Maybe in a parallel universe, we’d be in this exact same spot, but everything would be different.
Bailey stays silent, but I can tell he’s listening. He always has, except for the one time it counted. “That’s okay. You don’t need to know how you feel about it.”
I pull my braid over my shoulder, twisting the wet ends of my hair. “Shouldn’t I know how I feel?”
“Life is complicated, sunshine,” Bailey says, exhaling a ragged breath. “I can’t pretend to know why Hunter makes the choices he does. I love him, even if I don’t always like him.”
Sunshine?He’s never called me that before, but I think I kinda like it.
“I think that’s a very good way to put it. I don’t necessarily like who he is right now.” I love him, but I’m so fucking angry with him.
He nods slowly, seeming to hesitate before speaking again. “Are you happy with him?” Bailey asks, and I should lie right through my teeth to say the only appropriate answer. Except Idon’t want to lie. There’s been enough of them, even if the truth is ugly.
“I don’t know, B. I really don’t know.”
“You deserve to be happy. I hope you know that.”
I meet his gaze, letting my worries wash away. “You do too. I’m really glad you came back, and I hope you stay.”
Bailey offers me a warm smile, and I wonder if he knows how bright he burns. If I didn’t have a handful of discarded canvases in my room at my parents’ house, I’d try to paint this exact moment to capture it forever. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The pastel hues of orange, purple, and pink blur together in the background, casting a soft glow around him.
I commit everything about this moment to memory. My heart seems to grow two sizes in my chest, beating erratically. I don’t think I knew how badly I needed to hear him say he’s staying until now. I smile back at him, unable to hide it. “Good. Maybe you’ll get better at surfing.”
He reaches into the water to splash me, and I think I have to admit that being around Bailey makes me happy. “Why don’t you show me how it’s done if you’re so good at it?”
“Not a problem,” I say, sticking my tongue out at him as I wait for the lull to start paddling further out.
As my board slices through the water under the early morning light, I feel good.
I feel happy.
I’d almost forgotten what it felt like.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kaitlyn
PAST
I never wantedto be this girl.
Part of me thinks I should tell Hunter what happened between Bailey and me, but it feels pointless to dwell on it any longer since B has made it clear he doesn’t care.
Being with Hunter is easy. The more I think about it, he’s still my best friend, even if he’s also my boyfriend. He knows everything about me—well . . . almost everything.
God, I don’t even know how this fucking happened.
As much as I’m trying not to think about Bailey, I’m so worried about him. He isn’t talking to anyone, and seems like he’s going through the motions. He’s surrounded by a permanent storm cloud, giving off seriousstay awayvibes, and I don’t know what to do. Every text I’ve sent him has gone unanswered, which is honestly starting to piss me off a little because I’m the one who was rejected, not him. I get that it’s not a great look that I’m dating his twin a few weeks after, but if we’re really pretending the kiss never happened, he should still be acting like my best friend.
I knock on Bailey’s door again, but I can’t hear anything from inside his room. I told Hunter I forgot my water bottlein my car, but I need to fix this. The guilt is threatening to consume me, and I miss my best friend.
Maybe I shouldn’t give him a choice. I twist the handle, stepping into the room, but it’s empty. He’s not here. The door clicks shut behind me, and even though I’ve been in here countless times over the years, there’s something different.
There’s laundry on the floor in front of his dresser, which doesn’t shock me at all, and his bed is unmade. Enough light is coming through the windows that I can see the glow-in-the-dark stars he put on his ceiling years ago. He’s since traded them for the real ones in the night sky. I look over the walls, and my gaze lands on the empty spot where Iknowa picture of Hunter and Bailey used to hang because I’m the one who took the photo. Hunter has the same one in his room.
The door opens, causing me to jump, but it’s just Bailey. His eyes widen when they land on me, and everything I had planned to say to him slips from my mind.
