Chapter 2
2
M ia moved around the quiet library, putting books back onto shelves. The local elementary school classes took turns coming over to check out books. The last group had left for the day, and now she was cleaning up.
The front door opened and closed, and Mia glanced up to see Allison, a local who regularly came into the library to work. Mia waved and turned back to the shelf to push the remaining books back into place as Allison moved over to her usual table and set up her laptop.
Once she finished, she walked over to Allison’s table.
“Hey. How are you today?”
Allison smiled up from where she sat. “I’m doing well. How are you?”
“Good. Locked myself out again.”
Allison chuckled. “I swear you do it on purpose.”
Mia leaned a hip against the table and crossed her arms. “And why would you say that?”
“Because then you have to see Jackson to let you back in.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Insisting that I want to be late to work so I can see my best friend, who, I might add, I can see whenever I want is preposterous.”
“Uh-huh. Ever thought you might be subconsciously doing it? Especially since most people would just hide a key.”
Mia huffed out a laugh and walked back toward the front desk while calling back. “Sure. You’ve got my number.”
Normally she would enforce the quiet atmosphere if needed, but when Allison was the only other person there, she wasn’t too worried about her noise level. Mia made her way around the desk and picked up her phone, which sat beside the computer.
She opened up her text thread with Jackson and rested her elbows on the counter as she typed out a message.
Mia: Meet for dinner?
His response didn’t come immediately, and her chest deflated. It was a busy time for Jackson in the spring when he was in charge of the resort grounds. He spent a lot of time planting flowers, trimming bushes, and keeping the lawn looking great. The resort was short-staffed, so it meant he was even more busy and worked longer days.
They used to have a standing dinner date, but as the resort gained popularity and Jackson took on more responsibility, it got put on the back burner frequently until it was no longer a common occurrence.
She missed hanging out with her best friend.
Her phone buzzed, and a smile spread across her face at the message that appeared.
Jackson: I’ll bring the wings. You provide the movie.
Mia: Deal.
The door to the library opened. Mia set her phone down and straightened up to welcome the person in. Her mom, Jennifer, walked in carrying a box and smiled at Mia as she deposited it on the counter.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I was going through the storage room trying to declutter the house, and I found a box of stuff I thought you might want.”
Mia peered into the box. An old, yellow book caught her eye, and she immediately pulled it out and ran her fingers over the cover. “My old diary.”
Jennifer held her hands up in the air. “Don’t worry. I didn’t read it.”
Mia set the book aside and looked into the box again. A few trophies and photo albums were inside, along with some mementos she kept from throughout her childhood.
“I forgot about all this stuff.”
Her mom smiled. “I didn’t know I had anymore of your things in the house. I thought you took it all when you moved out.”
“So did I.”
Jennifer tapped her hands on the counter. “Okay, I need to get back to it.”
Mia waved and thanked her mom before moving the box to the floor, out of sight of visitors. The library had been quiet most of the day after the schools had left, so Mia pulled out her old diary and spent the rest of the afternoon reading through it.
By the time the end of the day rolled around, Mia was ready to meet up with Jackson. She flipped out the lights of the library and carried the box to her car, Allison only having left a few minutes earlier.
One passage in particular had drawn her attention. It was a pact she and Jackson had made to get married to each other if they were both single by the time they were thirty. Jackson had turned thirty only a few months prior, and Mia’s thirtieth birthday was quickly approaching in June.
She had completely forgotten about it since it was a pact they had made when they were only twelve. She blushed thinking about what could be between them and wondered if Jackson remembered it.
Mia got home and set the box on the counter before heading to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. She slipped off her jeans and blouse, and pulled on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. Just after she finished changing, a knock sounded on her door.
“Honey, I’m home!” Jackson’s voice echoed through the house.
She smiled softly and stepped out of her room to find him walking into the kitchen and depositing the takeout food bag on the counter. The bag was marked with the Wintervale Resort logo and she could smell the chicken wings. Her stomach growled.
“Yum. Perfect timing. I just got home.”
“I know.” He winked before turning toward her cabinet and pulling two plates out. “I saw you pull up.”
“You got home early?”
“Kind of. I wanted to make sure I was on time, so I scheduled the wings to be ready just before you got off work.”
Mia smiled and stepped up next to him, noting he was also wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt which hugged him in all the right places. The fresh scent of soap lingered in the air, and his hair was damp.
She touched his hair before picking up the plate he filled with chicken wings, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.
“You had time to shower?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d want me coming over smelling like grass.”
She wrinkled her nose. Mia hated the smell of fresh cut grass, but loved the smell of dirt when he was planting flowers.
He pointed at her expression. “Exactly.”
She laughed and followed him to the couch, where they both set their plates on the coffee table. Mia folded her legs under her and picked up the remote to find a movie.
“So why did you bring asparagus?”
He shrugged. “Because it makes your pee stink.”
She barked out a laugh. “You brought it because you want it to make your pee stink?”
Jackson looked at her with a completely serious face. “Don’t you like to experiment with foods? Like asparagus makes your pee stink and broccoli makes you fart.”
She blinked back at him. “Just like beets make your poop purple.”
He bumped her shoulder with his. “And that’s why I love you.”
Her heart tripped at the comment. He had told her numerous times he loved her, so this shouldn’t have been any different. But since reading her diary, the marriage pact was at the forefront of her mind, and the love she had always felt for him simmered low in her belly.
She focused back on the TV and settled on a comedy before picking up her plate at the same time Jackson picked up his. They ate in silence while the movie played. Jackson finished eating first and stood up, bringing it to the kitchen and washing his hands.
“Hey, what’s this?” he called.
Mia looked over the back of the couch toward the kitchen in the open-concept house. He was looking inside the box her mom had brought. She stood and carried her plate to the kitchen, setting it beside the sink and washing her hands.
“My mom came by work today and dropped it off. She found some of my old stuff.”
Jackson raised an eyebrow and picked up the yellow diary. “I remember this. You used to spend hours writing in here.”
“That might be a bit of an exaggeration.”
He chuckled. “No, it isn’t.”
He set the diary aside and rummaged through the box. Mia pursed her lips.
“Hey, do you remember that old pact we made as kids?”
He stepped back from the box and leaned against the counter. The movie continued to play on the TV behind him. His eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t think so.”
She tipped her head toward the diary. “I read that at work and came across a part where we had made a pact to get married if neither of us was by the time we were thirty.”
As if a lightbulb went off, he nodded in amusement. “Okay. Yeah, I remember that. Man, crazy kids, huh? Thirty isn’t even that old.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“By that pact, we’d be getting married here in a few months once you turn thirty.” He laughed as if it was inconceivable. “How wild would that be?”
The more he spoke, the more her mood dropped. What would be so terrible about marrying her? They knew each other inside and out. They spent most of their free time together. As far as she could tell, it would be amazing. They already loved each other, trusted each other, spent a lot of free time together.
“Pretty wild,” she said.
“Did you read about anything else crazy in there?”
She shrugged. “Just that.”
He gestured toward the living room. “Let’s finish that movie, yeah?”
Mia watched him walk back to the couch and sit down. “I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick.”
She left the kitchen and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind her before locking it. Pressing her palms to the counter, she leaned forward and studied herself. The last thing she expected was to be so disappointed by his response to being with her. She knew he didn’t have feelings for her. That much had always been apparent. Their friends, family, and even the entire town would constantly point out how they should be together, but Jackson would brush it off with a laugh and eye-roll. It killed her a little inside each time it was brought up, but she had never been able to shut her feelings off. She had always hoped he’d eventually fall for her. But after that conversation, she realized it was never going to happen.
She needed to move on.
Unrequited love sucked.