Page 64 of The Afterthought

"Uh, Ava?" Chloe questions. I turn to face her, relief instantly spreading through every part of my body. "What the hell are you doing?"

I put the safety back on the gun and place it on the table before running over to her and pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

She lets me hug her for another moment before asking, "Why are you wandering the house with the door wide open and a gun? When did you even get a gun?"

I ignore her question about the gun. She doesn't need to know I've had it since everything happened with David and that it's not entirely legal. "The door was open when I came home. I was worried something had happened to you. I was trying to make sure that you were okay."

"Aweee, you worry about me?"

"Yes, I worry about you," I confess. She's so ridiculous sometimes.

She starts laughing and walks away. When I turn to go toward the living room to follow her to her bedroom, something catches my eye. A piece of paper with a handwritten note sits on the kitchen table.

Watch your back.

I grab the note immediately and put it in my pocket so Chloe can't see it. I take the gun and put it on my desk before making my way over to her room. When I open her door, she is sitting on her bed with her phone in her hand and a huge smile on her face.

"You miss him already, don't you?"

"You could have knocked." She drops her phone, looking guilty, and glares at me.

"Who are you talking to?" I ask.

"It's Matt, obviously. Who else would I be talking to? Is there something you need?"

"What's going on? Why are you being so short with me? I thought we were past that." I walk over and sit at the edge of the bed.

She sighs. "I'm sorry. I’m just a little stressed out with graduation. I didn't mean to be so short with you."

"You don't have to apologize. I get it. There’s a lot going on at once. Just know I'm on your side."

"Yeah." She pauses for a moment before continuing. "Do you think you'll stay then?"

"What do you mean?"

"After I graduate. You were going to leave town. It hasn't exactly been a secret. I mean, I'll be fine. I can move back into my old house, and Matt can move in with me."

It breaks my heart that she's been thinking about this. How could I not realize that it would affect her? She just lost her mom. She never knew our dad. Now, her sister, whom she just found out about, is leaving her too. It's a wonder she trusts Matt so much.

"Did you want to leave Dune Valley?" I ask. "If that’s what you wanted, we could sell the two houses and relocate somewhere."

She looks down at her phone and then at me. "If Matt came, I would consider it, but I don’t think I want to. I’m okay with going to the local university."

There it is, the stark reminder that I was in the exact same position as her when I was her age. Things turned out to be so chaotic for me, basing my future on a boy. I can't tell her she's wrong because that would make me a hypocrite. I just smile. If she wants my advice, I will gladly give it to her, but I remember being seventeen and hopelessly in love. If she thinks the two of them will rule the world together, then that's what they'll do.

“It would take something big to make me leave again,” I admit.

"You mean Greyson being an asshole again?"

"I don't know Chloe. It's more complicated than that. I have you now, too."

I didn't expect this town to feel so much like home when I came back, but I think it's less about the town and more about the people in it. I was so guarded before. I never let anyone in. Now, I have Chloe, Greyson, and even Wrenly, who I had kept at a distance, regardless of our continuous friendship throughout the years. I have people that I have let back past my walls.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have people who love me, and I love in return. Not out of obligation but purely because they want the best for me. A family. I didn't think I would be able to say that again. I was okay with being alone forever if it meant I wouldn't end up hurt again, but I'm willing to risk being hurt now for a chance at happiness.

"I need to tell you something," Chloe interrupts my thoughts.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

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