Page 86 of Good Graces

I get up, pull on a pair of sweats, and head for my dresser. The top drawer sticks like always, and I have to jerk it twice before it gives.

I know exactly what I’m looking for.

The chain. Thin, silver curb links. Quinn gave it to me our first week at Dayton. She’d told me it was sexy. That I should wear it whenever I’m not swimming. So, I did—for months. Slipped it on after practice like I was putting on armor, like it meant something.

After the breakup, I shoved it in this drawer, buried it under socks and T-shirts and all the other things I didn’t know what to do with anymore. Out of sight, out of mind.

Now, I’m holding it again. The metal’s cool against my palm, and I rub my thumb absently over the chain links. I contemplate putting it back. Forgetting her hands around me, hooking it there the first time. But then I fasten the clasp and let it rest against my skin.

Feels good. Feels right.

I get dressed—jeans, an old Dayton soccer hoodie—and head out to the kitchen. It’s quiet still. The cereal box is still half-open from yesterday, and I pour myself a bowl, the faint crackle of milk on raisin bran the only sound in the room.

It’s a normal day. Nothing special. But everything feels different. Like something’s shifted, like something huge happened, and the world just hasn’t caught on yet. A cataclysmic ripple in the ordinary.

I sit at the table, spoon in hand, and stare down at the cereal like it’s gonna offer some kind of answer.

Quinn and I didn’t talk much after. Just lay there in the field, tangled up in each other until the sky started to darken. There’s still so much to say—so much to figure out—but for now? I think we’re ... enough.

We’ve done enough, said enough, in order to move forward. To start again and trust the rest will come.

Footsteps thud down the hall, and a second later, Liam appears in the doorway, hair still damp from a shower, earbuds dangling from his collar.

“Morning, sunshine,” he says, reaching into the fridge for a protein shake. “You look like you’ve seen God.”

I snort. “Something like that.”

He cracks the cap off his shake and leans against the counter. “Special night?”

I raise an eyebrow. “It was fine. Where’s Birdie?”

“She has a big showcase coming up. Wanted to rest.”

“No wonder I slept like a baby,” I add. “House was weirdly quiet.”

Liam grins, all sharp and easy. “Yeah, bud, must’ve been real quiet.” He takes a swig of his shake, then tilts his head like he’s noticing something for the first time. “Are you wearing a necklace?”

“It’s achain,” I mutter, fingers curling around the thin silver links as I tuck it back under my shirt.

“Right,” Liam deadpans. “So ... a necklace, then?”

I shoot him a look, but he’s still smiling all big like he knows something. Like he knows it means more than I’m letting on.

I focus back on my cereal, shoveling another spoonful into my mouth.

“You’re not gonna explain that one?” he presses.

I chew. Swallow. Sigh. “It was a gift from my ex. We ... recently reconnected.”

He blinks. “Youhad a girlfriend?”

“Once upon a time.”

“Wow.” He taps his chin, mock thinks. Smirks. “And in this magical fairy-tale land, did you smile more?”

I laugh despite myself. “I think so. Probably, yeah.”

“You were all smiles when I walked in here, just so you know.”

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