Page 123 of The Hometown Legend

“Oh.”

“We were not very subtle. The whole time. It’s fine,” he said.

“She’s not upset?”

“Not at all. She wants you to stay.”

Rory looked devastated then. And he felt like a dick. Because that wasn’t what he was trying to do. He didn’t want to hurt her. And he didn’t want to make her second-guess herself. He had just wanted her to know Lydia cared.

He’d misread that.

“And I can see that doesn’t make you happy.”

“I don’t want her to be hurt. And I don’t want to hurt anybody. My sisters are upset that I’m leaving, and Lydia is upset...”

“That isn’t why I told you. I told you because I wanted you to know how much she cares about you. I feel like there’s just so much shit you’ve taken on board from back when you were in middle school, and Lydia was never a pity friend. She cares about you. She always has. And that’s all. I just wanted to make you feel good.”

It was such a strange declaration, he realized.

Not quite what he wished he could say.

But given how badly this was going, it was the right move, if he was going to test out anything.

“Rory,” he said, very intensely, very seriously. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. And I’m not trying to tell you that you shouldn’t go. You don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t owe anybody staying in one place for the rest of your life. But I wanted you to know that already, to a lot of people, you’re a legend, Rory Sullivan.”

Her eyes filled with tears. He was really making a mess of this.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I do appreciate that.”

“I know we aren’t the whole town. But, there’s quite a few of us that think you’re pretty amazing.”

That was safe enough.

She wiped a tear away from her cheek.

“Well. I had a great time tonight. It was so good to be with your family. It was great. Even if it...it’s a little sad. Your house is missing somebody. Your family is. It’s like Sullivan’s Point in that way. Even if it’s a little bit different. My parents are gone, even though I can call them up anytime. The shape of it has changed. I’m about to change it again.”

“Planes go both ways, Rory. I know your parents haven’t made a lot of trips coming back to visit. That doesn’t mean you can’t.”

“That’s true. I’m not leaving under a cloud of smoke. I’m leaving on my own terms.”

“And you can come back on your own terms, too.”

She nodded. “Well... I guess I’ll go...”

“Spend the night with me,” he said.

He hadn’t meant for it to come out so intense, so strained and tortured.

But he felt every bit of it.

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaking.

“I want you.”

Even feeling like it was complicated, like it was messy and might not be the best thing.

He wasn’t a martyr, that was the thing.

---