Chapter 47 Past
A lot happened this summer. I found a love that most search for their entire lives, I discovered just how strong I could be, and I am learning life lessons that no 17-year-old girl should ever have to learn.
I decided it was best to leave Shay.
There were too many reminders—too many ghosts hiding in the quiet corners of town, whispering what should’ve been.
I got my letter of acceptance from NYU’s Aspiring Journalism internship. I figured it the perfect chance to start over. To write my way through the pain and maybe—just maybe—build a life for myself outside the shadows Paul left behind.
I hugged my dad with a lack luster embrace—he didn’t say much past wishing me well and that he loves me.
Saying goodbye to my mom nearly broke me, but she understood.
She stood at the edge of the sidewalk, arms wrapped tightly around herself, tears in her eyes but strength in her smile.
Molly cried the whole way to the bus station, then shoved a stack of letters into my bag—one for every week I’d be gone.
“So you don’t forget how much I love you,” she mumbled through tears, her mascara smudged and her voice cracking.
I promised I’d come back to visit, but deep down, I wasn’t sure I ever could.
Not to Shay. Not to the places haunted by everything I lost.
As the bus pulled away, I pressed my forehead to the cool glass and watched the town shrink behind me—leaving behind the girl I used to be, and all the things I never got the chance to do.