“I’m not sure.”
I may well be about to vomit. Or faint. Or both.
Jack was the very last person I expected to see today. And although he looks so incredible—his JFK-brown hair shiny and thick, his eyes as piercing as ever—honestly, he’s not who I wanted to see.
Leaving New York was worse this time than it’s ever been before. Partly because I was called back early and I wasn’t mentally prepared to pack up all my lost dreams by the time I left. But mainly because of Jack. He renewed that sense of knowing there was something out there for me that I couldn’t have. The sense of loss that I’ve carried with me since my mother died.
“Do you two know each other?” Byron says from somewhere.
“Cinderella,” Jack replies.
“Irisis Cinderella?” someone says.
Finally, I’m pulled out of this trance that seeing Jack has put me in. “Jack,” I say. “What are you doing here?”
“Byron’s my friend,” he says. He hasn’t taken his eyes from mine since he saw me. It’s like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.
I know how he feels. We weren’t ever meant to see each other again. I was supposed to come back to Star Falls and we were both supposed to get on with our lives.
“We’re here to mend his broken heart,” Byron says. “But, we’re redundant.”
My heart lifts in my chest at the idea that by meeting like this, we’re somehow fixed. But the heaviness inside me is insistent. It presses down, bringing my heart back down to the floor. Byron’s talking like Jack and I running into each other solves everything. Like now we can ride off into the sunset and have our happy ever after. But of course, that’s not true.
Seeing him again just makes it harder. Makes it more frustrating that I’m stuck here in Star Falls. I need to remain in reality. Fantasies are for New York. Not Star Falls.
“I need to get back,” I say, glancing down at the empty box that held raspberries that I brought in for the diner. They were too ripe to do anything with other than eat.
“Iris,” Jack says, like he can’t believe I might just walk out. “I got your note.”
“You did?” I ask, surprised. I never expected him to actually get it.
There’re murmurings behind us. His friends discussing me. And Jack. “It was nice to see you,” I say, and offer him a small smile. What else can I do?
I shake my head and reach for the door. I need some air. I feel like my entire life just exploded and I need some time to put things back in their proper place.
I take the steps toward the truck, which is parked right outside, and just as I hit the sidewalk, Jack calls my name. I stop, but I don’t turn around.
He’s next to me in a second. “You’re just going to walk away? You don’t want to talk? To tell me why you had to leave? To?—”
“To what, Jack? I was planning to meet you the next morning. My brother broke his leg. Dad asked me to come back to help. How could I say no?”
“I’m not saying you could say no. But somehow, for some miraculous reason, we’ve run into each other again. And…”
“And what?”
He pulls back and contorts his face into a scowl. “I thought we had… a connection.”
“I thought so too,” I mumble.
“I thought you would be pleased to see me. I know I’m?—”
I can’t hold it back any longer. I drop the small box I’m holding and press the heels of my hands against my eyes, blocking any tears from falling. The last thing I want to do is cry.
“Iris.” His voice is soft and concerned. He closes the distance between us and his hand is on my back. He’s trying to make me feel better, but all he’s doing is making everything worse.
“I could have left my number on the note. There were ways we could have stayed in touch.” He searches my face, waiting for what I’m going to say next. “But I didn’t. Deliberately.”
His face darkens, like I’ve slapped him.
