Thirteen Years Ago
ELLIE
The stars twinkled overhead as I sprawled in the bed of a pickup truck with Sullivan London. It was nicer than the rusty red one we’d taken to the lake a few times this summer, which was good since I was less concerned about when I’d last gotten a tetanus shot.
Natalie and Theo sat on the hood of the truck with Mr. London, listening to him explain the stars. His deep voice carried through the night air, but not enough to make out his words.
“We can go up there if you want to hear the story,” Sully offered. I heard the rustle of blankets and glanced over to find him looking at me.
His eyes were so very vibrant, cutting through the darkness. That seemed about right, though. Sully was light. Pure joy and light and everything good in this world, it seemed.
“Not if you don’t want to,” I said.
I had a feeling he didn’t, but I knew if I went up there, he’d follow.
He shrugged, eyes refocusing on the sky. On the stars—the reason we’d thrown blankets and pillows in the truck and driven out into this field.
“I just get bored with them sometimes,” he said. “My dad talks so slow, oh my God. I just wish I could press the fast-forward button on him or something.”
I laughed. It was breathy and uneven, probably because I was so very aware of his proximity. How our arms brushed ever so slightly. Sully was warm, and the air had a chill to it. A hint of fall on the horizon. “He’s nice, though. Your dad.”
I’d thought it was sweet that he packed a soda-filled cooler—but caffeine-free so Sully’s mom wouldn’t yell at him—and tossed two large bags of popcorn in the truck. Sully and I had already munched our way through one of them.
“He is,” Sully agreed. “He works nights, so we don’t see him that often, and I always piss him off because I’m too loud when he’s trying to sleep during the day, but…” He shrugged again. “He’s a good dad, I think.”
He seemed like a great dad to me, but I didn’t say anything. I would do just about anything to have a dad who took me stargazing.
I’d do just about anything to have a dad at all.
“Does he take you out here a lot?”
“A couple times every summer since…well, before I can really remember.”
I glanced over at him, my lips spreading. My heart beat a little faster when he turned to look back at me, too. “Thanks for letting me come.”
“Thanks for coming.” His eyes lit up, somehow even brighter. “Are you excited about school next week?”
I grimaced, my stomach churning at the reminder. “I don’t think ‘excited’ is the word.”
“I promise it’ll be great,” he said, and I couldn’t help but believe him. Feel a sprinkle of hope. “If you need anything, you just have to turn a corner, and I’m sure you’ll find a London. Noah, Theo, and Natalie will all be there.”
I nodded. Paused before saying, “But not you.”
His lips pinched together. “Not me.”
“Next year?”
“Next year.”
Looking back up at the sky, I found myself searching for a star and wishing on it. Praying that everything worked out with my mom’s new job so we stayed here long enough for Sully and me to go to the same school together.
“I do think I’m going to like it here,” I whispered, and then sent another wish up to the stars that those words came true. That I’d like it. That this summer hadn’t been an illusion. “In Rosewood.”
“I like it,” he answered, as though that was all I needed to know. That if he liked it, then that would mean I would, too.
I’d love for life to be that simple.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Can’t really imagine living anywhere else. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d ever want to.”
I giggled, trying to imagine an older Sully. Would he still be this playful and cute and friendly? Living in his mom’s old farmhouse? “You want to live here for the rest of your life?”
“Why not?” His voice shot higher, like the idea excited him.
“I like going into the city, but there’s not as many beaches.
And the movie theaters are more expensive, and there’s just, like, a lot of noise.
It’s nice here. Quiet. Ya know?” I wasn’t sure if he meant this very field or Rosewood in general, but then he said, “Maybe one day, I’ll take my kids out stargazing, too.
But I’m going to buy a better truck. This thing is better than Blake’s, but it’s still a piece of shit. ”
I laughed. And then he laughed. And then Natalie and Theo joined us in the back, and we found other things to laugh about, too.
But even after we went home and Sully walked me across the street to my front porch, I couldn’t stop thinking about how sure he was about everything. How confident he managed to be.
Here I was, just hoping the next week went well, and Sullivan London had his whole life mapped out at thirteen years old.
It would be kind of nice if I fit into it somehow.
Something else to wish on a star about.