Page 1 of The Leaving Road

Prologue

Magnolia

Eight years earlier

I smiled as I heard the intro of my favorite song, a chuckle passing through my lips, wondering if Sloan played it on purpose. It was our conjoined graduation party; our mothers had planned this since we were in diapers.

They were best friends growing up in our small town of Rockland, which sat on the coast of Maine. There wasn’t much to do here, so they sat and planned their futures together: get married, have babies at the same time, so they could be best friends, just like theywere.

My eyes misted over. Mom passed away last year. She fought hard for a long time, but eventually, the cancer took her away from us.No tears,I told myself. This was supposed to be a good night, the best night…the start of the rest of our lives.

Our mothers succeeded in one thing, though; Sloan and I were best friends. Of course, it was a tale as old as time. I’ve had feelings for Sloan since before I could remember, but lately, things have been off, so I planned to talk to him about it tonight. I planned to confess my feelings and see if perhaps he felt the same way and would want to give it a go. We had the summer before I went off to school and Sloan was staying here to help run his dad’s restaurant. He was planning on taking online courses to get a business management degree while staying here to help and start learning to take over.

Our families were thick as thieves, being as intertwined as you could get. It’s faded a little since Mom passed, but Lori, Sloan’s mom, had seamlessly stepped in as much as possible to guide me in my last year of high school and into college. My dad wasn’t a bad guy, he just wasn’t around much. He was a deep-sea fisherman and was gone more than he was home, usually out of reach for weeks at a time. The love of his life was the sea, and of course, my mom. When she passed, there was a time I didn’t think he would make it through his grief. I had nightmares I’d get a call saying he fell overboard because of his drinking, or lack of interest inanythingsince she passed. She was the glue that seemed to hold everything together. I was doing my best to keep it that way, but I just couldn’t help but feel like I wasfailing.

While Sloan and I were close, I couldn’t help but notice we had been spending a lot less time together. Our time as of late had been him sneaking in through my bedroom window after whatever party he was getting home from. We would talk for hours until he fell asleep, and he was usually gone before I woke up, but that didn’t seem to bother me—that wasus.Sloan grew up a lot in the last year and a half, but I wanted him even when he had more arms and legs than anything else and had braces and wore headgear at night. I used to laugh so hard whenever he had to put it on, but off came the braces, he grew into his arms and legs, anddamn,did he grow into them.

Unfortunately, that meant people noticed…girlsnoticed. He was happy and content to end up in the spotlight, and I was happy to fade into whatever background was available. Still, he came through my window every night, holding me to his chest. “You quiet the world, Magnolia; I can’t sleep without you.” My stomach fluttered with butterflies;yes,I was going to tell him how I felt tonight. With the way these last two years have gone, I’ve been debating leaving for school, anyway. I had been accepted into Iowa State’s undergraduate program with a focus on veterinary medicine, which had always been my dream. I got the email today that I had been accepted to start in a summer internship to fast track getting my degree. I was thinking about turning them down though to stay here with Sloan for the summer. They needed my decision ASAP because it started next week and there was a waitlist. I sighed, I guess I should go look for him; he did play my favorite song after all—probably to lure me out of hiding.

Sloan’s house was packed, though hardly anyone stopped to talk to me and wish me a happy graduation. Like I said,wallflower.All these people were here for Sloan, and probably Lori’s cooking, which oneneverturned down. I followed my nose into the kitchen, hoping to find someone who looked familiar and possibly get a cookie or two in hopes a sugar rush would get me through the rest of this party. A voice that made me cringe met my ears.Cassie.I guess you could say she was my bully. The girl was horrible, always taunting me for my size. I was size eight, sometimes ten depending on the brand, my chest was full, and I’d always been curvy. I liked pasta and donuts—I wasn’t going to give that up. She had started calling meMaggie Mooonce we started high school and had continued calling me that for the last four years. I never paid her any attention or any mind. Life was too short for bullies, and I had more going on with taking care of my mom these last few years thanpettyhigh school drama. It was who she was talking to that finally got my attention.

“Sloan, baby, please, why can’t you justtellher tonight? It’s been close to a year.” She stomped her foot, reminding me of an overgrown toddler.

“Cas, youknowI can’t tonight. My mom planned this whole party, and I don’t want anything to upset my mom. She worked hard on this. Miranda was her best friend, and now that she’s gone, she feels obligated to take care of Magnolia the way her mom would have. You know this.”

I think my heart stopped beating for fear they would hear it and figure out I was in the shadows in the doorway.

“This is so unfair, Sloan. We’ve been sneaking around for the last year, so you don’t upsether.You’re not even friends anymore! So, what gives? You love me, you have sex with me, you’re moving in withme.It’s time to cut the cord with Maggie Moo. I won’t have you spending the summer before our lease starts playing buddy-buddy with thatcow.You promised! You promised you would tell her before the party, and now it’s the party. What gives, Sloan? I’m tired of waiting for you.”

Please, defend me,my heart screamed out.

“Baby, you know I love you, but I hate it when you call her Maggie Moo. She can’t help that her mom died and she gained some weight; she’s sad. She’s also been a friend and part of my family for a long time. My mom asked me to take it easy on her, to help her through this. I’m just doing what Mom wants so she doesn’t give us any more grief about moving in together.”

I took a step back and did my best to let the shadows hide me; I couldn’t let anyone see me. Icouldn’tbe here anymore. I was two seconds from screaming out in anguish.Sloan thinks I’m an obligation, just like Lori.I had to get out of herenow.I started walking toward the door, totally blocking out the party and the guests. I’ve moved firmly into survival mode.

Get out, get out, get out.

“Magnolia?” Lori’s honey voice was laced with concern. “Are you okay, darlin? You’re white as a ghost.”

“I have to go,” I whispered, unable to meet her eyes, because if I did, I knew I’d cry. I turned on my heels and sprinted to my car that was parked at the end of the block.

Once I made it home, I fell onto my bed and burst into tears. How could he fall asleep in my bed almost every night, but he’d been with Cassie for an entire year? A bitter laugh escaped me. I was such anidiot.Fat Maggie Moo, why would I ever think Sloan would want someone like me? He doesn’t even want to be my friend; he and his mom just felt sorry for me. Well, fuck that, and them. I rolled over and locked my window for the last time before I fell into a restless sleep.

Morning came and with it, decisions. I opened my email and accepted the internship, then I emailed my dad, since he was God knows where right now, telling him I was accepted, and I needed to leave asap. I would be packing up what I needed to make it for a few weeks, boxing up the others and shipping to my new place. I’d be gone by sundown.

Chapter 1

Magnolia

Eight years later

The drive from Ames, IA, to Rockland had been torturous, and my muscles ached. I needed to get out of my truck and make it up the pathway to my childhood home.

But instead, the truck stayed idle, and I stayed frozen to the seat. The silence that surrounded me in my truck was deafening and ramped up my anxiety, but still, I couldn’t bring myself to put the truck into drive and make it those last few feet.

Dad had passed away a few months ago—it was sudden but not unexpected. He stopped caring about himself when Mom passed, he was on the sea often, drank more than he ate, and his heart gave out in his sleep. Like I said, sudden, but not unexpected.

My heart gave out a sharp pain thinking about how our relationship played out over the last eight years. He made the effort to visit for the big things: college graduation, white jacket ceremonies, visited me a few times over the holidays to see where I worked.

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