Page 124 - It Ends with Us

He looked at me an d hi s eyes were sad whe n he sai d. “Ever ythi ng is al most

better in Bo ston. Except the girls. Bo ston do esn’t hav e you.”
That made me blush. He kissed me real sweet an d the n I sai d to hi m,
“Bo ston do esn’t hav e me yet. Someday I’ll move the re an d I’ll find you.”
He made me promise. Sai d if I moved to Bo ston, ever ythi ng real ly would be
better the re an d it would be the best city in the world.
We kissed some more. And di d othe r thi ngs that I won’t bore you with.

Altho ugh, that ’s not to say the y were boring.
The y were not.
Bu t the n thi s morning I had to tell hi m goodb ye. And he he ld me and kissed
me so much, I tho ught I might di e if he let go.
Bu t I di dn ’t di e. Be cau se he let go an d he re I am . Still living. Still
breat hi ng.
Just barely.

—Li ly

I flip to the ne xt page, but then slam the book shu t. There’ s onl y
one more ent ry and I don’t kno w tha t I rea lly feel like rea ding it right
no w. Or ev er. I put the journal back in my closet , kno wing tha t my

cha pter with Atlas is over. He’s ha ppy no w.
I’m ha ppy no w.
Time can defini tel y hea l all wound s.
Or at lea st most of them.
I turn off my lamp and then pick up my pho ne to plug it in. I ha ve
two missed tex t mes sages from R yle and one from my mother.
Ryle: Hey. Naked Truth commencing in 3 . . . 2 . . .

Ryle: I was worried that being in a relationship would add to my
responsibilities. That’s why I’ve avoided them my whole life. I already have
enough on my plate, and seeing the stress my parents’ marriage seemed to

cause them, and the failed marriages of some of my friends, I wanted no
part in something like that. But after tonight, I realized that maybe a lot of
people are just doing it wrong. Because what’s happening between us
doesn’t feel like a responsibility. It feels like a reward. And I’ll fall asleep
wondering what I did to deserve it.

I pull my pho ne to my ches t and smile. Then I screens ho t the tex t
bec ause I’m keep ing it forev er. I open up the thi rd tex t mes sage.