Page 13 of Amethyst

“Did you keep your scholarship all four years?”

He nods. “I did. So no student debt for me.”

Right. He was going to go to Ohio State, while I went off to Dartmouth.

At least things worked out the wayheplanned.

“I… I’d like to meet her sometime,” I say.

I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips. I don’t want to meet Mimi, though I’m not sure why. But I should. Max is my best friend, after all.

But is he really?

Eighteen-year-old Max and Jenna were best friends.

Twenty-six-year-old Max and Jenna?

I don’t know this man.

And he certainly doesn’t know me.

He’s gazing at me, though.

Not at my eyes, where his gaze used to fall.

Max and I were never anything more than friends, but my eyes always mesmerized him. He said I had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

But he’s not looking at those eyes now.

He’s looking at the scar, the one that slices across my right cheek.

“Max…”

He meets my gaze then. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s a scar, Max. It’s part of me now.”

“I should go.”

“All right.” I nod. “I understand.”

He leaves my room, walks through the hallway, and down the stairs until he’s out of my sight.

Normally I would’ve gone with him, but normal doesn’t exist for me anymore.

Part of me will always be Amethyst.

And Max?

Max now belongs to Mimi.

5

MAX

Once I’m home, I take the box out of my pocket and toss it in the trash.

Amethyst.

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