Page 2 of Daring Destiny

I’m still not entirely sure why I agreed. Maybe it was the challenge. Maybe it was the allure of Astrid-fucking-Gustafsson paying attention to me for once. Whatever the reason, we hit it off.

And, we created something special.

Gazing over at her chatting with some of her old friends, I’m glad she’s having fun. She’s been so intent about making this a success, this must be a dream come true. It’s packed. Our classmates are completely immersed in the interactive experience which, to me, is a much better way to catch up with someone you haven’t talked to in fifteen years.

Who wants to listen some rando drone on and on and on about career, marriage and their snotty kids?

No fucking thank you times two.

“Brennan.” Astrid’s smooth, whisky-tinged voice hits me in the core, as it always does.

She strides toward me. Her smile is forced and tight, which I totally understand. I’m, deservedly, not her favorite person at the moment.

I try to sound casual, like I haven’t been keeping my eye on her all goddamn night. “Hey. Congratulations. Your idea’s a huge success.”

“Ouridea,“ she corrects, gazing out at the crowd. “You’re the one who made it all happen.”

Side by side, we look around the room and for a moment, things feel normal. We’re two people who worked hard and used our respective skills to make an innovative concept a reality.

Astrid spent her time gathering key moments from high school from the official photo archive and images pulled from social media. With a team of developers, I created the technology powering the interactive display.

Now, snippets of everyone’s lives over the past fifteen years are being projected on sixty-foot walls. It’s a living yearbook come to life. With a companion app so people can continuously update and reconnect based on their interests, job titles, and locations.

A culmination of the best and most heartbreaking years of my life.

Maybe she’s in a conciliatory mood. I take a step toward her. “Well, it was a team effort.”

Astrid holds up her hand to stop me and squints at me incredulously. “Don’t even. Not tonight.”

I wish I could say her snark catches me off guard. It doesn’t.

Truth be told, I’m honestly not sure why she’s even speaking to me.

We stand there awkwardly while the room around us buzzes with energy. The digital displays continue to randomly flash images from our high school days. People are laughing, reconnecting, living in the moment. As cool as everything has turned out, the familiar niggle starts to take root in my brain when things get uncomfortable.

I’ve gotta get out of here.

“Actually, before you bolt, I do need to talk to you. Come outside with me?” Astrid can read me like a book, she knows I won’t last long in this environment.

I do my best to keep my voice steady. “Uh, okay. Sure.”

Before I can fully process what’s happening, Astrid takes my hand and leads me toward the exit. We slip out the back and the noise of the reunion fades behind us.

Outside, the quiet night air is a stark contrast to the festivities inside.

Sweet. Sweet. Relief.

Astrid looks up at the sky. I watch as her shoulders relax and tension melts away.

“God, I needed some peace.” She shakes out her shiny, blonde hair. “It’s exhausting, you know?”

I nod, because Idoknow.

As I’ve gotten to know Astridfor real, it’s something we have in common. She’s actually much different than I thought she was as a teenager. She seemed so comfortable around everyone. A naturally gregarious, outgoing person everyone aspires to be.

It’s an act, though. She shoulders too many expectations. Cares too much about what people think. Feels pressure to always be perfect. Believes she has no choice but to keep her shit together at all times. It’s funny how we’re the same in this regard.

It’sexhausting.

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