Page 44 of Five Summer Wishes

When I was done, I ripped out the page and folded it in half.

And I didn’t look at it again.

I didn’t tell the others I saw Sawyer at the market.

Not because I was hiding it—at least, not in the way that counted. But because I knew the second I said his name out loud, it would make it real. And I wasn’t sure I was ready forreal.

I stayed upstairs most of the afternoon, sketching in circles. Nothing landed. Nothing stuck. I kept going back to that look on his face when he saidevery day.

I should’ve known it would follow me.

Sawyer had always been the one person I couldn’t outrun without leaving pieces of myself behind.

Later,I found June in the kitchen, icing lemon bars while Lily licked batter off the spoon.

I leaned against the counter and watched them for a minute. The domestic rhythm of it. The safety.

“You ever think about who you used to be?” I asked.

June didn’t look up. “All the time.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Sometimes. But mostly I feel bad for her.”

“Why?”

“She thought love had to be earned. That being good enough was a job title.”

She glanced at me, something unspoken passing between us.

“You okay?”

“Define okay.”

June handed me a bar. “Did something happen?”

“I saw Sawyer.”

She froze for a beat. “YourSawyer?”

I nodded.

“And?”

“He asked me if I ever wonder what would’ve happened if I’d stayed.”

She handed Lily a lemon bar and sent her outside, then leaned her hip against the counter.

“Well,” she said. “Do you?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I think I’ve always wondered.”

June was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “You don’t have to know the answer today.”

“I don’t even know the question.”

“Maybe it’s not about what would’ve happened,” she said. “Maybe it’s about what still could.”

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