Page 36 of Back to Me

Sighing, I breathe out of my nose, still searching for Graham. I don’t understand where he could be. “What do you want?”

Staring out into the crowd, his eyes narrow and his shoulder dramatically rises and falls. “It’s good to see you again, Sara.” He says, clearing his throat. “Maybe we’ll run into one another again.”

Confused at his statement, I immediately turn my head, but no one is beside me. He’s gone. Was I dreaming? Was my mind somehow playing tricks on me?

I spin around in a circle, trying to understand how he could have disappeared so fast. I don’t find him anywhere, and my stomach turns. How the hell did he find me? Was this a coincidence, or is he following me? Brushing my dark thoughts away, I chalk it up to a mere coincidence. There’s no way he’s that upset over what happened between us.

The ice coursing through my veins is still frozen solid when Graham finally emerges from the crowd. Gently placing a kiss on my lips, he grabs my hand and holds it between us. He’s grinning as he turns, gesturing to the front of the gallery.

“Holy shit, Sara. Allison is trying to sell that stick sculpture for, like, a thousand dollars. It’s truly insane. What is it even made out of? Glue and some twigs from the park?” Laughing, he turns back to face me.

I haven’t moved, and my mouth suddenly feels dry. Despite the coldness brewing in me, my throat burns like sandpaper scraping across my flesh.

“Sara, are you okay?” Concerned, Graham’s eyes soften, and his smile quickly fades. Gently cupping my cheek with his palm, he urges me to look him in the eye. “What happened?” he asks.

I open my mouth, but my throat seizes. It’s as if my world has been turned on its axis, and I’m slowly sliding off the surface.

Then I remember I had never even told Graham about my night with Julian. He has no idea who Julian is or what happened after he left me standing in the graffiti park alone.

So, when I look back into Graham’s deep blue eyes, a weight falls upon me, crushing me from the outside in. I can’t ruin what we have. We’ve fought so hard to get where we are today, and I was so deliriously happy, I can’t bring myself to say the one thing that could potentially destroy everything. And I know he would only blame himself, holding himself responsible.

Graham’s warm palm against my cheek jolts me from my trance, thawing the ice flooding my veins. And once again, I’m melting beneath his touch.

“Nothing,” I soothe. “I was thinking about how I wish this party would end.”

The lie stings against my tongue, but I bite back the venom, swallowing the words, feeling them settle in the pit of my stomach. It’s funny how one moment you’re flying high into the stars, and the next, you’re plummeting back down to earth, crashing before you even knew what hit you.

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