48
Simon
Morning came all too soon, and with it, a flurry of activity that left Simon feeling lost. Evie ran a final inspection of the apartment, searching under beds and in bathroom drawers for items they might have forgotten, while Harlow hauled the luggage down to the Biernacki minivan on his own—Simon, after a small amount of pleading from Harlow, had elected to stay inside. Jayne had gone to work earlier that morning, and Parker was down for a nap. Shep, who’d kept to his room to avoid contact with Evie, but had stayed home from school to say goodbye, lumbered down the hall and came to stand by the living room door. His eyes weren’t puffy, like they’d been yesterday, but he wasn’t smiling, either.
“You got everything?” he asked Evie without directly looking at her. Simon was fairly sure he was keeping his eyes on Evie’s elbow.
Evie nodded. “Yup. I think that’s everything. But, um, actually, there is one thing missing.”
“What?”
Cautiously, Evie stepped forward so she stood in front of Shep. She hesitated for a moment, then flung her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Shep’s eyes widened. He held his hands away from his body, palms open, like he’d just been ambushed by the police and was about to be arrested.
“I’m sorry.” Evie really did sound sorry. While Simon didn’t know their story, or what kind of pain they’d gone through while trying to make it work, he found himself feeling sorry that it didn’t work out. Young love had tried, and it had failed. The poetic injustice struck Simon hard. It wasn’t easy to say goodbye—he knew it all too well. “You’re a really good guy, but it’s just… it’s not right. It’s my fault. I thought I wanted something other than what I really wanted, and you got caught along the way. I hope that you can forgive me.”
As if anticipating he’d get in trouble, Shep slowly wrapped his arms around Evie’s torso, but waited to hug her for another long moment, afraid she’d change her mind. “It’s okay—I get it. We’re cool.”
“And I had a really good time with you, you know,” Evie said. “I liked going to the spring and looking at the trout. I liked laughing about stupid things, like how big of a dork your mom was to name you all after characters from that old TV show.”
Simon cringed. Why had Shep shared that with Evie? It was an unspoken household rulenotto mention the name thing.
“I liked how nice it was to have you around,” Shep replied. “The apartment felt a lot more lively, like… it wasn’t so gloomy all the time. You were really good for all of us.”
Evie drew back from him and beamed, her hands on his shoulders. “You think so?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
“That’s so sweet of you to say!” Evie’s smile persisted. “Can we stay in touch online? Like, you have my private phone number and everything, so you can get in touch with me whenever. I really do like you, Shep… I just think that things went a little crazy, you know?”
“I know.” Shep managed a smile. “I can’t believe I was dumb enough to think that I could take your dad out with a baseball bat.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I told you so.”
“Yeah, I know. I should have listened. Next time, I won’t be so dumb.”
“Next time, you can come see where I live.” Evie dropped her hands, ending their contact. “By then, I’ll have some new, better friends I can introduce you to. Cute girl friends.” She winked. “And you can see the beaches, and the ocean, and all the really cool stuff, and all the really not-cool stuff, too, like how gross and dirty Hollywood is.”
“Sounds great.”
The front door opened. Simon glanced over his shoulder to see Harlow return.
“Van’s all packed and we’re set to go.” Harlow dusted his palms on his khakis. “You ready, kiddo?”
“I’m ready!” Evie said. She leaned in and kissed Shep on the cheek. “Bye, Shep. I’m sorry things didn’t work out. You’re a really cool and interesting guy, and I know you’re gonna make a girl really happy someday.”
Shep touched his cheek where he’d been kissed, stunned. “Um, thanks. I… I know that you’re gonna do just fine, too. I’ll be rooting for you.”
“You’d better be.” Evie stuck out her tongue. “Iwillbe forced to embarrass you on social media if you flake on me.”
“Nah.” Shep smiled, then looked aside, visibly charmed by her. “I’ll be there to support you. I promise.”
“Good enough for me.” Evie craned her neck to look at Harlow and Simon. “Are we ready, then?”
“I am.” Simon wasn’t, but it was a lie he was certain he could tell convincingly.
Harlow nodded. “Me, too.”
Another lie. Despite Harlow’s chipper tone, Simon heard regret hidden in his voice.
