Girl Found by Kate Gable

Author:Kate Gable
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781632252739
Publisher: Byrd Books

18

"Hey, what are you doing here?" we ask each other almost simultaneously and then laugh.

"I had some time before I had to get back," I say, "so I wanted to have some breakfast and just relax. You?"

"Just stopping by to get something."

She's dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with her hair pulled up in a high braid, tied with a ribbon.

Her makeup is flawless, but I notice that there's a little bit too much concealer under her eyes and she always tries to look a little bit more put-together when things are particularly tough.

"How's everything? How are you doing? Sorry I haven't been around."

"No worries." She grabs a glass, pours some water in, and plops down on the couch next to me.

The sun is streaming in through the open window, creating a halo-like effect around her head.

We chitchat about nothing in particular. She dances around asking about Violet and I avoid asking about her breakup.

It's hard to figure out when someone wants to talk about it, when you should be there for them, and when it's best to draw their attention elsewhere to provide some comic relief.

Eventually, I catch her up on what happened in Big Bear.

"They're going to find her," Sydney promises me, but she has the same expression on her face that we all do when we make those promises to the families.

There's no way that she can know that and that means that it's really something of an empty promise, but I appreciate it anyway.

"What's going on with Patrick? Have you officially broken up?"

"Well, that's kind of the thing," she says, hesitating.

I wait for her to continue. She licks her lips and looks down at her nails that are filed into sharp points and painted a muted color of forest green.

"I think we're going to get back together."

My mouth nearly drops open.

I turn my body to face her, leaning over, but before I can say anything, she says, "Listen, I know that it's stupid, but I have to give him another chance."

"Why?"

"He said he was sorry."

"Please don't tell me that you love him."

"I do love him."

"I know that you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be thinking this insane thing."

"It's not insane. We have a really good connection."

"What about what he did? What about all of that stuff that you found on his phone? Is that okay with you? If he's going to do that to you now, what's he going to do after you've been together for a few years or a few decades?"

"Listen, I didn't come here to have you judge me."

That's when I know.

When she uses that word ‘judge,’ that's when I know that her mind is made up.

She's not going to back away from this and if I keep pushing her harder or if I keep trying to make her agree with me, then we might not be friends after all.

After all, it's not my place to say who she is supposed to be with. It's for her to decide.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that. I didn't want to come off being so judgmental or anything like that.

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