Page 97 of The Space Between
I take her advice. Stepping outside, I exhale. It’s shaky because I can feel the day stretching behind me like a weight and not just because it’s my first one at a new school in a new town.
Iwantedto tell him.
I wanted to look at him across that stretch of grass between our cabins and say, “Hey, I’m starting tomorrow.”
But he didn’t give me the chance and I didn’t chase him down for it because some part of me still believes that if someone wants to know the details of your life,they show up for them.
And he hasn’t... Not since he broke apart in my arms and gave me a piece of his wreckage.
Maybe that’s all I was ever meant to hold.
I get backto my cabin after five.
It’s too hot to think, too quiet to sit still.
Changing into cutoff shorts and an old tank top, I pull my hair into a ponytail, and head down toward the river.
Not to swim. Not to find him. Just to be close to the water… to let the current remind me that everything keeps moving, even when I feel stuck.
Stepping into the shallows, I close my eyes. The rocks are slick under my feet. The water laps at my calves, cool and fast and alive.
It soothes something in me, until I hear his voice. “Careful.”
My eyes snap open.
Gruene is standing on the bank. His arms are crossed. His jaw is tight. And his shirt is clinging to his chest like it was made to mold to his body. His eyes are locked on me.
My heart trips. “I’m not going further in,” I retort.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.” He says.
“I’m not,” I flippantly reply. “You’re standing right there, are you not? I don’t know why, but here you are.”
I hit a nerve. His eyes narrow and his jaw tightens, but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. He just stands there like he’s at war with himself.
I shouldn’t have said anything, but I’m peeved. I’m hot. I’ve worked all day. And he’s made zero attempt to even wave at me for days.
Stepping back onto the bank, I slap at the river water on my shins. “Do you need something?”
He exhales through his nose. “Reece said you started today.”
Reece told him I started today…
He knew what day I started. I told him.
He just forgot, and then, he ghosted me.
I say nothing as I widen my eyes at him, asking him what his point is.
“You weren’t going to tell me?” He snaps.
“How would I tell you, Gruene? I haven’t seen you in days.” My voice is soft but firm.
He looks down at his boots. The nerve in his jaw ticks as silence stretches between us.
I exhale. “You told me about them… Molly… Aubree… You let mein,Gruene.And you disappeared like it didn’t mean anything as you are so prone to do.” My voice is tight with barely restrained hurt and frustration.
“It meanteverything,” he snaps. “Ilet you in, Blakelyn. I don’t fucking let anyone in.” I flinch as he runs a hand through his hair, causing it to stick out everywhere. “I didn’t know what to do with it.”
