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We spend one day at the beach. I think of Tyler and slather on sunscreen several times throughout the day.
“Damn, girl, don’t you wanna tan a little?” Cat asks as she watches me apply another thick coat.
“Some color is nice, but I don’t want to burn. After watching Tyler go through hell—”
“Um, what?” Cat shrieks, interrupting me.
I blink, and then it dawns on me what I just said.
“You saw Tyler?”
I nod and avoid her glare. Last I told her and Madison was that we hadn’t spoken in months.
“Uhhhh H-E-L-L-O? are you going to spill the tea or what? Please tell me you had wild sex. Please. Anything to spice up my boring-ass sex life.”
I laugh. I forgot how over the top Cat can be. “No, nothing like that. I bumped into him at the grocery store, he helped me fix my flat tire, and I helped him with a bad sunburn he had.”
“You helped him with a bad sunburn? And wait—back up—he works on cars? His hot level just fucking skyrocketed.” Cat whistles as her eyes widen. She digs her toes into the sand and wraps her arms around her knees. Like she’s settling in for a huge story. “Tell me all the details.”
I fill her in on the latest since seeing him in the store. “I went by last night to check on him. His burn is bad. So many blisters.”
“Ouch. I bet he doesn’t make that mistake again. So are you guys just friends now?”
“I don’t know if I would even call it that. We were just helping each other out.”
“Mm-hmm, sure. Just helping each other out.” Cat smirks.
“It’s true. Besides, why have a repeat of last summer? I’m leaving again. He’s staying here.”
“Yeah, you’re right. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.”
“I don’t deserve his love again, anyway.”
“What? How could you say that?”
“I treated him like shit, Cat. He called me, he texted me, he even visited me in Cali.”
“I know. You told me all this.”
“But I left out how mean I was. How much I pushed him away.”
“It’s okay. We all fuck up and make mistakes. I’m sure he’ll forgive you. And he made his own mistakes when he lied. It wasn’t just you.”
“He lied because of how mad I got whenever he showed up.”
“Did you ever stop to think why you behaved this way? Why you pushed him away so hard?”
I shake my head. Tears fill my eyes.
“Maybe you were afraid of being hurt again? I saw how hurt both of you were at the end of the summer. No one wants to feel that way.”
The tears slip down my cheeks as the realization dawns on me. Cat’s right. I was afraid of the hurt, the pain I was trying to move on from after leaving him behind in Jersey.
Which turned me into a selfish bitch. I went about everything in the wrong way.
“Oh no, Chloe. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s not you. It’s me. My actions. Thank you for making me realize.”
