Page 16 of Rewind It Back

“I have to go,” I tell my new friend.

“Okay. See you later.” She waves as she skips back to her house.

I stop on the front step of my porch as she does the same, looking over at me. “Happy birthday, Hallie.”

Her smile is so big I can see all her teeth. “Thanks, Rio.”

Chapter 4

Rio

Was that her?

It had to be her. I’d recognize that face anywhere. Those hazel eyes. That wavy hair, which is so much shorter than it used to be. It may have been six years since I last saw her, but I’d never forget.

I’ve thought about Hallie Hart more times over the last six years than I’ll ever admit, and yeah, there’s been a few instances where I let myself believe I saw her. Where I mistook someone else for her, as if my imagination was playing tricks on me.

Tonight though, I’mpositivethat was her.

At least, I was positive in the moment, but then Zee yelled my name loud enough that it finally broke me out of my daze and forced my focus back into the game. I stayed on the ice for the rest of my shift, but as soon as I was back on the bench, my attention went to find her again... only for that seat to be empty and to remain that way for the rest of the game.

So, I’m a bit less confident that I wasn’t hallucinating her.

Pulling into my driveway at home, I cut the engine and sit. It’s late, close to midnight at this point, and my body is exhausted and ready for bed thanks to the overtime win. But I don’t get out of the car. I sit and replay every detail of seeing her.

God, she looked good. She always looked good, though, so that wasn’t much of a surprise.

I still remember the first time I ever saw Hallie Hart, with that unbothered smile on her face, completely confident in who she was. But she wasn’t wearing that smile tonight.

Fuck, was that her?The further I get from that fleeting moment, the more I second-guess myself.

I just need to go inside and sleep it off, get my mind off whoever it is I saw tonight. But before I can get myself out of my car, my attention is drawn out the passenger window to watch as someone pulls into Wren’s driveway.

And once again, I’m asking myself if I’m hallucinating.

A dark green Nissan Altima parks in front of my neighbor’s house. It’s the exact same car that parked in front of my neighbor’s house the day the Harts moved next door to my family home in Boston. Same make. Same model. Same year.

A woman gets out and rounds the car to lift a box out of the trunk.

Goddamn. What is wrong with me? I’m having the worst case of déjà vu right now, picturing Mrs. Hart carrying the first moving box into their new house. The one that had all the dishes that Luke had to unpack. It feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago all at the same time. But it’s also happening right now.

This time, there’s no Mr. Hart following behind. There’s no blond boy with a lacrosse stick or a hazel-eyed girl with her headphones covering her ears, sitting in the back seat.

I open my car door, not tearing my focus away from her because that’snotMrs. Hart. Yes, her hair is shorter now, but besides that, she’s the spitting image of her mom.

And then I hear myself say a name I haven’t spoken in six years. Because this time, I know for sure I’m not hallucinating.

“Hallie?”

Box in hand, she whips her head in my direction, eyes going wide as she assesses me, her gaze halting me in place. When I was a teenager, I remember feeling like I’d kill to have her eyes on me, but I don’t let myself want that anymore.

Slowly, I cross the lawn in her direction, her gravitational pull on me as strong as it’s always been.

“Rio.” She swallows. “Hi.”

Oh, it’s her all right because I’ll never forget the way my heart used to skip a beat when she’d say my name. It takes everything in me to keep my arms at my side instead of wrapping them around her shoulders and pulling her into my chest like I used to, just to make sure she’s real.

Chocolate hair, with shimmers of lighter brown painted throughout, cuts bluntly below her chin. She used to keep it long, but it suits her this way. Now, it shows off that stunning face of hers. Soft freckles dot along the bridge of her nose. Her eyes that I remember being bright and kind now watch me with unease. Her mouth that used to beam with a smile no matter the situation is now turned down in the opposite direction.

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