Ryder. The man who consumes my mind and will forever remain a question of what might have been.
“I’m calling girls' night,” Hazel proclaims. “One last hurrah before you leave.”
“I’m in. What do you want to do?”
“Popcorn, ice cream, and Chris Evans.”
“Captain American marathon, here we come.”
We settle onto the couch next to each other, snacks surrounding us, and watch each Captain America movie in its entirety, with a few pauses during scenes where Cap looks extremely hot.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Ember
It’s a bittersweet moment as I put the last of the laundry away. Hazel is still sound asleep, but I wanted to pitch in one last time as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for her generosity. When everything is done, I knock lightly on her door.
“Hazel?”
“No,” she grumbles. “If I get out of bed, that means you’re leaving, and I don’t want you to leave.”
“It was your idea for me to go for this job,” I say with a laugh as I sit on the edge of her bed.
“A damn good one too, right?” I nod, giving her the satisfaction of knowing she was right. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” I tell her as I pull her in for a hug. “This isn’t goodbye, though.”
“Maybe not, but it’s the end of an era.”
We both erupt into giggles.
“I’m a phone call away.”
“You say that now, but it won’t be long before you’re tangled in the sheets with Mr. Hottie.”
“I still can’t believe that’s the best you could come up with,” I say with a laugh.
She shrugs as she scoots out of bed. “You wouldn’t give me any details to work with, so I went with what I had. He’s hot.”
As much as I would love to stay and chit-chat with Hazel all morning, I have to go. I’m sure the military man is an early riser, and while we settled on eight for my arrival, I feel like I should be there early.
“I have to get going.” Tears well in my eyes. As excited as I am about this new adventure, I sure am going to miss her.
“I know. Why do you think I’m avoiding?”
“I promise, this isn’t the end of an era. It’s just the beginning.”
We hug again, this time both of us trying to hide our tears.
“Thank you, Hazel. Thank you for being the most amazing human I’ve ever met. Thank you for being so generous. Thank you for taking me in and making me your best friend. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Same girl, same.” The shoulder of my shirt becomes wet with her tears.
Pressing a kiss on her cheek, I pull away and leave her room. With my bag slung on my shoulder, I take one last look at the apartment I’ve called home for the past several weeks and smile.
The Uber drops me off in front of Ryder’s house. It’s even more beautiful than I remember it, not that I remember much. My mind was preoccupied elsewhere that night.
I step up to the door and knock.