Page 101 of Faux Real
“Goodbye, Oliver.” I pull my hand away, nodding at the drunk girl smoking behind him. “I’m sure you’ll have agreatwinter break.”
“Kennedy, please!” Oliver begs. “Don’t leave, I’m so sorry! I really am!”
“Me too,” I say, shrugging off his grip and walking away.
And I walk. And walk. And walk. With no destination in mind.
No idea where I’m going.
Lost. Always lost.
“KC?” I crane my neck to a voice coming from a car pulling up to the sidewalk. He parks and hops out. “Hey, what’re you doing out here?”
“Hi,” I say, wiping tears off my cheek. “I’m just uh—on a walk.”
“Were you crying?” Sawyer asks, scanning my face intently. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” I mumble, cringing at myself. Hilton Hears is going to thank me for this one. “Actually, umm... Oliver and I broke up.”
“Oh,” he hums. “That sucks, sorry.”
“Yeah,” I say, chewing my bottom lip. “Sure does.”
“Do you uh—want a ride somewhere?” He points to the Hummer. “Max’s place, maybe?”
Somewhere. Somewhere safe. Warm. Comforting.
“Actually,” I say, pulling out my phone. “Can you drive me to New Haven?”
“New Haven?” Sawyer asks. “What’s in New Haven?”
“My mom,” I smile, focusing my energy on the good. “She called me.”
Sawyer’s eyes light up. “No way! What? When?”
“I’ll tell you on the drive,” I chuckle, nodding at the car. “Will you take me?”
“Of course.” Sawyer opens the passenger’s side door for me. He smiles, expression soft as he adds, “Been a while since we’ve been on a road trip together.”
“Yeah,” I say, climbing into the car. “It has.”
Maybe being lost isn’t so bad.
It’s a way to be found.
thirty-one
Making Waves
KENNEDY
Memoriesarelikeoceanwaves. They can be beautiful, soothing,comforting. But they can also be deadly, destructive, damaging. For over an hour, I was expecting the latter. I was anticipating a surge of repressed emotions to flow through me, to take me back to a few months ago. Back to a time when spending even a second in Sawyer’s presence would make me crumble. But it didn’t happen.
I’m still standing.
And the only thing I feel right now is gratitude. I’m grateful I got to spend time with my friend. That’s what he was to me. A friend. A friend I fell in love with. But always a friend first.
Maybe wecanbe friends again.
