Page 103 of Until the Ribbon Breaks

Trying to control my frustration, I take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds before telling her, “I’m not a criminal. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I never said you were.” She rounds the island, opens one of the drawers, and pulls out my keys. “I don’t want you gone long.”

“What’s long?”

“Be home in two hours.” When she hands over the keys, I concede, “Fine. Two hours.”

“And I want you to call me.”

Already walking toward the door, I roll my eyes and then grab my hoodie from the entryway closet. “Fine.”

“Call me when you’re headed back too.”

God, she’s already getting on my nerves, and I haven’t even been home a solid hour.

“Harlow?” she nags when I don’t answer.

“I hear you.”

I head out to the driveway and hop into my car. As I’m backing out of the drive, I turn up the music and flip on the windshield wipers. Driving after not being behind the wheel for months feels weird, and when I come to a red light, I tilt my head back and look up at the puddles of rain accumulating on the sunroof. The car behind me honks, and I startle, noticing the light is now green.

A handful of minutes later, I pull into the lot, which is empty. I figured it would be with the weather today. Since I have about a half hour to kill before Sebastian gets here, I make my way down to the water to wait.

I’ve missed this place too much to linger in my car.

Settling myself on one of the many large pieces of driftwood, I pop my hood over my head, close my eyes, and take a deep inhale, filling my lungs with salty air.

Rain pelts softly against my face, and I grow heavy with happiness.

Or is it sadness?

I have no idea which, but it overwhelms and thickens within my chest, consuming every inch of space. Before I know it, hot tears mix with the cold rain on my cheeks.

I’m not actually crying, yet I am.

Everything I’ve been through this summer comes crashing down on me, and somehow it doesn’t seem real, but rather a dream I just woke from.

Time passes as I sit here, listening to the waves as they break along the shore. This is the one place I used to run to and collect my thoughts, but now, I’m more confused than ever. I’m not sure where to plant my feet after toppling back out into the real world.

“Hey.”

Looking over my shoulder, I see Sebastian. I stand, but then I freeze, suddenly unsure of how to act around him. Seeing him for the first time outside of the facility, I don’t know, he almost feels like a stranger walking toward me.

The closer he gets, the wider his smile stretches, and it grants me a sliver of comfort, but it isn’t until he steps right in front of me and pulls me in for a hug that I’m able to exhale. He’s only hugged me twice before and both were stolen in moments of distress.

We don’t need to steal anymore, and that thought alone has me gripping him even tighter.

This summer has changed so much—it took me to an extremely dark point but sent me out with a new friend I don’t have to hide anything from. He’s seen me at my worst, and because of that, I can just be myself—I don’t have to pretend to be okay because he knows I’m not.

When his arms slacken and he pulls back, I notice his bloodshot eyes and wonder if he’s been crying. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he says close enough for me to smell the truth. He isn’t upset, he’s been drinking.

Attaching a fake smile to my lips, I take a seat on the driftwood next to him and fumble with what to say. As he zips up his jacket and tugs the hood over his head, I look behind him to the expensive sports car parked next to my car. “That’s yours, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

Our eyes lock, and there’s no way he can’t see my concern.

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