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“Coming!” I call back, grabbing my phone off the charger and heading for the stairs.
Cassie is leaning against the wall that separates the kitchen from the entryway when I descend the steps. She smiles approvingly when she sees my choice of attire, which is a first. For once, we’re dressed similarly. Cassie is wearing a pale pink sundress that pulls out the lighter shades in her dirty blonde hair.
“Damn, girl,” she tells me. “You lookhot.”
I laugh. “You sure you don’t want to rifle through my collection of fleeces before we go? For old times’ sake?”
Cassie rolls her brown eyes. “You ready?”
I hike the strap of my duffel bag up on my shoulder. “Yup. Let’s go.”
“Is Caleb back yet?” she asks as we head outside.
“I don’t think so. He said it’d probably be closer to seven.”
“Excited for your weekend getaway?”
“Yeah, I am,” I reply honestly as we climb into her car and start down the driveway.
Time with Caleb is a limited, precious thing. Basically the polar opposite of how I viewed interacting with him for most of high school.
“Is Kyle coming tonight?” I ask. I’m not the biggest fan of the guy she’s been dating for the last five months, but I tolerate him for Cassie.
“Nope.” She pops the P.
“Everything going okay between you guys?”
“Things aren’tgoingat all. We’re on a break that’s headed for a break-up.”
“I’m sorry, Cassie.”
“It’s fine. College is a time for exploring new things, right? Meeting new people.”
“Right,” I reply dryly, and she catches it. College hasn’t been either of those things for me.
“I didn’t mean…”
“I know. It’s fine,” I assure Cassie.
I haven’t told anyone about applying to Clarkson, except for Caleb. And now Gramps. The more people who I tell, the more I’ll have to let know I’m staying put after all.
I know some people judge me for the decision I made senior year of high school. Who see staying in Landry as giving up or being lazy.
But it was my decision to make, and I made it. I’m two semesters away from earning a degree. Not at an Ivy League institution like most teenagers I graduated alongside, but labels and reputations are things I’ve always done my best to disregard.
I’m at peace with my decision to stay in Landry.
I just didn’t expect to fall—and stay—in love with someone who means just as much to me as the fifteen acres of dirt that contain everything else in the world that matters to me.
“Only one more year,” Cassie tells me, in what I know she means to be a comforting manner.
“Yeah,” I agree, although the statement isn’t much of an assurance. Things between me and Caleb won’t magically become less complicated next year. The exact opposite, actually.
If Caleb pursues baseball professionally, he could end up anywhere in the country. If he opts for a business career, he’ll end up in some big, busy city that is not Landry, Kentucky. Living three hours apart doesn’t sound all that terrible compared to either of those two scenarios.
Cassie seems to sense my discomfort with the topic, because she lets the subject drop as she parks outside Colt’s house. Like most of the residences in Landry, it’s obnoxiously large. The circular driveway is packed with cars.
It takes Cassie ten minutes to maneuver into a spot that ensures neither the car in front nor behind will be able to leave until she does. I open my door over a flowerbed and sigh. Even if she wanted to, I don’t think Cassie could shift spots. I pick my way through daisies and mulch, finally ending up on the brick walkway right behind Cassie.
