Hunter puts the car in drive, and once I’m settled, I sit back and find the small box Niko gave me earlier at my apartment. It’s been burning a hole inside my bag since I put it there and I’m dying to see what it is.
The box is wrapped with shimmery purple paper and I carefully unwrap it. Inside is a white cardboard box. I lift the top to reveal a folded note, a black velvet box sitting underneath. My heart stutters and my hands shake as I lift both things from the box.
Closing my eyes tight, I take a few deep breaths to steady the pounding inside my chest. I unfold the paper and read the note first.
Kulta,
The color purple will forever make me think of you. I read somewhere that amethyst can bring you peace, tranquility, and even protection. If I can’t be there with you to offer you those things, these will have to do. I’m so proud of you.
Niko
My body shakes with sobs before I even know what’s happening. Hunter keeps looking over at me and asking if I’m okay, but I can’t even manage to get any words out between my sobs.
I reread Niko’s note. It’s taken me thirty years to find someone who not only accepts me for exactly who I am, butunderstandsevery piece of me. Will I everfind that again?
Hunter’s car merges onto the highway and a sign on the side of the road says nine miles until we’re at the airport.
Rain pounds on the car in sync with my pounding heart. I can’t think, I can’t breathe. I close my eyes and all I see is Niko.
What the fuck am I doing?
I’m grabbing a few things from my stall, and I hear them before I can see them. Jefferson’s loud, cheerful voice comes to an abrupt stop, and I don’t even have to turn around to know that the sight of me is what caused his reaction.
I don’t even bother to look their way. They begin whispering to each other. Mack’s hushed voice whisper-yelling, “You say something,” is what has me turning around.
“Something you guys would like to say?”
Mack and Jefferson look at each other and then back to me. Neither of them say a word, so I turn back to my locker to grab my Kinesio tape. Connor’s voice causes me to drop the roll mid-air.
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Excuse me?” I turn my head to see my best friend coming my way. Jefferson and Mack slowly slink backward out of the room but I don’t pay them any attention.
Connor stops inches from my face. “You heard me. What the fuck is wrong with you, man?”
I’m too keyed up to get into this with him right now. Sadie is getting ready to leave for Denver and I don’t know what tofucking do with that. A piece of my soul is walking out of my life, and I’m the one who opened the door for her to go.
“Nothing’s wrong with me. What the fuck is wrong withyou?”
Connor doesn’t back down. He pokes me in the chest, which is a terrible idea, might I add, and lets me have it.
“You just let the best thing that’s ever happened to you walk away. You fuckingtoldher to go. Are you kidding me right now? You should’ve seen the look on her face when I told her you wanted her to stay.”
I shove my best friend and he stumbles backward. “You fucking told her that?”
“Yeah. Someone had to!”
Anger flares hot in my veins but so does embarrassment. I hate that he’s the one who told her that and not me. I scrub a hand down my face and groan in frustration.
“I couldn’t ask her to stay, man. I couldn’t hold her back from that dream.”
Connor laughs, but there’s no humor to it. “You don’t get it, dude. You didn’t even give her a choice. You made the decision for her.”
His words hit like a ton of bricks. I took the choice away from her and told her to go. She’s leaving, which means no more Sadie baking in my kitchen. No more of her out on my back patio doing yoga with Sophia. No more of her breathtaking smile. I told her to leave multiple times, and now I’m sitting here regretting every fucking word that came out of my mouth.
“Oh my god, Connor. She’s leaving.”
My best friend walks up to me and squeezes the spot between my neck and shoulders. “She’s not gone yet, man.”
