by Magan Vernon
“Eddie gave me that frame and picture for Christmas one year.”
Brooke’s voice knocked me out of my trance, and I gasped, spinning around to find her standing behind me, pulling her hair into a bun. She’d changed out of the dress and into a pair of faded blue jeans and a plain blue V-neck shirt.
She looked more relaxed. More like the Brooke I was used to.
“I, uh, sorry, was just admiring all your displays,” I said, trying to find a nice way to say I was snooping around.
Brooke smirked, reaching around me and gingerly grabbing the old frame that was falling apart. “You know, Eddie and I grew up best friends. That was back when I was babysitting you in the summer and before he became a singing legend.”
“I vaguely remember you babysitting, and Eddie showing up then Mom yelling at y’all since you let me go swimming in the pond and put sugar on my cereal.”
Brooke laughed, still looking at the picture. “Yeah, that was probably why I didn’t babysit too much. Only when your mom was desperate, and she knew Eddie wasn’t around to get me in trouble.”
She sighed, tracing the lines of the popsicle frame. “For years, we were just friends then, as we got older, we both felt something more but neither of us pursued it, and it took him leaving and coming back for us both to realize what we had.”
Brooke had such a genuine soft smile on her face as she stared longingly at the picture that I couldn’t help but pull my camera from my bag and get a quick shot.
Brooke looked up, widening her eyes. “Did you seriously just take my picture like a paparazzi?”
I looked down at the picture I just took. Unlike the photos at the library, this one had a natural light streaming in from the windows on the side of Brooke, giving her an almost ethereal glow that highlighted her bright, real smile.
I turned the camera toward Brooke, showing her the picture. “I’ll take the paparazzi compliment if it gets me a photo like this.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. That’s without an Instagram filter, too. Holy hell, you’re actually really good. Like better than I thought. I was just kind of doing this since you’re a lifelong neighbor and, you know, the whole New York dream, but you’re actually good.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered, pulling my camera back.
Brooke shook her head. “Okay, that came out wrong. But what I was really trying to say is I guess the same thing I told myself about Eddie. If you want to be with Jordan, you don’t need to make excuses. And if you have talent enough to get a good picture of me without a filter, you need to follow that dream to New York.”
I sighed. “But I’m not like you, Brooke. You and Eddie were best friends all your lives, and he came back to you. He may have gone on tour, but he came back. Jordan didn’t come back for me. He lied to me,” I whispered the last part.
Brooke smiled. “You know, people who write romances usually want this male hero to make a grand gesture for the girl so they can go all swoony. Sometimes, we have to be the hero of our own story.”
“And you think I’m supposed to just run to his grandparents’ house, fight with him, make up, and then live happily ever after?”
She shrugged. “This is your own story. Not mine. Only you can decide what you want to do, but if I were you, I wouldn’t give up on the photography dream in New York or the guy for a little mistake.”
***
After leaving Brooke’s house, I immediately turned off Rte. 66 toward the back county road that led to the Keller house.
A black sedan and Jordan’s old green Honda were both parked in front of the barn. So maybe this reunion wouldn’t include angry sex, but it needed something. Something more than walking away from each other again.
Maybe he didn’t tell me about Teagan and Joey, and maybe I’d never get over that. But in the end, I had to wonder if he did all that to hurt me? I didn’t think he did. The only people who hurt me in this equation were the ones who cheated, and leaving them behind in Friendship to start something new in New York might not be a bad thing.
I barely turned off the car before throwing my keys in my bag and running toward the front porch.
I rang the doorbell once then waited a few seconds and rang it again.
No answer.
I pulled out my cell phone, about to call Jordan, when I saw a missed text message. I didn’t even have time to read it as the front door opened.
I expected to see Jordan, just like last time, with his half-cocked grin. But instead, it was Aunt Lynn staring at me wide-eyed. “Abbey! Come on in, honey. I was just cleaning some stuff up.”
She motioned with her hand to follow her inside, and it was like stepping into a completely different home. The hardwood floors were no longer covered in dust and had been refinished. The walls all had a fresh coat of beige paint along with new baseboards throughout the space and updated light fixtures.
“Wow, this place looks incredible,” I whispered, looking at the newly resurfaced stairs that I expected Jordan to run down.
Aunt Lynn smiled, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Yeah, Jordan really did one hell of a job on fixing it up this past week before he left.”
I blinked hard before whirling around to face Aunt Lynn. “Left?”
Aunt Lynn tilted her head. “Honey, I thought you knew. He packed up the car and headed to New York this morning. I assumed you were following by plane or something.”
All the breath felt like it had been sucked out of me as tears pricked my eyes. “No,” I managed to whisper as I shook my head.
Aunt Lynn sighed. “Oh, honey. I didn’t think he’d leave you like that. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” I muttered, wiping underneath my eyes, hoping I wasn’t about to break down and cry right in front of her.
“Oh! Wait!” Her eyes lit up, and she dashed out of the room.
Raising an eyebrow, I followed her toward the now empty dining room where she picked up a large brown box and brought it to me. “I guess this would explain why he left this for you. I thought it was something he wanted you to ship that he couldn’t fit in the truck, but now, I’m not sure.”
I gingerly took the box, staring down at it.
“I’ll let you open it by yourself and give you some space, honey. I’ll be in the kitchen, packing up a few things,” she said before patting my back and leaving me alone in the empty dining room.
Slowly, I set the box down on the floor then kneeled in front of it. Opening each cardboard flap, I first saw was some bright pink tissue paper then a white envelope with my name scrawled across it in messy handwriting.
I picked up the envelope and opened it, sliding out a piece of graph paper. Unfolding it, I revealed Jordan’s chicken scratch and a photo on the bottom that was the same drawing as the tattoo inked on his skin, but this one had a heart and a pair of brown eyes like mine in the center of the state.
Abbey,
I know this is the coward’s way to leave. That you think I’m always going to be the one to leave you hanging. But the truth is, Abbey, you’re my one who got away. You always have been. I knew after everything that happened at Christy’s that my heart always belonged to you, but your heart and your roots were always going to be in Texas.
You may have some friends I don’t like, but you have a family and other friends who love you almost as much as I do. Your life here is what you’ve made, and even though I’d love to have you in New York, I can’t make that decision for you.
Even though you’ll always be my one that got away, Abbey, I just hope that someday I can catch you again.
-Jordan.
I clutched the letter to my chest, the tears flowing freely now. Every emotion ran through me from anger to fear to joy. I didn’t know what my next step would be in life or what I was supposed to do now.
Wiping the tears from my cheek, I looked down at the pink tissue paper, now covered with tears. Pulling back the thin material, I gasped when all the old cameras I looked at that first day were sitting in the box and
a sticky note attached to the case of the K1500 that read “asshole tax.”
Smiling as I traced his chicken scratch with my finger, I took the sticky note and placed it on the other piece of paper. My life just got a whole lot more complicated than it was at the beginning of the summer.
My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it out of my purse, looking at the text.
Jordan: Guessing you stopped by the house since Aunt Lynn texted me.
Jordan: I’m in Arkansas, hoping to make it to Nashville before I stop. There should be enough in the envelope for a plane ticket to anywhere between Nashville and New York if you want to join me for the rest of this road trip.
I slid my phone back into my purse, not responding to either text.
I had a hell of a lot of things to think about for my future in a very short amount of time, and for the first time, I couldn’t let anyone else make my decisions. It was time I did something on my own.
Chapter 19
I drove home with the box of cameras strapped into the front seat of the car.
I thought someone would be waiting for me, but I expected maybe Teagan’s car or Christy’s SUV, not Joey’s bright work truck or for the guy to be sitting on the front porch swing.
What the hell could he want? Was he going to try to get back with me now that Jordan was gone? Ugh. This was not what I wanted to deal with.
Walking up the front steps to the porch, I saw the curtains in the picture window move to the side and Mom’s head appear with a quizzical look on her face.
I nodded in her direction before looking down at the guy rocking back and forth on the porch swing.
Joey always stood out as a cocky SOB, but today, he looked forlorn for the first time ever. Well, in as long as I could remember at least.
He didn’t always hang around our crowd, and then freshman year of high school, he joined the football team and over the summer grew a foot. Christy dubbed him a ‘regulation hottie,’ and they went to freshman homecoming together. After that, he was officially part of our group.
Our group.
The group of friends I thought I’d be best friends with forever.
That was before my friends started going behind my back and sleeping around.
“Hey, Abs,” Joey said, his voice hoarse as he looked up, the dark circles evident under his brown eyes.
Instead of his usually gelled back hair, it stuck up every which way like he’d been raking his hands through it forever.
“Joey,” I said tentatively, stopping a few feet away from him.
“Uh, you wanna sit down?” he asked, scooting over in the seat.
“I guess I can do that. It is my porch swing, after all. Well, technically my mom’s. But still mine,” I rambled, scooting as far as I could from him as I sat down.
He let out a deep breath. “Wow. I had this all planned what I was going to say and now that I’m sitting here, staring at you, I’m at a complete loss for words.”
I snorted. “That’s a first.”
He smirked. “I expected Jordan to be with you, too. I guess this makes it easier that it’s just you.”
“Jordan left for New York,” I muttered, wondering why the hell I even told him.
“Really? Wow. I thought y’all were going together.”
“Yeah. We both thought a lot of things.” I sighed, feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders, and I had no idea how to get it off.
“Jordan’s a good guy, you know?”
I turned to face Joey fully and raised an eyebrow. “This? Coming from the guy who was all too happy to turn on him?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Well, I had to have something on the guy. Do you know how hard it’s been to compete with a ghost for so damn long?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”
Joey let out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. He then leaned back with his long legs stretched out in front of him. “Abs, I’ve had a crush on you since like elementary school. I thought that was pretty obvious.”
“Um, definitely wasn’t.”
He smiled. “I like tall brunettes. But, you know, obviously, no girl gave me the time of day until I went through puberty and Christy took notice. All of a sudden, I went from the chubby short kid with acne to part of the popular crowd, and I got in way over my head.”
“Yeah, I think we all did in high school,” I muttered.
He shook his head. “Not just high school. In everything. I thought I was untouchable and when I thought I’d ask you out sophomore year after Christy had decided older guys were more attractive, that was when Jordan showed up, and you were off the market. Then he left you heartbroken. Then everyone left, and it was just you and me. I thought I’d finally get the girl of my dreams, but I also knew you weren’t that into me, so I played it cool.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Maybe I would have been into you if you’d actually tried.”
He blew out a big breath. “Like I said, way over my head. And then Teagan, of course, came into the picture.”
“Yeah, and how long were you screwing my best friend exactly?”
He shrugged. “It sort of happened. Not because I wanted it to, but you and I, well, we never said we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I wanted to be; trust me, I wanted that more than anything. But I knew I couldn’t be the guy you needed. You’d stay with me, and we’d both be in Friendship forever. I’d take over the landscaping business, and you’d be taking school photos forever. We’d both be content in our lives, which would be fine with me as long as I had you, but I couldn’t hold you back. And I think Teagan flirting with me Christmas break and asking me to drive her home was my way out. The attention of the hot redhead from high school also helped that one.”
“You’re not making any sense.” I shook my head.
Joey licked his lips and scooted forward. “Look, Abs. I’ve always liked you, and that’s why I’m telling you that you’re too good for this town. Too good for me. Too good as a friend and a girlfriend. You deserve to be happy, and you deserve to leave this town and go to New York. Go follow around a famous photographer. Eat pizza from a cart on the street. Go find your happiness. You deserve every bit of that.”
I found tears springing to my eyes again and sniffed to push them back. “Why couldn’t you say all of these sweet things when we were dating?”
He smiled. “Then we wouldn’t be where we’re supposed to be.”
Joey took my hand and squeezed it. “Go to New York, Abs. Don’t let Jordan’s mistake in not telling you something that didn’t matter change things. You and I, we were just passing the time. We weren’t anything real. You and Jordan, that’s real right there. Don’t lose it because he didn’t want to hurt you.”
I didn’t know what to say. How was I supposed to respond to this new wash of knowledge? I just nodded and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Joe.”
He smiled. “If you need anything. A ride to the airport. A chance to kick me in the balls. Maybe another coffee to throw at Teagan …”
I opened my mouth to ask how he knew when he laughed. “News travels fast, Abs. And she definitely deserved it. I probably do too. But I’d be happier to see you happy.”
“Thanks again, Joey.”
He stood, putting his hands in his pockets, and headed to the steps. “See you around, Abs.”
“See you around, Joe,” I said, waving as he walked out to his truck and started down the gravel drive for probably the last time ever.
The screen door creaked behind me, and I didn’t need to look up to know Mom stepped onto the front porch then sit down on the swing next to me.
“How much of that did you hear?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mom smiled. “Enough.”
I swallowed. “So I guess you figured out everything that happened?”
“Most of it. The thing that stuck out the most was that Jordan left for New York, and you didn’t go with him.”
�
�Yeah. There’s that …” I said, rocking my feet back and forth on the wooden porch.
Mom reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a few sheets of paper, setting them on my lap. I raised an eyebrow and unfolded them. “What’s this?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure if you’d do it yourself, so I called your dad. Turns out that photographer friend of Missy’s would still love you for an internship, and his friend still has space at his Airbnb, but it’s only available for the next two weeks.”
I looked through the sheets of paper with different reservations Mom had printed out, my hands trembling as I fully understood what she was doing.
“The flight leaves tomorrow at seven. I can take you to the airport on the way to work. It’s only a one-way ticket, so you’ll either have to buy your own ticket back once the two weeks is up on the rental, or you stay there permanently. What you choose is ultimately up to you.”
My hands shook as I looked at Mom over the papers. “How …? When …? Why …?”
Mom smiled. “Like Joey said, and I can’t believe those words just left my mouth, everybody deserves their happy ending. Yours might not be with Jordan or in New York, but you’ll never know if you don’t go there, Abbey. Go find your one that got away.”
Chapter 20
I’d been in New York exactly twelve days.
The time was about to run out on my Airbnb.
I’d met Jean and gone with him on two photoshoots that I absolutely loved.
I ate pizza from a street vendor in Central Park.
I saw the Statue of Liberty and found my family’s names at Ellis Island.
But the one thing I hadn’t done was see Jordan.
Well, not in person at least.
