Chapter Fifty-Four Charlotte
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHARLOTTE
Crying Day
I’ M SITTING ON THE FLOOR OF MY BEDROOM, SURROUNDED BY BOXES , and it hits me all at once.
This is really happening.
I’m leaving.
Faith is next to me, passing me another stack of clothes to fold, but we both know this isn’t just about packing. This is about saying goodbye.
“This is so weird,” I murmur, trying to focus on the task at hand. My voice is tight, my throat already closing up. “I’ve lived in this room for how long now? Four years? And now…Australia.”
Faith laughs, but it’s that kind of laugh that’s masking something else. “Yeah, Miss Adventurer. I still can’t believe you’re actually doing it. I’m proud of you, though. You’re gonna kill it over there.”
I stop folding and just sit there, staring at the mess of half-packed boxes around me. A lot of this stuff is being shipped to my parents’ house, but Beckett’s aunt Suzanne in Sydney agreed to let me ship a few boxes of books to store at her house until we find a place.
Beck, Will, and I are flying out to LA in a few days, then flying to Sydney for a three-week stay. Hopefully by the end of it, we’ll have found an apartment and signed a lease. Then I’m coming back to spend the rest of the summer with my parents before officially going Down Under in mid-August.
It doesn’t feel real yet, even though it’s right in front of me. I’m leaving this room, this house, this life behind.
Faith stops packing too, suddenly heading for the door. “Hey,” she says. “Before you pack away everything, I have something for you. Please stand by.”
She’s gone before I can answer and back before I can even guess why she left. Confusion flickers through me as she hands me a small present wrapped in gift paper covered with frogs.
“What’s this?”
She smiles, but there’s something bittersweet in her eyes. “Just open it.”
I do, unwrapping it carefully. The second I see the stuffed bunny, I lose it. Tears blur my vision as I clutch the stuffed animal, a wave of emotion swelling in my chest. It’s not gray like Tiger was but white, like my favorite cashmere sweater.
“Oh my God, Faith…” I can’t even finish the sentence before I start sobbing.
She scoots closer, wrapping her arms around me as I cry into her shoulder. “I know it’s not the same as your old one. But I thought maybe it could be a new start. Something to take with you on your new adventure.”
I squeeze the bunny tighter. “I’m going to miss you so much,” I manage to choke out, my voice cracking with every word.
“I’m going to miss you too. Like a stupid amount.”
We stay like that for a long time, just holding each other. If I can only take one thing out of my Delta Pi experience, as aggravating and suffocating as it was at times, it’s that I met my soulmate in this house.
Eventually, I release her, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand. I’m so grateful. Grateful for this moment, for this friendship that has carried me through everything.
After we’ve packed most of my things, I go downstairs to check in on Blake, who showed up early for our last meeting of the semester. The one where Agatha delivers a long, boring speech recapping our sorority’s achievements for the year and then passes the mantle to the new president, one Ms. Yara Merrimack. I’m glad it’s Yara. I hope she makes next year fun for our sisters. Then sends Agatha the dictionary definition for fun .
I find Blake in the living room, scrolling on her phone. She smiles when she spots me in the doorway.
“How’s the packing going?”
“Slow,” I admit with a tired smile. “I think it’s going to take me another week at this rate.”
She laughs. “I can imagine. Moving to another continent is no small thing.”
“No, it’s not,” I agree, leaning against the doorframe. “But enough about me. How are things with you? Still happily in love?”
Her cheeks flush as she grins. “I wouldn’t go that far. The L-word has not been spoken yet.”
I snort. “Didn’t Isaac say it on your fifth date?”
“Yes, but Isaac is a crazy person. I am a rational one.” She shrugs. “I like him a lot, though. I’m bringing him on vacation with my family to Lake Tahoe this summer.”
“Really? That’s a big step.”
She nods a little sheepishly. “I know. I have no idea how my dad’s going to act. I mean, Dad’s great, but he’s overprotective when it comes to my love life.”
“He’s not going to kill him, don’t worry. If anything, he’ll probably just grill him for a few hours and then secretly approve.”
She goes quiet for a moment before leveling me with a very un-Blake-like look—one loaded with emotion rather than indifference. “I haven’t said this nearly enough but…thank you. For everything. You’ve been there for me all year, and I don’t think I would’ve survived without you.”
That familiar lump rises in my throat again. Oh my God. I officially dub today a Crying Day.
I blink back the tears and walk over to give her a hug. “You’re welcome. I loved getting to know you this year, and I’ll be beyond pissed if you don’t text me when I’m in Sydney.”
“I will,” she promises.
She hugs me back, and I realize, despite having a love-hate relationship with Delta Pi, I’m really going to miss this place.
Graduation is an emotional roller coaster. My parents cry their eyes out. Harrison flies out and sits next to my mom, who clutches his hand during the entire ceremony. Will and Beckett sit with Oliver, and all three of them holler and whoop when I take the stage in my cap and gown. George and Lourdes are both STEM majors too and receive their diplomas alongside me, and I’m shocked to discover they broke up, no longer united in love and learning.
The boys’ ceremonies are later in the day, and I kiss them both afterward—in public. Not a single person around us bats an eye, which bodes well for our Australian adventure. I still don’t know how this relationship arrangement is going to work or how it will look in the future, but right now, I’m happy. Blissful. Grateful.
We’re leaving tonight for LA. The taxi is picking us up at the boys’ house in Hastings, so after I hug my family goodbye, I get a ride out there with Faith. She’ll be living in Boston now, and I sold her my car since I can’t exactly take it with me to Australia.
Now, I stand in the doorway of their town house, looking out at the darkening sky. A bittersweet heaviness is suspended in the air. The house is empty, cleared out for the next tenants, but my heart feels like it’s still tangled up in this place, like it’s refusing to move on.
“You good?” Beckett says, coming up behind me.
I turn and give him a small smile. “I’m good. Just thinking.”
“It feels weird, doesn’t it? Leaving.”
The lump in my throat grows. “Yes. It does.”
His hand finds mine, and we stand there for a minute, absorbing the moment. It’s hard to believe it’s over, this chapter in my life. College. Four years over in the blink of an eye.
“Is the cab here?” Will’s voice breaks through my thoughts.
I see him standing by the stairs, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He’s in a sky-blue hoodie and faded jeans, and although he’s smiling, it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. I guess he’s sad too, to leave this place behind.
Nodding, I sling my purse over my shoulder. “Yep. Just got here. He’s pulling into the driveway.”
Beckett and I step onto the porch. It takes me a second to realize Will isn’t following.
“Babe?” I prompt, glancing over my shoulder.
I feel the shift in the air before he even opens his mouth.
“I’m not coming.”
He speaks so softly I can barely hear him. But when his words register, it feels like the ground drops out from under me.
I freeze, still clutching the strap of my bag. “What?”
Beckett echoes the sentiment, only more colorfully. “What the fuck, mate?”
Will doesn’t look at me. At either of us. He stares at his feet, his jaw tight. “I’m not coming to Australia.”