Page 61 of Between Never and Forever
He doesn’t because he can’t. He knows I’m right.
I close my eyes and nod. I wipe my face, smearing my eyeliner on my cheeks. Always such a mess.
“Get out.”
I turn and walk back into my bedroom, then shut the door. I stand with my back to him, to his presence in my living room, and though there’s three inches of wood and ten feet of raggedy carpet between us, I can stillfeelhim. His hands on my skin. His breath on my neck. Him moving inside me.
I wish it was you.
I wish it was you.
I wish it was you.
I’m never going to forget it.
I’m always going to be his, but now he has to be hers.
It fills me with so much anger that I can hardly breathe.
Girls like me don’t get guys like Levi Cooper. Girls like me get guys like Sean. Or Oscar. Girls like me get guys like Terry, just like my mother.
The Levi Coopers of the world always end up with the Julianna Larks.
I stomp to my clothing bin and flip it over, dumping out all the contents, then I dig around in the clothing pile until I find what I want. A small clutch purse. Without over thinking it, I pop it open and snag the key, then I stand and go back into the hallway.
Levi is dressed now, but he’s still standing in the middle of the living room looking lost. I bite my cheek as I stand across from him. Close enough to touch, but too far away to ever have.
“I don’t want her,” Levi whispers, his voice a broken, bleeding thing. “I never wanted her. I want you. I’ve only ever wanted you. Iloveyou, Savannah. I don’t want Jules.”
I whimper, biting my cheek harder until I taste blood. I try to fight the tears, but I’m just not strong enough.
“Well, that’s too bad,” I say, closing the distance. “Because she’s who you get.”
“The universe isn’t done with us yet, Savannah. It can’t be. I know it.”
I stop in front of him and shrug before taking his hand.
“Maybe it’s not,” I whisper, pressing the key into his palm. “But I am.”
I don’t look him in the eyes. I can’t. Instead, I stare at his chest. I clear my throat, then speak with as much certainty as I can fake.
“I never want to see you again.”
Then I turn around and go back to my room. When I come back out an hour later, Levi is gone.
NOW
PART THREE
* * *
15
26 Years Old
“Thank you so much,New York City!”
My voice booms through the Garden, mixing with and melting into the collective noise of the crowd, and not for the first time, I wonder if I’ll miss this.
