Page 63 of One More Song

Millie: There’s a photo on IG, showing them boarding the plane. Ash is on it.

She attached the image and sure enough. Asher Stone is waving to the crowd, along with the other members of Absinthe.

He’s really gone.

Really left without so much as saying goodbye.

Me: Guess another one bites the dust.

Millie: You need anything?

Me: Thx but I’m good.

I look at Cadence, shovel in hand, working on the hole.

Me: I’m gonna stay close w/ C today. Xoxo

I set the phone aside and give my girl a smile, refusing to cry in front of her over a man.

“I think it’s deep enough,” I tell her. “Let’s plant the tree.”

When we finish, we stand back, proud.

“And it will be here forever and ever? Like, when I’m all grown up, it will be as tall as you?”

“Taller even.”

Cadence grins. “We’ll always live here, right? In your grandma’s house?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Good.” She tucks her hand in mine. I look at the tree, then up at the house where I have created the best memories of my life. This is where we are putting down roots. Where we will grow.

* * *

Millie and I stand at the playground after school watching Tabitha and Cadence run around, letting off steam. A week has gone by since Ash left, and my heart is as wrecked as ever.

“Are you sleeping?” Millie asks.

I laugh, taking a sip of my iced coffee. “Is that code word for you-look-like-crap?”

“You just don’t seem yourself.”

I exhale, looking up at the clear blue sky. It’s late April, soon enough school will be out. Summer vacation will be here. And my time with Absinthe will seem like a distant memory.

“I’ve been working extra shifts at the grocery store. I figure since I still have savings from renting the house, might as well stockpile extra cash while I can.”

“Saving for a rainy day?” she asks.

“I was actually thinking of taking Cadence on a trip this summer. Get ourselves passports and go somewhere new. I’ve spent all of my life right here in Stanton.”

“You always say you love Stanton,” Millie says, stirring her straw around her iced latte.

“I do love it. But I’m only twenty-four. I feel like there is a whole wide world out there and I haven’t begun to tap into any of it.”

“You’re going to leave me, aren’t you?” Millie asks.

I laugh. “Hardly. My grandma’s house will always be our home.” I smirk. “Not like you’d miss me. Sounds like you’ve had your hands full.”

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