Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Love?
I can do difficult things.
I rose from my bed as my heart pounded within my chest and then began running out of my bedroom, through the front door of my house, and as I stepped foot on the grass, I watched as Aiden’s car began to drive down the street.
No.
I felt it as it happened—my heart shattered in my chest.
I broke out into a sprint in the middle of the street. I waved my hands around like a madwoman as I shouted his name. “Aiden! Aiden, wait!” I screamed. My lungs felt like they were inflamed, and my body ached because a runner was the last thing in the world I was. But I ran for him. I ran as fast as I could, pumping my arms, on the verge of tears. The moment I saw the car brake, I came to a stumbling halt as I slammed against the back of the car.
My breaths were erratic, and my heart was pounding against my rib cage as the back door of the car opened. Sweat dribbled down my forehead as I stood in my Nike sweatpants and sweatshirt.
Aiden climbed out of the car. The moment he saw me, he smirked. He placed his hands against his hips, and with his smug face, he said, “Did you just run down the street for me?”
I rolled my eyes, out of breath as my knees throbbed. It was no secret that I didn’t have knees like Meg the Stallion. My knees were more like the ninety-three-year-olds down at the nursing home.
I crossed my sweaty arms. “Whatever, Aiden.”
He stepped toward me. “Are you here to tell me you’ll miss me?”
“What? No. I told you, missing is a dramatic term and a weak human emotion that—”
“Keeps people from focusing on their lives. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah.” He bum-rushed me and wrapped his arms around me. He was so good at affection. Me, on the other hand? Not so much.
“Aiden, stop. I’m sweaty.”
“Give me all your sweat, Hails.”
“Let me go.”
“Hug me back, and I will.”
I sighed. “Okay, but only so you’ll let me go.” I hugged him back, and the way his hands landed on my back made me want to melt into every piece of him and not let him go.
“ILY,” he whispered against my ear. He knew I wasn’t good at expressing my feelings, so ILY was the closest we ever got to saying I love you.
Sometimes I felt broken. I came from parents who were so emotionally in-depth, and my best friend had been the same way. Yet, for some reason, I struggled with my feelings.
They never pressured me to speak up, though. They simply allowed me to be me, and they worked around my odd boundaries with ILYs.
“ILY, too,” I whispered, blinking away the tears.
As he let go, I missed his embrace.
I missed him.
How could I miss someone who was still standing in front of me?
I rubbed the baby hairs on the back of my neck. “Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“What if you get out there and you don’t come back? What if you get out there and you change completely? What if Hollywood changes you for the worse?” I blubbered out on the verge of tears. Reality set in now as I saw his car packed up and the engine still running. He was really leaving for a year—if not longer. I was losing the best part of me.
Aiden smiled. “I knew you’d miss me.”
“I’m serious, Aiden.” I bit my bottom lip, trying to fight back the tears. “What if you get out there and forget who you are?”
“If I forget who I am, then I’ll find my way back to you. I’m sure that will do the job.”
“Promise you’ll find me?”
“Promise.”
I shot into his arms and wrapped him in one last hug. He seemed a bit shocked that I was the one to go in for the embrace, but he didn’t fight it. Aiden thrived on physical touch. It was his happy place.
“Sorry, Hailee, but we have to get going if we’re going to make our flight,” Aiden’s dad said, stepping out of the driver’s seat.
Aiden squeezed me one more time. “We’ll make a senior year bucket list, Hailee. I’ll call you, and we’ll write it out together. I’ll be back. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “I promise.”
He headed back to the car and climbed inside. I stood in the middle of the street, watching him pull away. Heading back to my house, I found my parents waiting on the front porch. Mama frowned. “You need a hug, Hailee.”
“No. I hate hugs.”
“Yeah, we know. But…” Dad brushed his thumb against his nose and nodded. “Do you need a hug?”
Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I nodded slowly. “Okay. Just one.”
5
Aiden
Seventeen Years Old
Present Day
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