"I want you to be honest with yourself." Arty's voice was gentler now. "Are you leaving because you think it's best for Annabelle? Or are you leaving because you're terrified that if you stay and try and fail, it'll hurt worse than leaving now?"
Raven's chest felt tight. "Both. I don't know. Does it matter?"
"Yeah. It matters. Because if you're leaving to protect her, that's one thing. But if you're leaving to protect yourself, then you're not being fair to either of you."
The silence stretched between them, heavy with things Raven didn't want to examine too closely.
"She didn't even fight," Raven said quietly. "When I told her I was leaving. She just… accepted it. Like she'd been expecting it all along."
"Maybe because you didn't give her anything to fight for. You told her you were leaving and that was that. No discussion, no room for her to have a say." Arty stood up. "But that's just my observation. You do what you think is right."
He moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle.
"For what it's worth," he said, "I've seen a lot of people come through this village. Tourists, weekenders, people trying to escape something. You actually looked like you might want to stay."
The door closed behind him with a soft click, and Raven was alone again.
She stared at the suitcase for a long moment, then grabbed her jacket.
JAMIE WAS SITTING on their usual bench near the playground, shoulders hunched, staring at the ground.
Raven's stomach clenched. She'd put this off as long as she could, but she owed him a proper goodbye.
"Hey," she said, dropping onto the bench beside him.
He looked up, and his face brightened briefly before falling again. "You're leaving."
"How did you…"
"Mum said. She heard it at the shop." He picked at a loose thread on his school jumper. "Is it because of the paparazzi?"
"Sort of. It's complicated."
"Adults always say that when they don't want to explain."
Raven almost smiled. "Fair point. Okay. I'm leaving because I have a record deal and a solo career to build. I need to be in London for that. Studio time, meetings, all the boring business stuff."
"But you could come back. Couldn't you? After the meetings?"
"Maybe. I don't know yet."
"Oh." Jamie was quiet for a moment. "What about the guitar lessons?"
"I can send you online lessons. Videos, maybe some Zoom calls if you want. You've got the basics down, you can keep learning from home."
"It's not the same."
"I know." And she did. Raven had learned guitar from YouTube videos and library books, but the handful of times she'd had someone actually sit with her, show her where her fingers were going wrong, had been invaluable. "But it's better than nothing."
Jamie nodded, but he looked miserable.
"Do you want to stay?" he asked suddenly.
The question caught Raven off guard. "What?"
"Do youwantto stay? Or do you have to leave?"
"It's… it's complicated, Jamie."
