My brow furrows.
Liv
When do you leave?
Jay
Tomorrow.
I stare at the message, already planning. This is actually perfect timing. He has no idea what’ll be waiting for him when he gets back.
Liv
I hear absence makes the dick grow fonder…
Jay
Huh, is that how it goes?
Liv
Apparently. Guess we’ll find out. See you tonight xo
Locking my phone, I glance around the studio. A few months ago, I couldn’t imagine coming back here without breaking. Now I’m standing in the same room, paint on my hands, and my chest feels full, like something finally fits, and it’s because of him.
He’s shown me how to reclaim parts of myself.
He’s reminded me how to take up space again, how to believe I’m allowed to.
But beneath it all, he’s reminded me that letting someone in isn’t a weakness.
***
I’m practically sprinting across campus after parking what feels like a mile away—and because my roommate wouldn’t let me getout of bed this morning. He’s leaving today for California, and I may or may not have dealt with my feelings using sex last night… is it healthy? No, but clicks for me that I recognize that.
However, now I’m late meeting Bethany, along with half the state’s prospective students, clogging up Cedar Lakes.
Daphne had to bail last minute because Rosie isn’t well, so I had to be a super quick study on the map of campus.
Rain starts to fall in a light dusting around me, and as soon as I see the purple jacket she told me to look out for, I increase my pace again, lungs burning now.
“Hey, are you Bethany?” I say, approaching the figure.
She spins, her brown hair tied in two braids, and big, brown doe eyes that crinkle when she smiles. “I am. You’re Olivia?”
I smile back and say, “Call me Liv.”
She laughs, a soft, airy sound that doesn’t match the cold drizzle. “Sorry you had to run through this weather for me.”
“It’s Oregon,” I say with a shrug. “If I waited for clear skies, we’d never leave the house.”
She smiles wider, tugging her jacket tighter around her shoulders. “Good to know.”
“So, first things first, what are you considering studying? Then I can take you to that building.”
“I’m not totally sure yet. Maybe psychology. My mom says I’d be good at listening, and Dad keeps telling me to find somethingpractical.”
I nod, half amused. “Dads love practicality.”
