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I could drive to Georgia.

The thought retreats almost as soon as it enters my mind. It’s ridiculous for me to even think about doing something like that. Mainly because I don’t know where he lives. I can’t just wander the city asking random strangers if they know the address of an Olympic swimmer. They’d think I was crazy and would more than likely call the cops on me.

No, the best thing I can do is try to get him on a video call. It’s been hours since I’ve left Bryce and Josie’s, so who knows if they’ve told him anything or if he’ll even answer the call, but I have to try. I find a mostly empty parking lot and pull in.

I can see my reflection in the camera as I wait for the call to connect, and I look rough. I look like I spent the majority of the night crying. I did. And then drove two hours to end a relationship the next morning. I did. I should have waited until I look more presentable, but I don’t want to. Plus, I can’t hang up now.

The call connects and I’m greeted with a blurry Carter until the screen comes into focus. “Kat.”

The way he says my name is breathless, like he’s spent hours trying to reach me or waiting for me to call and almost can’t believe it’s happening. He looks almost as rough as I do with his soft brown hair a tangled mess and his usually bright, captivating green eyes are dull.

“Hey,” I whisper.

“Where are you?” His brow furrows as he tries to make out the background. “Are you in your car?”

I nod, swallowing back tears that seem to be forming out of nowhere. I thought I’d run dry last night. “Yeah, I’m about to head back to Columbia.”

“You’re in Charleston,” he realizes. I nod again, then wonder if Josie and Bryce didn’t have a chance to catch him up. “Bryce told me you wanted to go last night; they figured that’s where you went but weren’t sure. Why weren’t you answering anyone’s calls or texts?”

Unlike the time Will asked me that weeks ago, there’s no demand for an answer. Carter’s asking purely out of concern for my safety. I can tell by the worried frown and tone of his voice. “I needed to do it, Carter, and I needed to do it in person.”

“And how do you feel now that it’s done?” he asks, focusing on the camera. “I’m assuming it’s done if you’re calling me.”

I nod, smiling at him. “It’s done and I feel so free. It sounds cliché, but I really do feel like I can breathe for the first time in years. I’m not waiting for a condescending comment or questioning whether he even cares. I feel relieved.”

“I think that’s a good sign that you made the right choice,” he replies. “I just . . . I want to make sure you didn’t make the choice because you found out what happened back in college. That was years ago, Katrina. I’m content with who I am in life and who I’ve loved and who I will love.”

“It wasn’t just you, Carter. He was such a jerk about everything over the weekend, and when I found out, everything made so much more sense. He’s a cruel person who doesn’t want other people to have what he can’t have, and his tactic for getting that is to put people down. Knowing what he did to you made me realize just what he’s done to me and that he’s capable of doing more. I didn’t want to be in that kind of relationship anymore. I was planning to end things in a couple of weeks because I wanted to do it in person. This just pushed the timeline up a bit.”

I was up late last night, going back over every little detail of my relationship with Will and concluded that it was emotionally and verbally abusive, his manipulation taking control of how I saw myself. My therapist is going to be relieved when we have our next appointment. They’ve been hinting at me to end things for months, and I just never saw it the same way. Until now. Now that I’ve really let myself look at it, there’s no other way to see it.

“Yeah, he is all those things,” Carter admits. “I wish you would have told me his name; I would have told you as soon as I found out that he’s not a good guy. A lot of what you’ve told me, and I’ve heard from the others, makes sense. I guess not everyone grows up, huh?”

“No, sometimes people just get worse.”

He hums in agreement. “So, what are you going to do now?”

I stare at him through the camera, wondering if he’s really asking me that or if he’s simply being sarcastic. Or, maybe worse, he doesn’t feel the same way as I do. He’s not feeling whatever it is that’s been brewing between us, and I’m about to have my heart broken. Or be utterly embarrassed. Even if that happens, though, I don’t regret the decision I made today.

So, why not take a chance at something more developing between us?

“Look, Carter, I’ve never been the one to initiate this kind of conversation,” I admit, suddenly feeling shy. “I just . . . I’ve felt something between us brewing for a couple weeks now and I know it’s crazy, but—”

“Kat.” My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach, where it’ll probably stay forever. He’s about to turn me down. “Don’t do this now. I know what you’re going to say, and I feel the same—”

And just like that, my heart’s back where it’s supposed to be and beating with foolish hope. “Then why aren’t we doing anything about it? If you think it’s too soon, I promise you it’s not. I’ve had months to get over this relationship, and I want to move forward.”

His smile is soft, gentle, and he licks his lips as he stares at me. “I know, and I don’t think that’s the problem.”

“Then what is?”

“I want to do this in person,” he admits, and my stomach swoops. Butterflies release within me, and I fight back a giddy laugh. “I want to be able to look you in the eye and hear what you’re about to tell me in a place where I can react to it.”

“React how?” I tease, wanting to keep talking to him about this. About the possibility of us.

His smile evolves into a smirk. “I don’t know, maybe pull you close, and hold you? Or kiss you? You have a freckle on your temple; I noticed it that morning at the pool and have been wanting to kiss it since.”

My hand moves to the freckle he’s talking about. His smirk grows. “Okay, give me your address. I’ll come to Georgia.”