Page 89 of Hot Girl Summer

No matter how badly I want to.

The door between us is the perfect metaphor. Wide open, how a heart should be. He opened mine, and in turn I opened up myself to hurt, grief, and love. As much as I want to close it, the desire to keep it open is stronger now. To be able to experience the greatness of love, even if it isn’t supposed to be with Danny.

“Sophia, I—”

My name on his lips are the only word I want to hear for eternity. I blink back tears, and hand him the bouquet, along with the dress hanger.

“The flowers are for you. I wanted to say thank you for your donation, it’s going to make a huge difference.” I’m trying so hard to be brave, that there’s no room to be bold. His mossy, amber eyes are glazed and guilt-ridden. “But you can’t throw money at something and call it an apology.”

Inside, my heart is breaking, but I wear my brave face well.

“I deserve that.”

“Can I just have my bike back, please?”

“Will you at least wait inside?”

“No, it’s fine. I can see you have company.” I fold my arms across my chest, and for a moment, his eyes narrow.

“That’s Amelia. My niece.”

“Of course it is.” I roll my eyes.

“I wasn’t lying before. She really does live here in term time.”

Oh.

“I’m sorry. I just thought...because of what your mum said. That it was Belle’s dress this entire time, and—” And now I want the ground to swallow me.

“My mum feels terrible about what she said. She has memory problems, and she gets confused sometimes because of her TIA.”

“It’s not your mum’s fault. I overreacted.”

“You didn’t. I was being a dickhead. The reason I didn’t say anything was because I didn’t want to start any drama. My entire life I’ve avoided stressing my mum out, because I’m terrified she’ll get sick, but it doesn’t excuse the way I acted that night. It was like I was on autopilot. I was so deep in my own shit, that I wasn’t even thinking about you.”

He looks behind me to the rain, which hasn’t eased up. I now look like a drowned, depressed mess. “I was selfish, and I should never have disregarded your feelings like that. I should have said something as soon as my mum started talking about Belle, and I genuinely didn’t realise she had ever worn that dress. I’m so sorry for everything.”

Penny barks impatiently in the background.

“Please come in.”

Reluctantly, I follow him inside. The house already holds so much history, and I’m not sure if it’s possible to keep my emotions in check. As soon as I step over the threshold, Penny is at my feet. God, I’ve missed that adorable little face, the loving licks on my hand, and her soft golden fur. I introduce myself to Amelia, who’s sitting on the sofa with her nose in her phone, and continue to play with Penny.

“I missed you, girl,” I whisper.

Awhile later, Danny returns with my bike.

“Thank you.” I bend down, choking back tears as I say goodbye to the pure joy that is Penny. Who knew I could get so attached to that bundle of fluff so quickly?

“You know, that’s not the whole reason I made the donation.”

I spin to face him.

“I donated because it’s important to you. And what’s important to you is important to me.”

Our eyes lock, and in this moment, nothing else matters.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asks.

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