“No, no one talks about it. It’s just this big secret drama. Thething that shall not be named.It’s honestly annoying. We’re all adults. So what happened? I get that you dated Brooks, but nothing else is ever said.”
I push my mostly eaten salad away and quickly debate how much to tell her.
“Hey.” Ava reaches over and lays her hand on my arm. “In all seriousness, we’re in the cone of silence. I won’t take anything you say anywhere else. It’s not my story to tell. I just hate being in the dark.”
I don’t remember the last time I had a friend to tell secrets to. I like Ava so much, and I kind of wish Harper was here, too. I can trust them. And I want to open up to Ava.
So I do.
“Yeah, Brooks and I dated. We got together when we were sixteen and broke up when I was almost done with college.”
“Did he go to college, too?”
“No, he stayed here. He attended auto mechanic school and eventually bought the shop. We did the long-distance thing for all four years.”
“And then you broke up right before you were finished?” Her eyebrows climb. “That sucks.”
“Big time.” I nod, thinking back to everything that went down, and feel my heart ache. “There was a guy, Justin, who wasjust my friend.But he was needy, and now I know he was manipulative, and he succeeded in breaking us up. I didn’t know that was his goal. I was just trying to be a good friend, but Brooks saw it as me choosing Justin over him.”
Ava’s face falls. “Well, shit.”
“Yeah. It really hurt Brooks. I mean, it hurt both of us. I don’t think I’ve recovered from it even still. But I broke Brooks’s heart, and I know he’ll never forgive me. He’s angry. He made it clear that he doesn’t want me around, and I honestly can’t blame him. But it makes it hard because this is a small town. Iwantto go to things like the book club and not worry about what will happen if I run into him.”
“And you should be able to,” she insists. “I get wanting to avoid an ex. We’ve all been there, but you have to be able to live your life, Jules. You can’t hide away.”
“I’ve spent the past fifteen years hiding away,” I admit for the first time. “And it felt like prison.”
“Then stop it. Live your life, and if Brooks doesn’t like it, he can look the other way. What ever happened to Justin?”
“He died.”
He did so much more than die.
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“You know what we need?”
I grin at her. “What?”
“One of those brownies you have over there.”
“Let’s do it.”
I haven’t had my car for five whole days, and although it doesn’t normally bother me, Ireallyneed to go run errands.
“You okay, Jules?” Christy asks when I check my phone yet again to see if I missed a call from Barry.
Nope. Of course not. The man’s going to keep my hanging forever and charge me another fortune.
“Yeah, just waiting to hear from the garage about when I can get my car.”
“Again?” she asks, and all I can do is laugh.
Because yes. Again.
Harper and Ava are here, which is typical for them on a Tuesday. When their orders are ready, I load up their plates and deliver them to the table.
