Us.
What this meant. What I wanted.
Could I truly share her and not lose myself in it?
I wasn’t sure.
But I knew one thing… I needed to figure it out.
Fast.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sadie
The early morningair was crisp as I stepped onto the front porch, coffee cup warm between my hands.
Medford was quieter at this hour, the streets still waking up, the world not yet demanding answers from me.
Three months.
Three months back in this town, and I still felt like I was hovering between two worlds… the one I had left behind and the one I was trying to build.
I took a slow sip of coffee, letting the warmth settle in my chest, as Hayley stepped out beside me, wrapping a sweater around her shoulders.
“You’re up early,” she noted with the kind of gentle concern that had always made her feel like home.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I confessed.
She gave me a knowing look before settling into the porch chair next to mine, cradling her own mug. “Your brain won’t slow down, huh?”
I huffed a quiet laugh. “That obvious?”
“Sadie, sweetheart, I have known you for years. I can see it all over your face.”
I smiled, letting my shoulders relax as I sank into the conversation. “I’m just trying to figure out my next move. Job hunting combined with apartment hunting in… well, God knows where, isn’t exactly a thrilling adventure.”
“Do you really have to go?”
I hesitated, staring down into my coffee. “I don’t know.”
Hayley sighed, tucking her legs up beneath her. “You’ve always been restless. Even when you first got here, you were always looking ahead, always wondering what came next.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, well, right now, ‘next’ is looking a little blurry.”
She was quiet for a moment, watching me the way only she could.
“And Kai?” she asked finally, a knowing lilt in her voice. “I see the way he looks at you, sweetheart. And the way you look at him when you don’t think anyone’s watching.”
My stomach twisted.
Guilt curled in my chest like smoke, thick and choking.
If only she knew the truth.
I forced a small smile. “It’s… complicated.”
Hayley arched a brow. “Love always is.”