couple. You might need space, but you two will always come back to each other. Like Noah and Allie.”
I stop and stare at him, blinking as I do. “Did you seriously just referenceThe Notebook?”
He grins at me. “I didn’t get girls with just my charm and good looks. Sometimes you have to suffer through shit like that.”
I laugh a little. It feels good. And strange. “I don’t think I want a love story like Noah and Allie. They were a fucking mess.”
“He built her a house.”
