20
BECKETT
Age 17
“Why aren’t you going to prom?” Riley asked as he opened a package of Oreos. “It’s like a rite of passage, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “No one at my school I want to go with, I guess. Besides, dancing isn’t really my thing.”
“So? You can go have fun anyway. Oh! Hey! Look what I got,” he reached in his back pocket and pulled out three new markers. “They’re metallic!”
“Sharpie? Ry, that won’t come off for weeks!”
“I’ll just draw in places you can cover. No big deal. Check them out, though! The green reminded me of…. um, the pond.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, confused. That wasn’t what he was going to say.
He blushed and tossed me a cookie. “Take your shirt off and lay down.”
“Why is it always me getting naked and smudged in ink?”
Riley barked out a laugh before shrugging out of his shirt and tossing it at me. “There you happy? You can always draw on me, too, if you want.”
I lay against Riley’s leg as usual, so he could draw on my chest and stared out the window of the tree house as he began doodling against my skin. Just like the last few times he’d drawn on me, his touch made my belly do funny little flip flops. I liked the feeling more each time and was starting to crave it. There was something about the sensation of his skin against mine that just felt… wonderful. I wanted to tell him how he made me feel, how I sometimes wished I could just hold him or kiss him, but I didn’t think it would be fair since I might be leaving for college in a few months.
“When do you leave for your trip to New York?” he asked.
I had to swallow a few times to find my voice. “Oh, um, three weeks.”
He licked the tip of his finger and brushed it against my skin, trying to correct a mistake. I had to bite my lip because… fuuuuck, I felt that everywhere.
“I’ll miss you, Ry,” I blurted. “When I’m gone.”
Those beautiful, stormy eyes flashed to me and for a moment, we just stared at each other. I thought I felt his finger brush against my hand before he jerked it away.
“It’s only ten days,” he said quickly, “I think we’ll survive.”
That was the problem, though. I didn’t think I would.
***
When it came time to leave Riley the following day, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. I wished I could’ve put off meeting with my client just a little bit longer. We’d enjoyed exploring and satisfying each other a few more times throughout the night, each time as powerful and emotional as the first. I’d always felt close to Riley when we were kids, but this was something wholly different, as if our souls were joined just as much as our bodies were. When Riley finally fell asleep against my chest sometime around 4AM, I laid there soaking in how incredible it felt to be tangled up in his limbs with the warmth of his breath against my skin. It was the most life-affirming thing I’d ever experienced.Nothinghad ever felt so right, it was more confirmation that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with him.
Riley made us breakfast, but neither of us managed to eat more than a few bites. We made love once more before I finally couldn’t put off leaving any longer. I needed to get back to Atlanta and return the heirloom, so I could close my case. I’d kissed Riley over and over in his driveway before reluctantly crawling in my Explorer to head home. I hated the tears I saw swimming in his eyes as he waved goodbye, but I hated the doubt I saw there even more. I didn’t know what caused it, but I’d find a way to prove to him that I was in this for the long haul. Sure, I had a life in Atlanta, but I was becoming more and more certain I’d give it all up for a life with him. The only thing I’d really miss was Harper. Okay, and maybe Jake a little, but Riley would always come first.
My phone rang just as I was reaching the outer city limits, but I silenced it as soon as I saw it was my sister. Tosh had called me a few times during my time in South Carolina, but I’d ignored her each time. She had been more determined than ever the last couple of days, though, calling at least six times since yesterday and leaving a voicemail each time. I hadn’t bothered to check them, assuming it was just her guilt pushing to reconnect with me after the way we’d parted. I still didn’t have the patience to listen to her false apologies right now.
When my phone lit up with another call from her, I hesitated before hitting ignore. Fear suddenly clenched my stomach because she rarely called twice in a row. When she called a third time, I answered. I knew even before she spoke that she’d been crying and it made me tighten my hold on the steering wheel.
“Beck,” she whimpered.
“Tosh, what is it?”
“Beckett, you need…” she trailed off, choking on whatever she was going to say. There was a shifting sound and then Ben got on the line.
“Hey, Beck. You need to come home. It’s Harper.”
“What happened? Is she okay?”
