“Next time, Kitty Kat, I’m going to take my time memorizing every curve of your body.” He kisses me softly. “For now, let’s eat and watch that movie. You owe me some cuddling time.”
Nine Years Old
“Ethan, what areyou doing here?” I’m sitting on the concrete wall in front of my class. I’ve been sitting here since the boy in my class pushed me down, and I couldn’t stop crying.
“Mom found out what happened and asked the counselor to let me sit with you for a bit. You ok?” He sits next to me and drapes his arm over my shoulders.
I can’t stop the new stream of tears that roll down my cheeks. “I don’t know why Michael is so mean to me,” I choke out.
“I’m sorry, Kat. Do you want me to talk to him?”
“NO!” I shout.
“Ok, ok. I won’t talk to him. What can I do?” He runs his hand along my hair, and I lean into him.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you hurt? Do you want me to walk you to the nurse’s office?”
“Will that be ok? I don’t want you to get into trouble. I scraped my knee, and it really hurts.” I point down to the scrape that’s still bleeding a little.
“Yeah, my teacher said I could come out here until you were ok to go back to class. I’ll walk with you there. But then, I probably need to get back.”
“Thanks for being here for me.”
“Always, sis.”
Ethan helps me walk to the nurse’s office and tells her where I’m hurt. Once the nurse calls me into her small exam room, I watch asEthan walks out of the waiting area to go back to his class. I’m so glad he takes care of me when I need him.
I don’t know what I’ll do when he isn’t at the same school next year. Thankfully, I don’t cry at school very often.
***
Present Day
The next morning, Liv picks me up, and we head back to Columbia. As we drive home, she tells me about her week at her parents’ house, and I tell her about mine.
I tell her about my time with Sam, omitting the part about me coming on his fingers. I know she would be excited, but I’m not ready to delve into what this means yet.
I want him. That fact is clear.
But he lives in Chicago, and I live in Columbia. We see each other less than a handful of times a year; I’m not sure how that would work out for either of us. Even when I move back to Charleston, it’ll still be hard.
So, instead of delving into my evening escapade with Sam, I broach another subject I’m scared to talk to her about. “Liv?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
She glances at me before responding, “Why do you sound… I don’t know… off? What’s wrong?”
“I’m just, I don’t want you to be disappointed.” I frown at her.
“You’re my best friend and a badass lawyer. Just say it!” She gives me a wide smile before quickly turning her focus back on the road.
The laugh that escapes my lips is automatic. “I’ve been thinking for a while about moving back to Charleston. Truthfully, I had planned on talking to you about all of this before Ethan died. Butthen everything happened, and I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”
“Kat.” She takes my hand and looks at me meaningfully. “You know I always want you to follow your heart. I’ll miss you desperately, but if Charleston is where your heart is? You should definitely go.”
