Page 34 of What Comes After

Devyn held up the dish in her hands and replied, “I hope you don’t mind. I brought pumpkin pie. It was my favorite dessert my mom made every year, and I hate to admit that I never learned how to make it from her. But I went through her recipes last week when I was packing, and I saw it.”

That’s when something else hit me.

This was going to be Devyn’s first big holiday without her parents. I felt awful for not recognizing that fact sooner. I was so caught up in my feelings, I hadn’t taken the time to consider how she must have been managing with all of the changes that were taking place in her life.

How could I claim to love her and not have given a second thought to how difficult this holiday season was going to be for her?

Tears filled my mom’s eyes as she tipped her head to the side. “Rhonda’s pies were some of my favorites. I’m so glad you decided to make one and bring it over today. It’ll be the perfect addition to our dessert menu.”

After my mom took the pie from her, Devyn asked, “What can I do to help?”

My mom waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’ve got it all covered out here. But if you and Theo want to set the table together, lunch is just about ready.”

Devyn turned around to look at me. “We can do that, right?”

With her, I was convinced I could do anything. I smiled at her and nodded. “Yeah, we can.”

At that, Devyn and I got to work on setting the table for our last official holiday together before our lives changed.

We’d had a wonderful day filled with lots of love and laughs with my parents. The worries I’d been feeling for the last few days faded away as I enjoyed my time with Devyn and them, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day with the people I loved most in the world.

But by the time I’d walked Devyn back across the street to her house that night, I was thrown right back into a mess of thoughts.

There was so much that I wanted right in front of me in the form of her, and there was a commitment I’d made to not only myself but the people who put their faith in me to film this movie.

I was eighteen years old.

Months away from turning nineteen.

I had my entire life ahead of me, and yet, I felt as though I was leaving my whole world behind me.

* * *

Devyn

This was it.

The day I’d been dreading since I’d learned about it had finally arrived, and I wasn’t quite sure I was going to make it through.

How was I ever going to survive this?

For the last two weeks, I’d spent every available moment I had with Theo, hoping I’d soak up enough good memories to last me until I saw him again.

Now, he was leaving.

Time had run out.

Even though I knew he’d call and come back to visit as often as he could—something he’d repeatedly told me over the last several days—the reality was nothing was going to be the same.

Our lives were changing.

It was something I always knew would happen, but I never imagined they’d change like this. I never thought we’d wind up at a place where we’d have to say goodbye to one another.

Of course, I knew it wasn’t as though I’d never see him again. This wasn’t so permanent that we were saying goodbye forever. But that didn’t make it any less painful.

The days we had with one another ever since he’d broken the news to me had dwindled so fast, and I hated it.

I wanted more time with him.

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