Prologue
Luca—16 years old
Austinkicksatthedirt with the toe of his shoe, his lips turned down in a frown.
“I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not your fault, Luc.”
I know it’s not, but it still sucks. I can’t believe we’re moving. I’ve lived in Silverpine my entire life. I haven’t spent a single day without Austin inyears.I don’t know what to do. “We’re still going to be friends, right?”
Austin’s head shoots up, his brown eyes settling on mine. “Of course we are. You can’t get rid of me just because you’re moving to another state.”
Well,that’s a relief.
“When I turn eighteen, I’ll move back. After graduation and stuff. You think your ma would let me come stay with y’all?”
“I’m sure she would.” Austin runs a hand through his hair. It’s my favorite right now. In the summer, he gets all these really light pieces through it, the sun bleaching it out from its normal dirty-blond color.
My fingers itch to write about it. To put hundreds of words on paper about how each strand falls over his face, how rosy his cheeks are after spending a day in the sun, and about how the sunlight catches his brown eyes and makes them sparkle. I make a mental note to do that later.
I haven’t written a story about Austin. Not since we started messing around, anyway. It’s not like it really means anything to either of us. It’s not like there’s anyone else around for us to experiment with. After the first time he kissed me, it felt too weird to write about him, but now that I’m leaving? Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll let my imagination run wild.
“I’m going to miss you,” Austin says quietly, his gaze falling to the ground in front of him.
My heart hurts. God, I’m gonna miss him too. “We’ll FaceTime every day, right?” I ask.
“Yeah. When are you leaving?”
I swallow hard, tears threatening to burn my eyes. “In a couple of hours.”
“Jesus.”
Yeah, I was just as surprised as him. Mom and Dad didn’t even tell me until an hour ago, and the new place Dad’s working at needs him ASAP. We aren’t even taking our stuff. They’re gonna send movers for it.
“This sucks, Luca.”
I turn to Austin, waiting until he looks at me. “We’ll be friends forever.”
He nods, his eyes glassy. “We will.”
“Promise?” I ask, throat closing up at the thought of leaving not only Austin but also his parents, my home,everything.
“I promise.”
“Do you—” I stop, chest aching at the thought of not having Austin anymore. “Do you think we could kiss one last time before I go?”
A crease forms between his eyebrows, but he nods, stepping closer to me.
I hold my breath while I wait for him. His warm hands cup my face, then he tilts my head back and presses his lips to mine.
Austin—18 years old
My eyes hurt. So does my hand, but I’m pretty sure that’s from how hard Luca is squeezing it under the table.
The eyes, though—that’s something else entirely.
A lawyer—Damien, I think his name is—is sitting across from us, looking very official in his suit and tie. I’ve never seen anything so fancy in my life, and I never want to again. Not if it means burying two people I love so much.
