“Great. Never mind. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “No. We won’t. We won’t talk again. Don’t show up here, stop texting. Go away.” She wanted to sayget lost,but it hurt to even think.
The elevator opened and Rylee stomped down the hallway, a brown paper bag from Presley’s favorite ice cream parlor tight in her grasp.
Emmett, who finally got some sense and picked up on the tone, put his hands up. “I’m leaving.”
“Damn right you are,” Rylee said, shooting Presley a glance. “What the hell are you doing here in the first place?”
Emmett was stupid enough to roll his eyes. “My mistake. Thought maybe I could have a reasonable conversation with Pres.”
She laughed, not quite as maniacally as she had when the Tiger Trio showed up that day, but it was close. Rylee stepped closer and Presley soaked up the strength and support she knew her friend was giving without question. She had her back.
“Presley.Jesus Christ,Em,how hard is that? It’s two syllables. Presley. I should have known that you were too lazy to be worth my time when you couldn’t even say my whole name.”
“Uh, sweetie,” Rylee said quietly, moving closer. “Maybe we should go in.” She glared at Emmett. “Youshould go home. Or far, far away. And never return.”
Good idea. Presley stepped into her apartment and closed the door,but not before she heard Emmett yell through the wood, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I’m glad we’re done.”
Rylee started to reopen the door, ready to go mama-bear on Presley’s ex, but Presley’s unsteadiness must have concerned her more. She turned and caught Presley as she swayed. The bag crinkled and Rylee dropped it to the ground.
“Hey. He’s not worth it.”
“I know. I know that now. I’m so tired, Rylee.”
“I know. I got you.” Rylee wrapped her arms around Presley and held tight.
“I found everything I wanted, what I didn’t even know I needed or craved, and I can’t have it for stupid reasons. I learned what it was like to feel cherished and cared for, to feel like I was part of a family, to feel like I was part ofsomething.Something good and beautiful and special and real. I didn’t just fall for him. I fell for the whole family. Jilly, Ollie, Grayson. Even Mr. Dayton and the town itself. And now it’s gone. Because what other choice is there? I fell in love. The real kind that won’t go away. And it hurts. My heart feels like it’s really broken. Like I sliced it right up the middle and now the two parts don’t know how to fit back together.” She felt the tears but didn’t stop. “I woke up and realized that everything I’ve been working toward is nothing like what I truly want. And I don’t know what to do, I had a plan. Veering from the plan temporarily is one thing but aborting it altogether? How can I do that? How can I trust myself when I’m just now figuring out who I am and what I want?”
“The plan is whatever you want it to be. It could change a hundred times but all that matters is that it makes you happy. Does Beckett make you happy?”
“He does. And I know I made him happy while I was there. There was no room for smoke and mirrors. He saw me. All of me. And he liked me anyway.”
“Of course he did,” Rylee said fiercely. “He’d be a damn fool not to.”
Presley’s laugh was watery. Her tears were getting all over Rylee’sshirt. Presley leaned back, sniffled indelicately. “The best part? He mademesee myself. But it wasn’t enough. I just wasn’t enough.”
Presley sank down to the floor with Rylee holding her tight, telling her she’d always be enough. Presley had enough presence of mind to know that her friend was right. It was just hard to believe in this moment.
When she calmed down, they crawled into her bed with the ice cream and two spoons. Rylee distracted her with stories of the worst dates she’d ever been on. There was a woman who had brought her grandmother’s engagement ring, saying if Rylee didn’t like it, there was no point going any further.
Presley wished her heart could freeze like her throat as she swallowed another bite of ice cream.
“The thing was gaudy,” Rylee said. “I’m talking ‘gothic rocker with a penchant for flowers’ ugly.”
Despite herself, Presley laughed. “Maybe it was a test.”
Rylee shook her head before leaning it on Presley’s shoulder. “I failed. Happily.”
Presley groaned when she saw that the clock read after two. “I need to work in the morning. You didn’t have to come back.”
Rylee turned, took the container of ice cream and spoons. “Don’t be an idiot. Where else would I be? You’re my girl. No matter what. I’m going to clean up, then sing you to sleep.”
Presley laughed and pulled the pillow over her head. Rylee, for all her wonderful qualities, had the worst singing voice. Ever. It was painful.
“I’m already asleep.”
Rylee laughed, leaving the room. Tears threatened again but Presley forced them back. She’d be okay. She knew her time with Beckett was just a moment in time. A snapshot. Something to look back at with the fondness it deserved. It wasn’t his fault she fell in love.
