Page 145 of Never Not Friends

I could ask if she’s okay. Three words. That’s all.

But I already know the answer.

And something about texting her today feels wrong, like I’m betraying everything I had with Juliet. So I don’t. I lock my phone and place it facedown beside me.

But for the first time in years, I don’t have a girlfriend.

I don’t have a fiancée.

It’s just me.

Alone.

The one thing I’ve spent half my life making sure I’d never have to be.

And it hurts.

But I sit here anyway.

EMMA

Vinny:

I know we need to talk, but I’m still trying to make sense of everything that happened yesterday. In a way, I’m grieving everything I lost and grappling with a lot of guilt. But I just wanted you to know that I haven’t forgotten about you. I don’t know how long I’ll need. I just wanted you to know so we don’t keep making the same mistakes.

Emma:

I’m still trying to process all the guilt myself. So I get it. Probably a good idea that we don’t see each other right now. I don’t want to do anything else to hurt Juliet.

Vinny:

Agreed.

“Miss Lawson? I need a Band-Aid.”

The Band-Aid emergency pulls me out of my head, out of thinking about the text exchange between Vinny and me last night. And suddenly, I’m thrown back into teacher mode.

“Teacher! Corbin’s poking me again!”

Vivian knocks her water bottle over. It clangs against her desk then rolls onto the ground. The lid wasn’t on tight enough, so it pops off, splashing water all over every child’s legs within a five-foot radius.

It’s a typical Monday in the second grade.

And honestly, after the weekend I had, I don’t mind the chaos and the distractions.

I get everyone squared away just in time for the lunch bell. As the classroom empties, I think about hiding in my room, but I know Avery will start a search-and-rescue party for me if I don’t head to the teacher’s lounge.

I casually told her at first recess that the wedding got called off. A fifteen-minute break was not enough time for her to get the full story, so I know what I’m in for at lunch today.

By the time I get to the lounge, she’s already there.

“It took all of my strength the last hour and a half to not put a movie on for my class and come demand answers from you.” She grabs my arm, leads me to a table, and forces me into a chair. “My mind is running wild with questions.”

I extricate myself from her grip. “Just breathe, Avery.”

She glances up at the clock. “Girl, we don’t have time to beat around the bush. We only have twenty-seven minutes left before we have to be teachers again. AND I NEED DETAILS.” She places her palms flat against the table. “So Vinny was already looking at you when you looked at him, and did you know…like, was there a vibe that he was going to say something?”

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t in an emotional state to really know what was going on. Everything just happened so fast. Juliet looked between us, and I knew immediately that she suspected something.”