Page 83 of Rewriting the Story

The words have been pouring out of me, and after months of pulling my own hair out over this manuscript, things are finally moving in the right direction.

I should feel excited about it, but it’s left me feeling a bit empty. After everything that has happened over the past two weeks, I thought I would be elated to write again. That is why I came here, isn't it? I wanted to subject myself to the emotional torture that is being around Amelia because I knew it would work, and it has, but I don’t feel how I thought I would.

“Hey, buddy,” Grant says as he hands me a drink. As the best man, I assumed he would be hanging around Oliver all night, but he and Paige are mingling. “Figured you would need this.”

“Thanks,” I say as I take a sip of the mixed drink.

“It’s weird,” Grant says, taking a sip of his own drink. “Seeing everyone here is an odd feeling I can’t quite place.”

“Well, this is the first wedding to come out of your group. There’s bound to be some big emotions and nostalgia.”

“Sometimes, I want to go back,” he tells me, smiling from ear to ear as he settles his gaze on Hads across the room. She’s talking with Claire, who’s leaning against Jacks, but her eyes find him in an instant and she winks. He’s blushing when I look back over at him.

“Back to where it all started? Didn't you two hate one another back then?”

“She disliked me, but I was a goner from the moment I saw her.” He looks at me. “Do you ever wish to go back when everything felt easier?”

“All the time,” I tell him. “There’s this ache of remembering I have every once in a while, and somehow, I don’t think it will ever go away.”

“Well,” he taps my arm with a small box, “it’s nothing, really, but I wanted to get something for you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend, Henry, and I know this week has been tough for you.”

I open the small box to find a t-shirt that says ‘Team Henry.’ I thought Grant made these before Amelia and I got together in college, but maybe I’m misremembering. He must sense my confusion, because he speaks again.

“I’ll always be in your corner, man. No matter if you’re around or not, I’ll always be cheering you on from afar. If you have no fans, it means I’m dead.”

I laugh before he brings me in for a hug. “Thank you, Grant.”

“Anything for my favorite author.” He clinks his glass with mine before we’re interrupted.

“I don’t mean to break up whatever interaction this is,” Amelia says as she steps up to us. “But can I steal Henry from you?”

“Of course.” Grant tips his glass to Amelia. “If you need me, I’ll be stealing my girl from everyone else.”

I try to swallow, but my throat feels thick as her presence overwhelms me.

“I wanted to apologize again. For everything that happened in the parking lot, for leaving, for all of it. And this isn't some guilty, bullshit apology. I’m just…I’m sorry for everything.”

I set the shirt on a small table before I turn back to her. “I’m sorry too. For yelling, for doing it in public. I didn't want it to happen like this.”

“I know,” she says, her face falling as she looks around the room. “I just can’t help but think about what would have changed if I just asked you about the ring.”

“We can’t really know that, Ames.”

She shrugs her shoulders before taking another sip of what I assume is a mocktail. She hasn't been drinking this week, and I assume it's because of whatever medication she’s taking. “I know, but maybe we would have been celebrating Oliver and Paigetogether instead of…this.”

I shake my head at her before I slam the rest of my drink and set my glass down. “Look, Amelia, I appreciate the apology, really, I do. I just don’t know what else you want from me.” I’m glad we’ve cleared the air, but I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep throwing myself back into her orbit because I know how this all ends. She has to focus on herself for the time being, and I don’t know if we’ll find our way back to one another again, but I can’t see that happening.

She gave me her necklace back. That to me is the biggest signal in the world that we’re done, no longer intertwined how we’ve been since college.

“We’re over, Amelia.” The words somehow escape through the thickness in my throat. “What happened between us happened, and we have to accept that we lost one another. I won’t give myself over to you again. I won’t do it.”

She nods. “I’ve broken your heart, Hen. I know I did, but truth be told, I’m not sure what I want. I’m still adjusting to this new part of my life.”

“Well, maybe you should figure that out before you run back to England. I won’t let you play with my feelings again, Amelia, especially not when I still have love in my heart for you somehow.”

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