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I nodded and stood up. “I’m going to Hollowhaven.”
“Can you do that? You’re no longer a Hollowhaven resident, and nobody knows you’re still holed up here.”
I shrugged. “It’ll be fine,” I said, pulling the door open, only to stop when I saw Vincent standing there, hands buried deep in his pockets.
“I figured you’d be here. I just—” He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. “Brought Jonah to see Millie. He really wanted to visit her. It’s been… a weird few weeks.”
That was putting it mildly. I could only imagine how hard it’d been for him. He loved and looked up to Holland once.
“How’ve you been holding up?” I asked as Vincent and I started walking toward Hollowhaven.
“I don’t even know,” he said quietly. “It’s just... a lot. My parents have been blaming themselves. And me. Everything’s kind of a mess right now, but I did what I had to.” He rubbed his face with a sigh.
“I’m sorry.”
“I should’ve stayed. Even if things didn’t work out with Riley... I should’ve been there. I was her friend before her boyfriend.”
“You’re not the only one to blame. I hated you because you were right. I abandoned her too.”
“I-I miss Riley.”
“I miss her too,” I said. “I miss the way she’d smile… after she pulled some stupid prank.”
“Or how proud she’d be when we let her win,” he added with a faint smile.
He was the only one who knew Riley like I did.
For so long, my memories of Riley had been the version of her made by Ellis and Holland. But she was more. She was brilliant, she was beyond what they made her.
“Or… or… when she sang in the school competition and everyone made fun of her,” I added with a smile. “She said they were just jealous.”
“She was terrible.”
“You told her she could become a singer,” I said with a chuckle.
“Well…” Vincent shrugged, his smile wilting.
We stopped in front of the gate, and Oswald opened it with a smile.
“Asher, it’s good to see you,” he said.
“You too, Oswald.”
Vincent and I walked into the yard, and I looked around, my eyes taking in everything.
I spent almost six months here, and these people had become a part of my life.
“There’s Jonah with Millie,” Vincent said, motioning to the swing. Jonah was saying something to her, and Millie… was smiling. Smiling.
Diya was sitting a few feet away, her eyes never leaving Millie. She sniffed a little when she saw Millie smile.
I blinked, trying to hold myself together.
“She looks happy,” Vincent said. “She deserves it.”
“She does.”
After Jonah left with Vincent, I made my way toward Millie. She looked up and smiled when she saw me.
