“I feel less weighed down by it. That my dad”—she looks away toward the ocean—“loves me.”
In true Skye Silva fashion, she switches the subject back to me.
“You don’t only exist to hold anyone else together anymore. I don’t need to be on a stage to know people cared about me,” she whispers.
The ocean breeze is hitting me sharply as the ocean waves are growing in size. The wind barrels around Skye, leaving me stunned. I know for sure this is it for us as the sand beneath her is rising from the ground, swirling her into thin air.
“Thank you,” I murmur, collapsing back into the sand. I lay my back flat against it to get a clear view of the sky that she has now disappeared into. Counting each bright light. Little stars that were born years and years ago, only now showing their faces tonight.
By now, Holden would be done with his interview. I pull out my phone and scroll through the comments to check how it landed.
After reading about fifty comments, my finger hovers over his name and presses the call button. It connects immediately.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
The silence that follows is thick and awkward. He clears his throat a few times as he starts to formulate his thoughts.
“I am sure you saw it,” he says.
Any anger I felt an hour ago has faded at the sound of his voice.
“I did.”
This is first-date energy, where you are unable to move past the tension that is so easily cut with a knife.
“What’s it like to be the most charming man in America?” I blurt.
“I don’t know about that, Char.”
“It’s true. Looks like the podcast did its job.”
“About the podcast…”
“I’m actually calling you because I can’t quite figure it out.”
“What do you mean?”
“You went from holding my hand to shutting me out. Then declaring to the entire world how important I am to you. It’s a bit disorienting.”
“I slipped up, Charlotte. I’m not a great guy, as you saw.”
“Flawed, yes. But I don’t think you’re as cold of a person as you let on.”
“I’m sorry about what I said, Charlotte.”
“I appreciate you apologizing. I just want you to know for certain that I was real to you. This was never fake for me. Maybe I lied to myself that it was, but—”
“But what?”
“I realize how I could actually be myself around you.”
“You were real for me too, Char.” Holden lets out a nervous laugh. “So, what now?”
“I just need you to take care of yourself. You are going to do remarkable things, Holden. Just try to open yourself up more—to people. And I’m going to try to do the same.”
Holden’s breathing grows heavier over the phone. A moment of silence to take in what I just said.
