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That will probably be the last time I ever see Miles Cress, and knowing it brings fresh tears to my eyes.
Later on that night, when I’m parked on the street of some quiet residential neighborhood, I pop the hood of my trunk and open the box that doesn’t belong to me.
It contains a couple of fuzzy blankets, two pairs of men’s sweatpants, and a big winter coat.
I stand and stare at the contents for a moment, trying to wrap my head around the fact that hegaveme his stuff. He was worried enough about me freezing in my car that he threw these things in a box and didn’t want Kara to know. I thought I couldn’t possibly cry anymore today, but my vision blurs and I have to blink the moisture away.
I only snap out of it when I remember where I am, and that I don’t want to attract any attention to myself. I quickly grab what I need and climb into my cramped backseat for the night.
I fall asleep much easier than I have previously, and it has everything to do with the smell of him on the blankets surrounding me.
4
Autumn
“Cheers to your twenty-seventh year!” I hold up the fruity, pink drink that Vic was making when we arrived. Knowing her, it has a whole lot of alcohol and enough sweet ingredients to make it a little dangerous. That’s how it goes when we get together for a birthday. At first we’d make plans out in public, at restaurants or bars, but then we realized we all needed to let loose without the risk of getting kicked out somewhere.
The three of us haven’t spent a single birthday apart over the last four years, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially because sometimes it’s all we have, given how busy our lives are in such different ways.
Victoria, which we never call her, has two children and a husband to take up most of her time. Reya has a daughter, and an immature ex-husband on her plate. Neither of them ever has a complaint about motherhood, but I know they need an occasional break. They work so hard.
“Cheers to you babes for helping me get here!” Vic raises her cup along with the two of us, a huge smile plastered on her perfect face. I have a tendency to be dramatic, but calling Vic perfect is not an overstatement. Her deep bronze skin is truly without flaws, her curly hair always sits perfectly on her head, not a strand out of place. You’d never guess that her toddlers are constantlypulling it out of her skull, as she put it.
I’m right about the drink, and it’sdelicious. It is without a doubt the first of many, and the beginning of one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Another thing the hot tub will come in handy for. I glance over at Reya to see her chugging hers down at an impressive pace, until all that remains in the clear plastic cup is ice.
She notices my stare and grins. “What? That’s how you do it.” Her head spins followed by her body as she looks around the room in a circle that even manages to disorientme. “Where do I get another one?”
I don’t wait for Vic to come to Reya’s rescue, grabbing the cup out of her hand before she even registers the action. Then I do exactly what the moment calls for, and finish the rest of my drink even faster than she did.
Now I have two cups in need of a refill, and I’m saving my girl a trip to the kitchen.
“Nope,” Vic’s small voice comes from behind me. Her long arms reach around and snatchbothof the cups from me.
I pout. “But I want a—”
“Yeah, so do I.” She waves her hands in front of me, and she’s not holding two, but three empty cups.The smile that breaks across my face means trouble.
“Can you make mine a bit stronger this time?” I challenge her. I know her answering grin means I’m going to get more than I asked for.
There doesn’t need to be a single responsible one between us considering we have nothing to do tomorrow, and a checkout time that’s over a day away.
Reya plops down on the couch across the room staring at her phone. She’s surely too distracted by texts from her new girlfriend to request the same. She’s going to get it anyway, if the gleam in Vic’s eye is any indication.
I throw myself down next to her, and rest my cheek on her shoulder. I pull out my own phone, knowing perfectly well that everyone I talk to is currently in the room with me. I swipe away at pointless notifications, spam emails, a bill reminder, etcetera.
My mind is apparently working in slow motion already, because a few seconds after I swipe everything away I realize I just sawMiles’name.
I hastily open up my text messages, and sure enough there’s a text from the grocery shopper himself.
Unknown:Hey, this is Miles! It was good seeing you today.
“Oh yeah, you guys?” I squeak, right as Vic places another beverage in front of me. “I have to tell you who I ran into.”
Miles
It's nice to catch up with Autumn. She tells me about her friends, and her quirky cat. I talk about my dog, my new house, and Idon’tmention my lack of friends as of late. It surprises me how much you can get into after just a couple hours of messaging back and forth. I’m not usually the type to pick up my phone so much in one day.
I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t coming close to getting some truth from me that I don’t know I’m ready to share. Not because she’s prying, but because it already feels easy to talk to her. As if there weren’t years between the last time we’d talked about our lives and now.
