Page 17 of Don't Let Me Go
“Roller-skating and Olivia Newton-John.” Aunt Rachel chuckles. “Everything old is new again.”
“Or maybe everything old is still old, and Duy and their friends have really bad taste.”
“Duy? Bad taste?” My aunt shakes her head. “Have you seen the outfits that kid makes? They’re going to be the next Oscar de la Renta.”
“I have no idea who that is.”
“Oh, go shower. Your teenage funk is stinking up my kitchen.”
Laughing, I lean over my aunt’s chair and wrap her in a sweaty bear hug. “Love you.”
“Gross! You’re getting boy smell on my favorite robe. Go away!”
I grab a piece of toast and head off to my room, which technically is Aunt Rachel’s guest room. With the exception of my Xbox and some clothes, I haven’t unpacked any of the boxes that I brought with me from Tallahassee, and when I see them stacked haphazardly against the wall, it occurs to me that I should get around to that. After all, I am gonna be here for a while.
I peel off my sweat-stained tank top and toss it into my hamper along with my shorts and underwear. I’m smelling pretty ripe after my run, but before heading to the shower, I check my phone to see if I have any new messages. When I texted the group chat last night to say I was down to hang today, Tala wrote back,Great!Audrey sent a thumbs-up. And Duy replied withYayspelled with about twenty-fivey’s and a string of emojis that meant they were either really excited or having a stroke.
The only person who didn’t text back was Riley.
That surprised me. I felt like the two of us had a connection. Not at first, obviously. But by the end of the night, it felt like we were vibing. Like we got each other. It’s odd he hasn’t responded.
Then again, maybe he doesn’t want me to come? I did say a lot of asinine things last night. It might’ve pissed him off more than I realized. Maybe I should text him. Just to make sure we’re good.
Wait. Hold up.What am I doing?
Why am I acting like some girl who got stood up by her prom date?Riley doesn’t owe me a response. It was Duy who invited me. For all I know, Riley isn’t even coming. I need tochill.
I toss my phone onto my unmade bed and head down the hall to the guest bathroom where I take a quick shower. Once I finish drying off, I wrap a towel around my waist and return to my room just in time to hear my phone buzz with an incoming text. Despite my previous instructions to myself to chill, I can’t help checking to see if it’s Riley.
It’s not. But I don’t have time to be disappointed, because after four long weeks of silence, Micaela has finally sent me a message.
MICAELA:Hey.
It’s just that one word. With a period. But given how I treated her, it’s more than I deserve.
She was the one person who stood by me despite everything that happened in December. And how did I repay her? By ignoring her calls and shutting her out of my life. Even then it took her months to dump my ass. And that was only after I told her I was moving to Orlando.
Hey, I write back.
I’m not sure what else to say. What can you say to someone whose heart you broke?
I don’t think I was ever in love with Micaela, but we were good together. At least in the beginning. We’d been friends for years before we’d started dating, so in a way, it almost seemed inevitable that we’d end up together. She was a cheerleader; I was a running back. We were at all the same games and all the same parties. We were both on strict diets but couldn’t resist Taco Bell on our cheat days. It just made sense to be together.
Everything with Micaela was easy. Effortless. Until it wasn’t.
How’s Orlando?she texts back.
JACKSON:Okay. Different.
MICAELA:Good different or bad different?
JACKSON:Just different-different.
Micaela sends me the confused-face emoji, and I chuckle because I know in real life, she makes that exact same scrunched-up expression.
How are you?I text back without thinking, then instantly regret it. What can she possibly say to that?Great! My boyfriend ghosted me for an entire semester, then moved to a different city. #Blessed. #BestLife.
After a longer pause than usual, she responds.Heading off to cheer camp this afternoon.
