Ellie
It was my decision to leave without any of the messy goodbyes.
I couldn’t risk losing my nerve and falling into his arms. Second-guessing promises—real and unspoken—that we’d made the night before.
I knew we’d find a way eventually, but the problem was I was breaking then. There.
Danny was already playing on the shore with Mom under lamplight, the sun refusing to rise before six a.m.
If I was being honest, chemistry had never been the issue between DJ and me. If anything, there was too much rather than not enough. Nothing about us had ever been lackluster.
But timing…
That always sucked.
As friends.
As more.
Sliding into the back seat, I let that fear settle in—the sensation of being adrift again.
Back to thirteen. Back to when I felt my life would never be predictable
