yes sparkling with a manufactured excit

the internship! We need a plan for

on snapping to Chloe like a magnet to s

fter, "Yeah, Chloe. W

stant, blatant display that they thought I wa

st life,

was just

huddle. "Don't worry, Ava. We'll make sure you have the be

faintly of the mint

to be comforting,

t smile. "Thanks, Liam.

a bitter tas

appointment he and Noah had helped orches

ged play, and I was the unwilling audi

ater, the cha

a nauseating repeat of an event from my first life,

Golden Gate Bridge a dramatic b

ized bouquets of lilies – my supposed favorit

a look of profound adoration that I knew was utterly false. "We've

loe-approved prop. "What Liam is trying to say, Ava, is that... we both lov

ctant, like two actors

eary sense

e building to their crescendo of fe

Noa

quick, almost imp

his phone. His

shing instantly. "It's Chloe. She says her car

p. "Bayview? At this

atic S.O.S.

e sweeping the parking lot. "We g

"Yeah, let's go. Ava, we ar

not for abandoning me mid-confession

am's SUV, the forgotten lilies

" Liam shouted o

t of the parking lot,

hadows, painting the beach

lmost be

up the bouquet

arest trash can an

surprisingl

ulled out

m. I didn't wait

ackpacking trip through Yose

gradu

ean

confirmation e

ah, and Chloe on my pho

g my own life, not the one

tired, and with a sense of peace I hadn't fe

the vastness of the landscap

gated trails, and relie

liber

led up to my ho

oah's vintage convertible pa

y porch steps, looking

he saw me. "Ava! Oh my god

ace etched with worry. "We were

and frantic explanations about how they'd been

ed echo of a c

just announced their divor

in our old treehouse

ere, hours later, their faces

being there, two small boys promising thei

comfort, now felt li

was a performance, jus

bout me. They'd been worri

devoid of the emotion they clearly e

ady messy hair. "Backpacking? Al

some space," I replied,

"from you" hu