The Apple Tree by Kayla Rose

Author:Kayla Rose [Rose, Kayla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-02T06:00:00+00:00

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A week after breaking up with David and my evening with Chloe, I was walking home from campus, my bag of books swung around my shoulder, a lightness in my steps. I was done with classes for the day, as well as my clinical rounds, which had all gone well enough. As I looked around me and breathed in the air, I could feel Spring beginning to emerge. All of the snow had melted, and the temperatures were steadily in the fifties, which was practically tropical compared to the freezing Winter we’d just had. I could see grass around me, dark green from the melted snow. The trees held miniscule, pale buds on the tips of their branches.

I felt good. I felt content. I had deleted David’s number from my phone. I wasn’t sure if it were surprising or not, but I hadn’t heard a word from him since I ended our relationship in the Rite Aid parking lot. I hadn’t seen him, either, and I hoped that wouldn’t change.

No part of me missed him or what we had. All of that time I used to fill up with him, I now filled up with other, better things. Running around with Chloe and Ariel at the park or having tea parties together at their duplex. Writing more stories than I needed to for my creative writing class. Friday nights with Cambria, which then grew into spending additional time together throughout the week—cooking top ramen together for dinner and telling each other about our days as we ate. We would help each other study, too, or watch movies together, although I made it clear I had no interest in any of the action-type movies David had usually picked out. I still talked to Riley on the phone every week, as well, and I was ecstatic about her coming to see me so soon.

Back at my apartment, I heaved my bag off my shoulder and let it collapse by the desk in my room. I sat on the edge of my bed and took off my shoes. I pulled open the top drawer of my nightstand, slipping out and unfolding the To Do List. I studied it for multiple minutes:

1. Take a college course you think you would enjoy.

2. Find a friend who cares about you.

3. Spend time with Cam.

4. Learn to be honest with yourself.

5. Break up with David.

Everything was crossed off. Everything was finished. I still looked at the list almost every day, just because I loved seeing those dark lines that cut through every item on the page. I loved seeing River’s handwriting, too. His messy scrawl. I loved seeing his note in the bottom corner, WYWWM, and thinking about what he might be doing, where he might be, what he might be seeing. I was thankful for this list he’d created for me that night in Seattle, after I’d broken down in front of him in tears.

Things were better now. It felt like I could breathe again. It felt like a steady rain had been coming down for months, washing everything clean.

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