45. Piper
PIPER
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Jackie Anne: Guys, I’m really worried. The Reserved Bean is closed AGAIN today.
Comments:
Mark Bell: Told you . . .
Jackie Anne: Now is NOT the time! Has anyone heard anything? Who knows Theo? @Piper M What about you?
Mollie Wilson: This might be a bad time to mention we also haven’t heard from Piper.
Jackie Anne: Oh my God! I hope everything is okay . . . @Kelsey Marie Do you know anything?
Kelsey Marie: I know the same as you all . . . which is nothing, and I’m really pissed about it. Paxton doesn’t know anything either.
My eyes blinked open slowly, my body protesting against the light filtering in through the curtains. I groaned and tried to close them again, desperate to get back to sleep.
At least in my dreams, my life wasn’t falling apart.
Consciousness seeped in no matter how little I wanted it to, and it brought me back to reality.
Theo was wrapped around me, neither of us willing to let each other go in the night.
Just the thought of him leaving made my world tilt. He and Strawberry Springs felt so interconnected.
What would it be like without him?
I didn’t know a version of Strawberry Springs without him, and I didn’t want to.
Hell, I didn’t want to know a life without him either.
My phone sat on the nightstand. I’d charged it, but it was off to prevent the barrage of messages and calls from Joey. I refused to entertain the idea of talking to him, but I wondered if anyone else was worried about me.
I moved only to grab it, but Theo dragged me back to him. He was still asleep, but buried his face in my neck the second I was close again.
I wanted to be happy, but all I could feel was sadness that this could truly be over soon.
Throat tight, I looked back at my phone. Notifications poured in and I angrily deleted all the ones from Joey.
The ones from my friends made me pause. Our text chain was full with messages.
Jade
I’m gonna kill whoever that was. PIPER, WHERE ARE THEY???
Grace
Seriously! They’re not even from here and they’re talking shit about Theo? I’m gonna let Jade do it this time.
Mollie
We’re locked and loaded, Piper. Tell us what you need.
Wren
I HAVE HAMMERS.
Grace
Piper??? Is everything okay?
Mollie
Okay, Marjorie called. Theo’s coffee shop is closed. Piper, are you okay? Are you home?
Grace
We’re coming by. I understand if you want to have time to yourself, but just give us a sign you’re in there!
Jade
Piper, we’re worried.
“Oh, God,” I muttered. I quickly typed a reply.
Piper
Hey, guys. I’m alive, I promise. That person that posted was my friend, and it’s been a mess. I’m not home.
Mollie
THANK GOD.
Grace
Where are you?
Piper
A motel outside of Knoxville. It’s a long story, but I’m with Theo for now.
Grace
For now???
Kelsey
Please tell me Theo’s okay.
Piper
“Okay” might be the wrong word, but I’m with him. He’s probably not going to come back, though.
Mollie
HUH?
Jade
NO.
Kelsey
Tell his ass to get back here! There’s no way he’s leaving because of some stupid shit put in a Facebook group! It’s probably not even true.
I looked back at Theo and then to the text chain, not sure of what to say.
Grace
Is it true?
Kelsey
I respect you, Grace. But don’t even try me.
Jade
No, wait. We know Theo has a bad past. Piper mentioned that it’s why he’s so distant. It’s true, isn’t it? That’s why he’s leaving.
Piper
Yeah. It’s true.
I watched multiple typing bubbles come up, and my heart was in my throat.
“If Joey’s pissed you off again . . .” Theo’s voice was rough with sleep. “I might go kick his ass. I have nothing to lose.”
“I’m ignoring Joey, trust me.” My voice was flat. “How are you?”
“Miserable. How are you?”
“Miserable,” I added with a humorless laugh.
We both fell into a heavy silence. Theo sat up and gazed toward the window, his mind no doubt on Strawberry Springs.
Mine was too.
“We need to talk about things, don’t we?” I asked quietly.
“We do.”
Theo said nothing else, and it was obvious both of us were thinking about the end. It felt so wrong. The girls wanted him back to talk to him, and I wanted the same thing, but he seemed so determined.
“We should get caffeine before we talk,” I offered. “The motel has free coffee in the lobby.”
“Yeah, I’ll go get some.” He threw on a shirt.
There was something so comfortable about the familiarity between us, yet it was burdened with the weight of what Joey had done.
Change was inevitable, but I didn’t want moments like these to turn into memories that would fade over time.
Theo quietly left the room and I picked my phone back up. I had multiple messages from my group chat and my heart was in my throat as I read through them.
Mollie
Oh. That makes a lot of sense.
Kelsey
Okay. So it’s true. I don’t see why he has to leave.
I paused. I agreed with her, but I knew I wanted Theo to stay more than anything else. I bit my lip, waiting for the other replies to roll in.
Wren
Agreed. Did someone tell him to leave?
Grace
Probably Kerry. Dammit. Yes, it’s bad, but he’s been a part of the community for almost a decade. He owns the best coffee shop in town! There’s no way he’s aligned with that.
Jade
Yeah, he gives me Goody Two-Shoes vibes. Does he talk to his family, Piper?
Piper
No. And he’s not involved with them at all. No one told him to leave, he just knows he has to because he won’t be accepted.
Mollie
I’d accept him.
Jade
Me too.
Grace
Yuuup. No need to leave.
Kelsey
Piper, use your magic to get him back. I promise we can fix this.
Kelsey
And he has a few people to say bye to if he really is leaving. People who really care.
I stared at the messages for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I should dare to hope, but their willingness to accept him was promising.
Did that extend to the whole town, though?
Did I really have the kind of magic Kelsey thought I did?
The door opened as I was still trying to figure out what to do. Theo had two cups in his hand and gave me one.
“We can’t put this off forever,” he said.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry. I wish that I’d never . . .” He trailed off and shook his head. As he thought about what to say, he lifted his cup and took a sip. He immediately cringed. “God, this is terrible. Mine is . . .” He stopped before he said it, eyes falling to the ground.
“Yours is what?”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t have anything now.”
Watching Theo be so miserable reminded me of how wrong this all felt. Kelsey’s message was fresh in my mind, and it made me speak.
“You could.”
Theo looked up at me. “Piper . . .”
“You don’t have to go.”
He let out a long sigh, as if he knew I would do this. “That’s a nice idea. But I . . . They’ll hate me.”
“Not everyone does.”
“What do you mean?”
I opened my phone and scrolled to the messages with my friends and then handed it to him. “Look at my group chat.”
He slowly read, his eyebrows pinched. I knew the second he got to the messages where they said they supported him because his eyes widened. He slowly handed me the phone, lost in thought.
“You love the town. You made a life there.” His eyes finally met mine. “Would it be a bad thing to fight for your place?”
His breath hitched, and I thought I’d convinced him, but he shook his head.
“Piper, this is just a couple of people.”
“So? It’s a start. And I bet others care too.”
“Not after this.”
“I see who you are. Shouldn’t you give them a chance to as well?”
“Piper, not everyone is like you. You’re an exception. Way kinder than I deserve.”
I shook my head. “That’s the thing, Theo. I don’t think that’s true.”
He blinked in response. “But—”
“No, Theo. Hang on a second. You added food to your menu because you found out I sometimes forget to eat. You go to Marjorie and Henrietta’s even when you’re exhausted. You helped the town with miserable jobs even in the middle of the night for years.”
“That doesn’t erase what I’ve done.”
“You’ve built something else now. A new life. A new reputation. A new family. Are you really gonna run from that without giving them a chance to see you for who you are? Or is that who you used to be?”
Theo’s head fell into his chest and his body curled inward. It reminded me of the times Scarlett had called me out with a truth that was hard to hear.
“And what if I fail?”
“What if you don’t? What if . . . you get to keep your home?”
He shook his head. “Don’t give me hope.”
“Theo . . .” I made him look at me. “I think hope is what you need right now.”
When the words hit him, his breath stuttered.
“You’re right,” he muttered. “But I . . . I don’t even know where to begin.”
I bit my lip. “I think we’ll have to figure it out as we go, but maybe not here.”
“So, where?”
“Home.” I gave him a soft smile. “We should go home.”
“Oh, God. That’s terrifying.”
“Facing things usually is.”
He slowly nodded, looked out the window, and then turned to me.
“Will you be with me?”
“Always,” I said.
He got up slowly, packing the few things he had brought. I looked at my phone, rereading Kelsey’s message.
I never was one to believe in magic. It hadn’t saved me in the darkest moments of my life.
But the magic wasn’t something that came out of nowhere. It was built, brick by brick, conversation by conversation.
Theo and I were the magic.
And I would do anything to keep it.