Page 50 of And Then There's You

She manages a weak laugh.

Maci:Let’s be real, he’s always like that. I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you, Avery. I was scared and lost, but that’s not an excuse.

Avery:I know, I don’t blame you. I hardly remember it–I don’t even know how I got back to Mack’s–but I think I would have done the same thing. It’s not your fault. It’s whoever did this to me, to us.

Maci:I love you. You’re my person. I don’t want you to worry you can’t count on me.

Avery:I know, Mace. Let’s not let him win. It’s over now, and it can’t have control over us unless we let it.

Maci:You’re right. Well, I’ll let you get some rest. Just wanted to let you know I made it back, and I love you.

Avery:I love you too.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

I’vebeentextingwithAvery here and there, but time has gotten away from us, and it’s the first day in three weeks I’m going to see her in person. I’m not sure what to expect. Everything seems fine between us, but today is graduation, and everything was supposed to look different. We were planning on getting ready together and wearing the new sundresses we bought. We were supposed to come home from our trip and decorate our caps. The plan has shifted a little. I texted Avery asking if she wanted to meet before the ceremony so we could walk in together and if she and Miller still wanted to go to dinner with my parents after. We agreed to meet outside the stadium.

I spot her in the sea of green graduation gowns before she sees me. I take a step toward her but wait until she notices me before closing the distance between us. When she’s right in front of me, we simultaneously fall into each other's arms. A sense of relief washes over me, the same calm feeling I get with Mack, that I’ve always gotten with Avery. The breath I let out feels like one that’s been trapped inside me since the last time I saw her when she was running away from our cab.

Without pulling back, I whisper, “I’ve missed you.” Tears roll down my cheek and into the soft brown curls of her hair.

Her hug tightens. “I missed you too.” She pulls back and reaches to swipe her thumbs under my eyes. “Now, are you ready to do this, or what!?”

“As ready as I’m going to be. Let’s do it.” We head in to find our seats.

“There’s my two favorite girls.” His voice cuts through the chaos of the stadium.

There’s no possible way Avery could have turned to see him faster than I flung myself into his arms. “You’re here,” I breathe into his neck as he grounds himself from my tackle.

He chuckles. “You thought I was going to miss this? I’m so proud of both of you.”

I release him reluctantly so Avery can hug her brother. It gives me a second to rake my eyes over him. He’s dressed up for the occasion in nice black jeans and a black button up with the sleeves rolled past his forearms. He skipped his backward hat–rare for him–but his deep brown hair is perfectly tousled, although it would look better with my fingers running through it. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he shoots me a perfect grin. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him–too long.

I move to get back in his arms, but before I’m happily in his embrace, my parents excitedly rush between us. My dad wraps me in a hug and my mom squeezes Avery before they switch. When they step back, my mom says through teary eyes, “I’m so proud of you girls.” They’ve always treated Avery like their own daughter when she was around, especially once they realized her parents didn’t. She turns to Mack, flashing him a knowing smile. “Mack, it’s so good to see you again. I assume you will be joining us for dinner?”

While we were waiting for our food, my parents surprised me with a $5,000 travel fund as a graduation gift. Their wanderlust is one of my favorite qualities about them, something that was passed down to me. Knowing they support me taking time to figure out what I want to do with my life and encouraging me to explore the world has been a gift in itself. This money is more than I ever expected, and I’m so thankful for them. I’m not sure what my plan is or how I will use it, but I can decide later. I do know this money nearly doubles what I have already saved and whatever adventure I use it for will be epic.

After dinner, my parents head home, and Avery and Miller go downtown. Mack and I are sitting inside my car, deciding what to do for the rest of the night. My thoughts wander to Avery and how relieved I am after seeing her today. I’m pulled back to reality when Mack’s hand reaches over the center console and lands on my thigh, sending a wave of comfort through me with the contact. As if he was reading my mind, he says, “It was nice seeing you and Avery together today. How was it?”

“It was really good. I’m still angry about the situation. I’m not quite sure how to let go of what happened. But Avery and I are okay. We have to be. She’s my person.”

“Hey!” he jokes.

“You’re my person now too.” I lean in to kiss him.

“It’s strange. It feels like yesterday I was driving you two to go pick out homecoming dresses. I was jealous you were with someone else, and you hardly knew I existed.” He laughs. “Now look at us.” He squeezes my thigh.

He’s unlocking all these memories of our past. It’s like he was holding onto them until I was ready.

“What?” he questions the look on my face.

“It’s just…you’ve been there for me, even when I didn’t realize it. Thank you for being here and for being you. Everything's better because of it.”

His hand slides to the nape of my neck, tugging me gently toward him. “I don’t want to miss anything important in your life,” he says before stealing another kiss. “Now, let’s go celebrate.”

I know my friends will end up at their self made graduation party, an escape room and karaoke night we had planned with Taylor, Alexis, Kylie and their boyfriends weeks ago. Even though I would have been the odd one out, I was excited. Now that Mack is here, there isn’t anywhere I’d rather be than alone with him since it’s such a rare occurrence. Celebrating for us means going back to my apartment to spend this unexpected time together, and luckily they all understand.

As soon as we walk through my front door, I veer to the left, landing on the couch to immediately strip off my wedges. Mack sits next to me, pushing up the sleeves of his black button up before pulling my feet onto his lap. He gently massages his thumbs into my cramping feet, his forearms flexing as he does. Damn, my boyfriend is sexy.

---