Page 29 of Best Friends for Never

The screen door squeaks open, and Astrid comes out with two cups of fresh coffee.

I don’t miss that she hands me the same mug I always used to call dibs on—the one shaped like a duck she found at a garage sale.

I accept it, taking a sip and not caring that it’s hot as hell. It’s worth the burn.

I sigh contentedly. “Damn. That’s some great coffee.”

“Best in town,” Astrid agrees, taking a sip from her own piping-hot cup.

We sit quietly for several moments, just enjoying our caffeine jolt and taking in the morning. Even though so much time has passed, it’s not awkward or uncomfortable. In fact, it almost feels like this is right where I’ve always been meant to be.

“So,” she begins, “tell me how life is in Hollywood. Is it all it’s cracked up to be?”

“It’s great. I love it.”

“Did you ever go to that club I told you kids about?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“It’s a gay club now.”

“It was a gay club then too.”

I chuckle. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Didn’t think you needed one.” She shrugs, taking another drink. “So how are you really doing, son?”

There it is—her superpower.

I don’t think Astrid Pruitt has ever been able to look at someone and not know when they’re bullshitting her. She did it all the time when Parker and I were kids, and we never hesitated to be anything but honest with her. She made it easy to talk to her about everything from school to serious things, like when Gran had her breast cancer scare.

Astrid’s always been there for me like I was part of her family, and I feel like a shitty human for not being there for her these last ten years.

I scratch at the scruff on my face that I’ve been letting grow over the last few days. “Honestly? Some days, I hate it. It’s loud, things move really quickly, and the people are awful, but then I remember I get to make movies for a living, and all those bad things fade away. So my answer is a little complicated.”

“Life’s complicated.”

I laugh. “That it is. How’s Emerald Grove treating you?”

“It’s been all right. Little quiet around here lately.”

I know Astrid well enough to know she means it’s been quiet here without me around, and I love her for it.

“Did you find everything you wanted, being away?” she asks.

When I devised my plan to leave Emerald Grove, Astrid was among the first people I told because I knew she would never ask me to stay. Much like she’s always encouraged Parker to find her place in this world, she encouraged me to do so too. So when I told her the reason I was going, she nodded and told me I was making the best decision I could at the time.

When I left, I held on to that with everything I had, even if it meant hurting people I loved.

While I love Emerald Grove and have so many good memories here, I also have a lot of bad ones, like losing my parents when I was only eight. They loved this town but always wanted to travel more. Leaving felt like a nod to their missed adventures, so after high school graduation rolled around, I did just that, wanting to fill the void that losing them left behind.

Even though, after all these years of being away and doing what my parents always wanted—exploring the world—I still feel like part of me is empty and something is missing. Yet I don’t regret leaving.

I sit forward, resting my elbows on my knees, blowing on my coffee. “Yes and no. I’m not sure I’ll ever find what I want. It feels so ... far away.”

“You’re too young to say that. I guarantee what you want isn’t as out of reach as you think.”

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