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I loved it.
I had been so used to Braven Bay's slow and quiet life that this was a total change of pace, but I liked it.
“What did you pack in here,” Selena placed one of my many boxes on the kitchen counter.
I turned back to smile at my best friend. “My entire life.”
Packing up and leaving Braven was a rash and quick decision, but I had no real regrets. I was happy. I was glad to be away from that place but, most importantly, excited to put distance between me and all things Jacob Cane.
I walked over to the white counter and leaned against the excellent granite. “So what do you think?”
“It’s nice.” She looked around my studio apartment. “It’s a good start, all things considered.”
The studio had been a stroke of luck. I found it after two Zillow searches, and it was all within my price range. It had light wood floors and large windows that showed off the Chicago skyline. The kitchen was fitted, and I even had my washer and dryer. I was a happy woman.
“I must give it some Amelia ‘pazazz,’ but I love it. And it’s all mine.” My heart felt so content.
I had lived in my childhood home from the moment I was born until the very last day I left Braven. When Dad got sick, I knew I couldn't leave him alone.
It looked like the house you pictured when you thought of that ‘American dream.’ Consisting of a small yard, a white picket fence, a wraparound wooden porch, an American flag hanging next to the front door, and a homey atmosphere that draws you in. I loved it for a time. It was where I pictured raising my children with—
“No,” Selena shook my shoulders. “Stop thinking about that idiot.”
“I wasn’t.” I was.
“Yes, you were. I saw it on your face. You had that mopey dopey look in your eyes.” She gave me this look that meant she could see right through my bullshit. “He’s in your past, babes. Leave him behind there. This is your future, okay?” She gestured to the studio.
I let out a low sigh. “You’re right. I need to focus on the here and the now.”
“Atta girl. Now get the rest of your boxes. I am not lugging those things out of the U-haul anymore. I have delicate hands, you know.”
I rolled my eyes at her and left the apartment.
I took my phone from my pocket and started scrolling through my Instagram. I had been avoiding social media for the sole purpose of not seeing anything about Jake.
I had unfollowed him but still followed many of our mutual friends back home. Well, they were more his friends than mine. I had just adopted them as my friends seeing as we were with them whenever we went out together as a couple.
Now that I had stepped away from that bubble I had been in, I could see how much of my life had been absorbed by Jacob. He had never asked me to mold our lives together like that, but I had been the one to do it.
I wanted us to be one. I wanted us to intertwine the way we had been.
I scrolled through my feed, and sure enough, I saw a picture of him with his friends on Banto Lake back in Braven. They were all smiling at the camera, holding beers.
They looked like they were having a grand old time. You wouldn’t even believe this was the same man who had said he would cease breathing if we weren’t together.
Well, why weren’t you suffocating, Jacob?
This wasn’t healthy. Checking up on him like this through his friends' socials was a bad idea. If I wanted to move on, I needed actually to move on.
I went into my following, unfollowed all our mutual friends, and placed my phone back in my pocket. The elevator doors dinged, and I stepped into the four-walled space.
Each one of the walls was made up of mirrors so that I could see myself from every angle.
For the first time in over a month, I could see glimpses of the girl I used to be—the one that was carefree, happy, and in love with life. For the first time, my hazel eyes shone. They didn’t seem so dulled out and tired.
I was still hurt and heartbroken, but I knew I would heal. I would survive Jacob, just like how I had endured the loss of my parents. That's what I did. I survived. But now, after licking my wounds, I wanted to thrive.
“Welcome back, Lia.” I smiled at my reflection just as the elevator doors dinged open. I stepped out of the elevator with an extra kick in my step. But unfortunately for me, I didn’t see the wet floor sign on the tiled floors before I slipped and crashed into someone.
