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I reach her bedroom and theis shut, as well as the curtains The rooood, so I don’t even bother I push theup, then slide the curtains to the side

"Six," I say fir yourrule, but it’s really hard right now We need to talk"

Nothing She says nothing I know she’s in her roo, but barely

"I’ to the park I want you to meet me there, okay?"

Several silent o hoe behind that sad, angelic voice is like a stab to my heart I back away from the , then kick the side of the house out of frustration Or anger Or sadness orshit All of it

I lean back into herand grip the fraoddary She’s pissingYou don’t play these ga explanation"

I push away from herand turn to walk back todownI could punch the actual air in front ofand pause for several moments while I search for patience It’s in here somewhere

I walk back to herand hate that she’s cryingto stifle the sounds with her pillow

"Listen, babe," I say quietly "I’ I shouldn’t cuss when I’m upset, but" I inhale a deep breath "But dammit, Six Please Please just meet me at the park If you aren’t there in half an hour, I’h of this bullshit with Val and I’ain"

I turn to leave andand kicking at the ground I walk back to heragain "I didn’t mean it just nohen I said I’d be done if you didn’t show up If you don’t show up to the park, I’ll still want to be with you I’ll just be sad that you didn’t show up Because we show up, Six It’s e do It’s me and you, babe"

I wait for a reply for a lot longer than I even need to She never responds, so I go back to my car and climb inside, then head to the park and hope she shows up

Twenty-sevenspot

I’m not surprised she showed up I knew she would Her reaction was uncharacteristic of her and I know she just needed ti soak in

I watch her as she slowlyup at round the whole ti next to ainst her ar she more than likely won’t

She doesn’t

I run my hands up the chain rope until they’re even with my head, then I lean intoquietly into the dark night in front of us

"After you left that day," I say "I wasn’t sure of what you wanted ht about ed your mind If maybe you wanted me to try and find you"

I tilt my head and look at her Her blonde hair is tucked behind her ears and her eyes are closed Even with her eyes closed I can see the pain in her features

"For days I wondered if that’s what you wanted me to do I waited and waited for you to come back, but you never did I knoe both said ould be better off not knoho the other was, but honestly, you were all I could think about I wanted you to cole fifth period in that damn closet for the rest of the semester The last day of school was the absolute worst When the bell rang and I had to walk out of that closet for the last time, it absolutely sucked So ht of you When I o forith her because it helped to not think about that da until I’ her "I like you, Six A lot And I know this sounds all kinds of jacked up and crazy, but pretending to make love to you that day was the closest I’ve ever been to actually loving so to face forward again, then I stand up I walk to her and kneel down on both knees in front of her, then wrap my arms around her waist I look up at her and see the pain flash across her face when I touch her "Six Don’t let what happened between us beco Please Because that day was one of the best days of my life Actually, it was the best day of my life"

She lifts her head away from her arm and opens her eyes, then looks directly atdown her face It breaks h her tears She squeezes her eyes shut and turns her head like she can’t even look at nant"

Chapter Seven

So that pulls h alert I’ll listen closely, wondering if I actually heard a sound or if it’s justtricks on me I’ll hold my breath and be really still, and I’ll just listen quietly

I’

I’hs I don’t knohen I lowered it here, but ure out if those words are going to hitall over again, or if it was just ination

A tear hits ht from her eyes

"I didn’t find out until I was already in Italy," she says, her voice coated and laced with sorrow and sha backward Counting the days and the weeks and the , because she’s obviously not pregnant now Myerrors, crunching more numbers

She was in Italy for almost seven months