“Okay.” I stand on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck to give him a quick hug goodbye. But when he pulls me against him, I disappear beneath the weight of his arms and the world falls away. There’s no pain. No sadness. Only relief. The relief I prayed for night after night in Raleigh. The relief I searched for in Travis, but never found.
“I’ll see you later,” he says against my hair, and I have to tear myself away from him.
“All right. Bye.” I hear the southern drawl in my own voice, brought out by his, and it makes me smile as I get into my car and drive away.
Chapter 10
Liv
I check the time on my phone. 10:18pm. I send Trisha a text, hoping she’s still awake.
Me: Call me if you’re up
Trisha: I’m up. Calling now :)
My phone buzzes in my hand. “Hey,” I answer.
“Hey, stranger!”
“I know. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk the last couple of days. I’ve just been busy...unpacking and getting settled in at my parents’ house.”
“Honey, I watched you unpack your entire apartment in one day. So what’s really going on down there?”
“You know, I really don’t like you sometimes.”
“Yes, you do. You love me. So spill it. What’s been going on? Is everything okay?”
I sigh. “I do love you. And I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I don’t like being Livless in Raleigh. Hey, that would make a great country song, wouldn’t it? Livless...in Raleigh...,” she sings with a heavy twang, and then laughs at herself.
“You could always move down here.”
“Raleigh is my St. Simons, remember? It’s home. All my family is here.”
“I know.”
“So what’s it like being back?” she asks cautiously.
“It’s kind of strange and wonderful and sad and surreal all at the same time.”
She’s quiet for a second. “You saw him, didn’t you?” When I don’t answer, her voice ticks up an octave. “Really? You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, can you please stop being so cryptic? I can’t see you and I don’t know if you’re smiling or crying.”
“Sorry. I’m fine, Trish. Really, I am. I mean, there has definitely been some crying. But I’m okay. I think everything’s going to be okay.”
“Okay,” she says hesitantly. “Well, I’m just glad you’re okay. But do you think maybe you can start at the beginning and fill me in?”
“Sure.” I explain everything that’s happened the last few days and she listens intently until I’m through.
“So let me see if I’ve got this right. The love of your young life showed up sporting a new set of washboard abs that make you want to lick him and a serious medical condition that makes you want to rock him, and his best friend is a dog that makes Lassie look dumb.”
“Something like that.”
“Well, I didn’t see that coming.”
“Me neither.”
She laughs. “Look, I’m just happy that you didn’t drive your car off a bridge when you got there. I was really worried about you. You were so upset after the whole Travis thing. I didn’t know what to expect. It dredged up a part of you I haven’t seen in a long time.”
“I know. And it hasn’t been easy dealing with everything again, but pretending like my life here didn’t exist was harder.”
“Speaking of pretending that things don’t exist...you know you’re going to have to speak to Travis at some point, right?”
“We broke up, Trish. There’s nothing left to say.”
“Well, maybe it was that easy for you, but I saw Travis at the gym the other day and he was pretty torn up about it. The man wanted to marry you, Liv. Don’t you think you owe him some sort of closure?”
“I told him that it’s over. What else can I do?”
“I know. I’m just saying, he may not have been the love of your life, but you meant something to him. And even if you won’t admit it, he meant something to you too. Whatever that something was deserves a conversation.”
I’m quiet.
“You’re a good person, Liv. And Travis is too. He just wasn’t the right person. You need to finish things with him the right way. Don’t just run away again.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m sorry, but sometimes you need me to point out your negligent, self-destructive tendencies. It’s for your own good.”
I sigh dramatically. “Well, I was going to ask you to come visit me, but now I’ve changed my mind.”
“Oh, well I was already planning on taking next Friday off to come see you, but...”
“Really?”
“Yeah, well, I was starting to have Liv withdrawals.” She laughs softly.
“Ah, I can’t wait for Trish in real life. Phone Trish is kind of a downer.”
She laughs again.
“You’ll stay here, right? My parents have plenty of room and I know they would love to see you. They keep asking about you. I think they miss you tagging along on our little family outings during their visits to Raleigh.”
She laughs. “Of course, as long as they don’t mind.”
“They would probably mind if you don’t stay here.”
“Okay, I’ll see you next Friday then.”
“One week! I can’t wait.”
“Try not to get into too much trouble between now and then.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises.”
“All right, I’ll call you later. “Nighty-night.”
“Goodnight.” I end the call and lie in my bed, holding my phone to my chest, staring at my ceiling fan.
Sometimes you need me to point out your negligent, self-destructive tendencies.
I reluctantly text Travis.
Me: I just wanted you to know that I’m staying with my mom and dad in St. Simons
Me: I hope you’re doing okay
After a few minutes of silence, I put my phone down and try to go to sleep. But just when I start to drift off, it buzzes on my nightstand, startling me, and I see the little green text bubble light up my screen in the dark. My heart does a quick boomerang around the room when I see who the text is from.
Gabe: Hey I hope it’s not too late
Me: Nope I’m up. Everything ok?
Me: How do you feel?
Gabe: I feel a lot better. Just wanted to say thanks for today
Gabe: It was really good to talk
Me: Yes. It was
Gabe: Thanks again for lunch
Me: Glad you enjoyed it
Gabe: Maybe we can do it again sometime
Me: I’d like that :)
Gabe: I’m glad you’re back
I hold my phone to my chest, feeling my heart settle comfortably into a little nest of Gabe.
Me: Me too
Gabe: Do you want to go to the beach with me tomorrow?
I smile and quickly reply.
Me: Yes
Gabe: Safe to assume you haven’t taken up surfing?
Me: Assume away
Gabe: I won’t bring my board