30. Chloe
THIRTY
CHLOE
Now
I look over to Tyler, searching for a lifeline. This isn’t how I wanted to tell our friends. I’m so thrown off by my mom showing up like a tornado. Even after all this time, she still gets under my skin.
“Let’s get inside,” Tyler, says, motioning to our friends.
“You guys are moving? Why didn’t you tell us?” Annika asks as Reid herds her inside the main house.
“They’re not moving, they’re going on a new adventure,” Reid reveals gently and Annika rips her arm out of his touch.
“You knew?!” Her mouth gapes open at Reid.
“I–my uncle Marty told me today, I promise, I don’t know anything.”
“We were planning to tell you all the details tonight. We have dinner set up at the cottage.” Tyler leads us through the house and out the back. I look at Annika, who is still tight-lipped.
“Anni, I’m sorry, I should have told you as soon as we decided.” Annika looks at me, hurt washed over her face. We approach the cottage, and she stops.
“I need to take a walk.” Annika turns away and walks in the direction of the hillside.
“Anni, please, let’s hear them out,” Reid says and starts to go after her, but I grab his arm.
“Let her walk it off.”
“I love the girl but she’s got to not make things about herself.” Reid shakes his head and, before going inside, turns back to me and says, “We support you both completely. I know she’ll come around.”
“I’m going to go talk to her,” I say and follow my best friend.
I run after Annika to catch up and fall in step with her.
We walk silently together for a little bit.
The field is frosty, and the air is crisp.
After a moment, we reach a stone bench—the same one I sat on the day I moved into the cottage—and Annika sits, looking down.
She has on a black-and-purple beanie. It looks hand-knit, but I don’t think she’s taken up knitting.
Maybe it was a gift from Pam for her birthday.
She looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes as a signal to explain.
“It happened recently, very fast. Tyler’s friend Griffin was in town, and he offered both of us a job.
He’s been trying to get Tyler to work with him for years, and I helped him with some social media stuff, and he offered me the job as his manager.
We will be traveling a few months out of the year, but we will always come back here.
Auburn Hills is always our home. You and Reid are our home. I’m not going to abandon you.”
Annika looks down for a moment, then back up at me. Nodding and wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Promise me you’ll send me postcards wherever you go,” she says, and I smile; tears that were clinging to my lashes fall down my cheeks.
I sit next to her and pull her into my arms. “Of course.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve been holding you back,” she says into my hair and pats the back of my head.
“You haven’t.” I pull back and look into her eyes.
“We’ve always been in this together. You were there for me when no one else was.
You’ve helped me find courage. You are an inspiration to me to push out of my comfort zone.
I don’t know how I’ll survive without you on these work trips, but I think it will be good for me. ”
“Ugh, I’m going to have to start making other friends!” she exclaims. “It will be so boring when you’re away.”
“You can do it. Plus, Tyler said his friend Alyssa and you would probably get along. You can show her the town. And we’ll be back all the time.”
“Was this Tyler’s idea?” she asks.
“Actually, no, it was mine. Griff offered me the job, and I said yes. I was planning to make it work, maybe fly wherever Griff had meetings. But then Griff told me he has been trying to get Tyler to be his personal trainer and PT since they graduated from college. So, I think my accepting the job offer was the last push for Tyler to go for it. He’ll explain his side of it and what he’s going to do with the ranch. ”
“You know, you’re wrong.” She sniffles, wiping at her nose again.
“What do you mean?”
“You said I inspire you and give you courage. But really, you’re the bravest person I know. You don’t rely on life to get lucky—you just put the good energy out in the world, and it comes back to you. You inspire me, Chloe.”
I hug my best friend in what feels like the last page of my favorite book, not knowing what comes next, and there’s comfort in that. To walk toward life with passion and ambition, confronting the unknown with excitement. No matter where my future takes me, my heart will always lead the way.