Page 177 of Rewind It Back

“Yeah. Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll let you know.”

He hangs up the phone and I pace the airport as I dial her again.

No answer.

Something feels off. Something isn’t right.

When I analyze everything a little more, she has been a bit distant this week. Calls were shorter than usual. Texts were more infrequent. I summed it up to her being busy with the renovations because that’s what she told me, but now I’m thinking there was something going on that I wasn’t aware of.

I lift my phone to call her again when it dings with a text.

And the message on the screen is one I never thought I’d read.

Chapter 40

Hallie

My attention snags on the house next door, following the roofline that connects it to this one. I take inventory of the redbrick exterior and the new ivy that’s grown along the front wall since I lived there.

The car parked in their driveway is not my family’s car. The pots and planters on the top step are different from the ones I walked by every day growing up.

It’s been a long time since I was last here, and my nerves are rattling.

I’ve spent the entire week thinking about this conversation. Going over all the things I need to say and writing it down in the form of a letter in case she doesn’t want to listen to me.

Rio’s team plane lands back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon, so I took the day off today, knowing I need to get back home before he does. He doesn’t know I’m here, nor does he have any clue that I’ve been planning this. I didn’t want him to try to talk me out of it.

Yes, it’s his mom, but this conversation also doesn’t really have anything to do with him.

I truly have no idea how this is going to go. The last time I saw Mrs. DeLuca, she told me she never wanted to see me again. Yet, here I am, six years later, standing on her doorstep.

Inhaling a deep breath, I steel my spine and knock on the door.

Standing outside, I slip off my coat as I wait. It’s early March in Boston, but it’s a warmer day than I expected.

The door finally opens with a smiling Mia DeLuca revealed behind it, but as soon as her eyes land on me, that grin drops.

I swallow hard. “Hi.”

If there’s one thing I know for certain, she hasn’t lost that intimidating factor one bit. Standing in the doorway, she looks me over from head to toe, but when she makes it to my face, she can’t meet my eye.

I know exactly what she’s thinking. I can see the pain in her eyes.

Exhaling, she drops her shoulder an inch as she opens the door wider. “Well, I can’t exactly leave you out in the cold, now, can I?”

The smallest tick of a smile lifts on my lips before I slip past her into the house where I spent so much of my childhood.

As soon as I’m inside, an overwhelming wave of nostalgia passes over me. It’s the exact same as it’s always been. It’s the same kitchen we used to bake cookies together in. The same dining room our families shared so many dinners together. The same living room where I watched TV after school with Luke and Rio.

The front door closes behind me, pulling me out of the past and reminding me why I’m here.

“Can we talk?” I ask, an edge of desperation in my tone.

Because I am desperate. I’m desperate to fix this for him.

His mom doesn’t answer right away, walking past me to her coffeemaker. She takes her time grabbing a mug and pouring a cup, until finally, she asks, “Why?” with her back to me.

---