Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
I heard Willow swallow. “Three weeks.”
“Three weeks?” I repeated back to her in a high shrill I didn’t know my voice was capable of making. Clearing my throat, I tried to calm down. “That’s so soon.”
“I know.”
We were silent for a moment, and I knew I was making her accomplishment seem like something she should be sad about. Which was dramatic and immature, and I was trying to be better at both, so I forced a smile. “Well, we have a lot of shopping to do in three weeks if we’re going to get you ready for college.”
Willow squeaked. “Oh my God, Nat. I got in! I’m going to the advanced program at Appalachian State!”
We both screamed together and I felt a surge of pride for my best friend. I didn’t want her to go, but I was proud of her. She deserved every bit of success I knew she would achieve.
I just wasn’t sure where I fit in her new plans.
Or what my plans would be.
“Gotta go, we just got to the restaurant. I love you!”
“Love you too, Lo.”
When we hung up, I stared down at the phone in my hand, the heavy silence of the empty house giving me goosebumps. Mom and Dale were out of town for the week traveling for business and to see a few family friends. Other than Christina, all our other help was off for the week, too. I was alone, and the one person I would call to comfort me was the one currently causing the pain.
I had no right to be upset that Willow was leaving — that much I knew. Still, whether that was the case or not, I felt like a part of me was being ripped away. Willow had been my best friend since we were toddlers. We never went more than a week without seeing each other. We were supposed to go to college together — it was always in our plans. But she was going to college and I was staying in Poxton Beach.
I had no idea how to handle that.
Even worse, it was my fault I was staying. I could have joined Willow a couple of months later in the fall, but I hadn’t so much as looked at how much the application fee for Appalachian State was, let alone apply. Because at the end of the day, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was lost. I was idle. And the world kept spinning on without me.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about my options, because I had. The truth was that the biggest part of me really wanted to go to an arts school, if I was going to do the college thing at all. But admitting that to myself wasn’t nearly as hard as it would be to tell Mom and Dale. They would want me at Appalachian State. With my best friend going there, it shouldn’t have seemed like such a big deal to me to not go, but it was. I didn’t want to be like everyone else in Poxton Beach. In fact, I wanted out of the town altogether.
The shock of that admission hit me in the chest and I exhaled a long breath.
I flipped through my contacts, landing on Mason’s number and staring at it. My thumb hovered over the call button, my breath labored as I tried to figure out what to do. I needed to get out of the house, I needed to be with someone, but I knew Mason wasn’t that someone. I could call Christina, but she was with her boys, and I didn’t want to pull her away when she was finally getting some quality time with them now that Mom and Dale were out of town.
My knee bounced as I thought hard about who to call. Rhodes popped into my mind out of nowhere and I shook my head, but then I paused. Maybe he could help. He did kind of save me from my thoughts after that night at the fair, and we were joking around more. He wasn’t Willow, by any means, but he cared about me. Right?
Before I could overthink it, I dialed his number.
“Hey, everything okay?” He answered after five rings, and I could tell by his breathy voice that he was busy.
When I didn’t answer right away, he muffled the phone with his palm but I could still hear him speaking to someone through it. My throat felt thick with something I couldn’t swallow as my mind raced, wondering who was there with him. When the phone cleared, he spoke again.
“What’s going on?”
“Can I come over?”
He paused. “Uh, it’s not really a good time. Did something happen? Are you hurt?”
“Please, Rhodes.” I hated the way my voice sounded when I pleaded with him. “I don’t really have anyone else to call right now. My parents are out of town and Willow… well, she’s not available. It’s kind of a long story but I really need to clear my head right now. Go for a run with me or cook for me or something — anything. I just need to… I need to do something.”