It’s somewhere else, tucked away in the pocket of a man who walked away, carrying pieces of me I may never get back.
Sal convinces me to go home with her after the ceremony, even though all I want is to crawl under my sheets and disappear. She promises me it will be a laid-back night. Jace is having a few friends over, nothing crazy. I’m not convinced, but I’m trying. Trying to pull myself out of the darkness that’s swallowed me whole. So I say yes.
The second I collapse onto her bed, she dives in after me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing tight like she’s trying to glue my broken pieces back together.
“I’ve missed you,” she says softly.
“I’ve missed you too,” I breathe. “Sorry I’ve been MIA. I just… I don’t know. Most days I can’t even get out of bed. I want to be happy, but I just… can’t.”
She hugs me tighter, her hand rubbing slow circles on my back. “I’m so sorry, Soph. I wish I could make it better. I could kill rat-face Theo for leaving like that though. Seriously. No goodbye? Coward move.”
A startled laugh bursts out of me. A real one. The first since... he left me. “Rat-face Theo?” I snort.
“Yup. His new nickname. I'm considering merch.”
I smile genuinely, and I love her even more for it. “You’re the best, you know that?”
She smiles back at me. “That’s why I get to boss you around tonight. I’ve let you wallow long enough. You're going to have fun. Not optional.”
I groan and throw my arm over my face. “Fine. But only because it’s you.”
“Yay!” she squeals. “Let’s get ready. Maybe some of Jace’s hot friends will be here.”
“Uh, no thanks. All men are officially on my shit list.”
She rolls her eyes. “You know what they say?—”
“Don’t.”
“—best way to get over someone is?—”
“Sal.”
“Fine, fine,” she laughs. “No hookups. But at least dress cute, if only for the confidence boost.”
We shed our graduation clothes and change. I reach for my usual oversized comfort tee, but her glare stops me cold. I sigh and swap it for a cropped one instead.
She pulls on leather pants that look criminally tight, but once she wriggles into them, they look incredible. I’m not sure how she can breathe in them, though. She tops it with a strappy pink crop that clings to her like it was made for her, accentuating her in all the right places.
“You look amazing,” I say as she spins to check herself out in the floor-length mirror.
“You sure?”
“One hundred percent. You’re hot. Period.”
She flushes a little and tugs at the hem of her top. “Thanks.”
“Got your eye on someone?” I ask, teasing.
“No,” she says quickly. A little too quickly.
I smirk, but let it drop. She thinks I don’t notice, but I do.
Her phone buzzes, and she lights up like someone flipped a switch. “They’re here.”
I grin. “You look like a Disney princess about to greet her woodland creatures.”
She throws a pillow at me. “Shut up. Let’s go.”
