Page 50 of Advice from a Sunflower

Marnie accuses me of hurting Mouse and big surprise, Mouse has decided to book it out of here over the first minor inconvenience. After she’s finished berating us, Marnie takes her turn with me.

“We’re going to lose her for good. The second she steps onto that plane; she won’t be back in The Hollow ever again.”

I roll my eyes at her dramatics, too tired to deal with another meltdown. “We thought that before and she came back. It’s no surprise to me that she wants to leave before getting the real story from anyone. She was looking for an excuse, and she found it.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your male ego or whatever grudge you’re holding against her over a misunderstanding from nearly a decade ago. If you don’t make things right before she leaves, I’ll be done putting up with you. I won’t lose my sister again over my friendship with the guy who broke her heart.”

I want to argue with her but come up short. There’s not much for me to say back to that and she’s already making her way across the yard. I knew the second Mouse stepped foot back in The Hollow, my life would go to hell.

Before I can put too much thought into it, I grab my phone and open a message to Marnie. There’s no guarantee that I can make a difference. Once Mouse makes her mind up about something, she’s too stubborn to change it. That’s how we got here in the first place. But it isn’t worth losing my friendship with Marnie.

That’s what I tell myself as I type out the text asking what time her flight is. Deep down, I know I’m ignoring one important truth: that in the event that Marnie’s right and Mouse really is leaving for good, I’m not going to be the sorry asshole who waits around for her to come back again. This time, I’m going to do everything I can to stop it.

Chapter 27

Lyla

It doesn’t take me long to get all my belongings gathered together and packed away. Each item I stuff into my suitcases has me counting the parallels between now and the last time I left The Hollow. I hate that there’s so many. I’ve spent years reinventing myself and trying to erase my first eighteen years only to find that it was all in vain. Turns out, no matter how successful I am or how many therapists I hire to work out my quirks, I’ll never be able to fully eradicate The Hollow from my blood.

That might be easier to accept if The Hollow didn’t constantly reject me.

I haven’t had the heart to break the news to the girls just yet. Marnie has stayed out of my way with them downstairs, which only makes me even more disappointed with her. Why isn’t she trying to change my mind? It’s like she doesn’t even care if I stay or go—another reminder of how useless this trip has been.

There’s a small knock on my door just as I finish tucking the last of my toiletries into my overstuffed suitcase. They don’t wait for me to answer before pushing it open. Gabby and Ally jump onto the bed and take in the neatly stacked luggage with frowns on their faces.

“Are we still getting ice cream?” Gabby asks.

As much as it hurts to let them down, I shake my head and look at the clock sitting on Marnie’s nightstand. There’s not enough time.

Instead of disappointing them completely, I promise, “Next time you visit me, we’ll get ice cream every day.”

Who knows if Marnie will bother visiting me after this?

Who knows when I’ll be ready to forgive her for all the lies and deception?

The girls solemnly nod as Ally offers me a pink piece of construction paper. “We drew us all together so you don’t forget about us.”

It’s everything I can do not to break down while I take in the childish drawing of the girls, Marnie, Denise, and me standing beside each other and holding hands. Luckily, Marnie slips into the room and distracts them enough for me to stuff the paper into my bag and wipe my eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t need a ride to the airport?”

“No, I have to turn in my rental.” I zip up my last bag and tug it off the bed. “I should actually get going. I don’t want to miss my flight.”

The girls jump off the bed and capture my legs in a tight hug. Marnie offers a sad smile but nothing more. Either she knows she can’t convince me to stay, or she really doesn’t care that I’m going.

Once the rental is loaded up and I’ve taken about a hundred more hugs from Gabby and Ally, I pull away from the curb and bid farewell to the house that made me—this time, for good.

I tried to make things right. I tried to get Marnie and the girls out of here, to save them from the same pattern every person in The Hollow has fallen into. None of it worked. Maybe they're supposed to create their own path out. I'm not sure.

I just wanted to make it a little easier of a task than it was for me.

***

It’s my turn at the security line and I’ve already prepared my bags to be placed on the belt to avoid fumbling around with the impatient officer who I’ve watched take his anger out on the few people ahead of me. Just as I set my shoes onto the conveyor, I hear my dreaded nickname called from behind. I assume I've imagined it and quickly shake myself from my daze.

“You’re free to go through, Miss,” the officer calls out, irritated at my hesitance. I step into the metal detector right when I hear the name called again and finally turn to see who the voice belongs to.

Eli is standing just behind the partition, his usual mask of indifference completely wiped away. He almost looks foreign to me with the look of uncertainty that’s taken over his features. The officer wastes no time shoving my belongings from the belt into my arms to keep the short line moving, quickly ushering me away from his station.

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