ASHLEY
There’s a reason why my heart hurts the way it does right now. And I think I’ve known it for a long time. I think I’ve just been trying really f*****g hard not to name it. Because naming it makes it real. And if it’s real—if this is real—then I don’t know what that makes me.
A joke?
A girl so stupid she let the same boy break her twice?
I think I’ve fallen for Beckett all over again.
I blink down at the cinnamon stick in my drink. It leans against the lip of the mug like it’s trying to climb out.
Same, buddy.
Across from me, Remy’s laughing with the barista—Nathan, I think. They’re trading jabs like this is a thing they do. Honestly, I don’t mind. I don’t have the energy to. I just want to not be seen for a second.
I wrap my hands tighter around the mug and try—God, I t
