Page 15 of Moving Forward

She blinks a few times and finally turns to me, capturing me with her glossy eyes. “I’d like that. I’d really like it, actually.”

Air rushes out of my lungs. She said yes. I’ll get to see her again—I’ll get to feel this way again.

“I should get back,” she says, starting to walk away. I follow closely behind her, wanting to be with her until the last possible second. When she reaches the end of the dock she stops and glances up at me. “I met your grandma. She seems really nice.”

“Only to strangers. She’s pretty strict with me. She’s not afraid to say what she thinks, either.”

“That’s not a bad trait,” she says. I raise an eyebrow sky-high, which makes her laugh. “Alright, I guess it could be.” She pauses to take an uneasy step toward me. “If I come back, I want a piece of pie. My friend ate the other one.”

She wasn’t lying then. She does intend to come back. Holy hell on fire. “That’s not very nice. Alright. And I’ll steal some peach tea to go along with it.”

She bites her lip. “Maybe tomorr—”

“Max!” someone yells.

We both jump and whirl around like we’ve been caught doing something illicit. When she—Max—recoils, I step forward on instinct, bringing my arm out in front of her. She cups my arm, gently pushing it down and out of the way. Her hand doesn’t leave me.

“Ellie?” she says softly, sounding like she’s about to cry again. I move closer, ready to comfort her. Her soft shoulders have gone rigid, and her jaw has slackened.

Erin’s little sister comes running down the dock, with Danny O’Shannon close behind her. Even before things went south with Erin, Ellie wasn’t my biggest fan. Not that I’ve ever blamed her. For once, I wish she’d just let the past go. I need this moment like I need air to breathe.

“Ellie, stop,” Danny commands, coming to a halt. We were on the varsity baseball team together in high school. He seemed like an okay guy, but I wasn’t interested in making friends. Kind of regret that now. With the way Ellie is looking at me, I could use someone in my corner.

“You just ran out on us, Max, and didn’t bother to tell us where you were going? We were worried!” Ellie yells at Max.

Max flinches and her fingers tighten their hold on my arm.

“Calm down,” Danny warns. He carefully steps toward Ellie as if she’s a caged animal.

“And you come here! God, Max, of all the people—him.” Ellie swallows and lets out a deep breath. When she speaks again, it’s quieter, but her words are just as sharp. “I love you and I know you’re mad at me right now—I know I was bitch before—but trust me right now, okay? You don’t want to be around him.” Her eyes shoot daggers at me. I instantly want to shrink down into nothing. They always say that the past comes back to haunt you. Here’s all the evidence I need.

Danny says Ellie’s name again, but Ellie doesn’t listen. She remains focused on Max, who is tucked even farther into my side, hiding. Her hand slips from gripping my arm to my shirt. “Why?” she whispers.

Damn it, why did she have to ask that? I detangle myself from her and start taking small steps backward. I need to get out of here. I don’t want to see how she reacts. I can’t have another piece of happiness torn away from me.

“He nearly killed Ethan once, Max,” Ellie answers, solemn now. She looks like she didn’t want to have to tell her that, but I don’t doubt it’s acting. She’ll go to any lengths to keep Max away from me, even if it hurts Max.

That’s one thing I can and will blame Ellie for. Deliberately hurting Max to fight me off is unforgivable. Max deserves better than that.

Max shakes her head in disbelief. “Is that true?” she asks softly. I can’t bring myself to say Ellie’s telling the truth. I know the moment I do, she’ll walk away. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that.

Turns out, silence is more powerful than words.

Her jaw drops as she backs toward Ellie, holding her hands up. Tears are falling from her eyes. I want to put rocks in my pockets and jump off the dock. She smacks at her cheeks, wiping the tears away. Danny comes up behind her and wraps her in his arms in the same way I’d been holding her. He whispers something in her ear and she nods against his chest.

He glares at Ellie and hisses, “Think good and hard about what you just did to your best friend El, and to us. I’m taking her back to my apartment. Don’t come over until whatever this is”—he makes a frustrated circular motion—“is over.”

Ellie’s face softens. She throws her hands over her mouth and gasps like she’s been asleep and is finally waking up.

I stand still as a stone, watching as Danny says something else to Max before he begins walking her back down the dock. After only a few steps, she looks back at me with a mixture of disbelief and disappointment, maybe even some hate. I want to rewind to before I met Max. I want her to be a dream. I want to go back to my room and forget all about what just happened. I’ve hidden myself away for so long, sheltering myself from this type of hurt, that I forgot just how much rejection can sting.

I stare beyond Ellie—who is now sobbing apologies—and watch Max walk out of my life. I fooled myself into thinking we had something. She isn’t anything to me—just some woman who made me horny after a long dry spell.

At least that’s the lie I have to tell myself. I can’t accept that my grandfather was right about the one and how she’s exiting my life just as quickly as she entered it.

Just like everyone else I’ve ever loved. Proof people always leave. Proof I’m destined to be alone.

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