Page 40 of Rewind It Back

It’s Hallie’s version of a heart where one side overlaps and extends past where it’s meant to stop, giving it a little extra flick at the end.

I don’t know what comes over me. Probably the same form of insanity that caused me to pull her chair close to mine and almost call her “baby.” But whatever it is, it makes me reach out and cover the imperfection of the heart with the tip of my forefinger.

I swear all the oxygen leaves the room.

She stares at my finger and in that moment, I know that every birthday she had from ages thirteen to nineteen are currently running through her mind.

Too nice. Too comfortable. Too nostalgic.

For a second, it feels like the old us sitting next to each other. But then I remember it can’t feel that good again, so I pull my hand away from the heart.

“Why would you do that?” she asks, her voice quiet.

I push down the natural inclination to comfort her and instead say, “I’m surprised you even remember.”

Her brows are furrowed when she looks at me. “What?”

“I’m surprised you remember anything about us, really. You didn’t seem to give a shit about our history the last time we saw each other.”

The words taste horrible as they come off my tongue.

Too mean, I quickly realize.

We sit in silence, and just when I think she’s grabbing her notebook to continue our meeting, she instead puts it in her bag, followed by her laptop.

“What are you doing?”

She stands, slinging her tote bag over her shoulder. “Leaving.”

Hallie is already at the door by the time I realize what’s happening.

“Wait. Why?” I stand too.

“Why?” She laughs condescendingly, turning back to face me. “Why do you think, Rio? I thought I could do this, work together, but there’s no way. Not with you.”

“Hal—”

“One minute you’re being the old you, and the next you’re being a jerk. Then you keep bringing up the past. Pick a lane, Rio! The back-and-forth is exhausting. I’m just trying to do my job and have a working relationship with you, but you’re not letting me. At this point, I’d rather lose out on this opportunity than spend the next six months getting mental whiplash from being around you.”

Fuck.I clearly swung the pendulum way too far in the mean direction.

She exhales a calming breath, facing the door and not me. “You used to be my best friend, and yeah, we haven’t seen each other since then, but I’d rather hold on to the memory of the sweet neighbor boy I loved than replace it with this version of you.”

Without looking back at me, she leaves.

Chapter 9

Hallie

It’s close to two a.m. by the time I pull up to Wren’s house.

Myhouse. The house I’m living in right now.

I don’t know how best to refer to it. It’s temporary, so it doesn’t feel right to call it home, but it’s also the place I’m sleeping and where all my belongings currently reside.

I pull my car close to the curb, parking on the street instead of the driveway. The only time I’ve parked in the driveway was the night I moved in and had boxes to unload. I know the car has some kind of leak and after all the work we did on the house to make it ready to put it on the market soon, I’m not going to decrease its value by leaving oil stains on the concrete from my shitty car.

Cutting the engine, I sit, unable to find the willpower to get myself inside the house. The soles of my feet feel like they have their own heartbeats, thanks to a long night behind the bar, and the idea of getting back on them to walk inside feels impossible.

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