Page 90 of Beni

“It’s all right. I just …”

“What?”

“I think now’s a good time to let you know. My flight leaves tomorrow, so I’ll be heading out of the city. It’s clear I’ve got some things to figure out, and I think you do, too.”

“Is that what you want to call it—figuring things out?”

“What would you call it?”

Beni turned around to face her. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“It’s fine,” he lied, “I get it—you have to do what’s right for you.”

“Beni—”

“No worries, August.”

She sighed. “I should get going … Camilla is probably worried about me, and whatnot.”

Right.

Because five minutes ago, before Bene and this fucking conversation, she had been perfectly fine to stay there with him. He didn’t bother to mention the food she hadn’t even eaten that was now cold in the kitchen.

He walked past her in the hallway.

She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

It kind of felt like heartbreak.

That was the thing about life, though. It kept moving even when his came to a standstill. The universe didn’t revolve around him and what he needed, and so he was going to keep on keeping on, so to speak. Whether he was fucking happy to do it, or not.

“I’ll see you later,” he murmured.

August dragged in a shaky breath. “Yeah, I hope so.”

“You don’t have to walk in with me to check in,” August said.

Outside of departures at the O’Hare airport, one could tell the place was busy. There was barely any room, and even Camilla said they might as well just take a cab over because she wouldn’t be able to park her car for long enough to say goodbye. Not without getting ticketed, or told to move the fuck out of the way.

August could see why.

“I won’t, if you don’t want me to,” Camilla replied.

August sighed. “Are you still mad?”

“No.”

“Really?”

Cam’s familiar smile curved her lips upward at the edges as she met her friend’s gaze. “You were right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Had you told me about Alessa and the meeting … I probably would have gone a little overboard trying to make you stay.”

“I want to, you know?”

“Hmm?”

“Stay,” August clarified. “I want to be the kind of person that can just leave everything at the drop of a hat—someone who can take that kind of risk, but I’m not.”