Lucy: Not going to make it home tonight. Hope you are doing well?
Me: Just eating junk food on the couch.
Lucy: Your pin says you aren’t home yet?
Me: Am I going to regret sharing my location with you?
I feel a little guilty and immediately admit.
Me: I’m okay. I’m with Eggward.
There’s an instant response, a string of indecipherable emojis, but the eggplant makes more than one appearance.
Lucy: Alright, have fun eating ‘junk’ food. See you in the morning.
I smirk at my phone.
Lucy has always been self-confident, but lately she’s extra intimidating, and taking no shit from anyone. It’s impressive. Wholly inspiring. She is consistently going after what she wants. And I wish I could be the same. I wish I wasn’t just going home to a couch and some snacks.
“Do you want to keep walking?” I ask without taking my eyes off my phone, before I have a chance to chicken out.
“Yes.” His reply comes almost as quickly, and my heart speeds up. I veer to the direction that isn’t my house and keep walking. He’s right there beside me.
The silence stretches between us as I wander almost aimlessly. Every time I talk to Eggward I’m alternating between reading too much into things, and then thinking he wants nothing to do with me. If I can just get him to open up.
“I used to come here every summer, to stay with my dad.” I say as the Wonderhole comes into view. “After my parents got divorced, my mom remarried. She traveled a lot for my step-father’s job. So spending summers in Ghostlight was the most stability I really got as a kid. I think it’s one of the most interesting and beautiful places I’ve ever lived.”
“Same.” Eggward faces the star filled sky, I can almost make out the profile of his face in the moonlight. At this point I’m barely curious about his looks. I want to know more about him, as a person. “Not the dad part. But, it’s really beautiful here. Special.”
“Where were you before?” I ask.
“All over.” His answer is just vague enough to drive me crazy. “I decided to settle down when Alice found me.”
“That’s when you became a farmer?”
“I don’t run a farm,” his voice hits an irritated tone. “It’s a rescue.”
“Right, sorry.” I say quickly, feeling truly embarrassed. “I know that.” We reach the edge of the Wonderhole and the depths of it disappear into pitch black beneath us.
“And how do you know Jace?” The question cuts through the night, coming out almost accusatory.
“We’re just friends.” I can feel my cheeks getting warm as I start to stumble for an explanation. “He, Lucy, and I spent the summers together as kids. Riding bikes, swimming in the lake, playing Club Penguin together. They were my best friends.”
Eggward makes a noise in the back of his throat. “And how well do you know him now?”
I shrug, not sure about my feelings, or what Eggward wants to hear. “They are different than when we were kids.” I admit. “I suppose everything is different than it was.”
“People change, places change.”
“You can’t go back home again,” I sigh. “I’m starting to think coming back here was a complete mistake.”
“It wasn’t.” Eggward’s words slice into me.
I look up into his hood. I wish I could see his expression when he says things like that, but all I have to go on is his words.
“It wasn’t?” I wait several long silent beats for him to keep talking.
“I’m glad you’re here, Mina.” He finally breaks the quiet.
