Page 171 of Meant to Be

JOSIE

The boot of the car slams with a definite bang. I slide into the passenger seat and look over my shoulder, scanning the bulging bags stuffed across the back seat of Harley’s truck.

I sold my car last week so that Harley and I could travel to our new town together. All of our stuff is already in transit. I was hoping to upgrade my car soon, so this seemed like the perfect time to do it.

Kirra Bay, our new home, is a nine-hour drive across an incredibly long, flat stretch of land. To break up the drive, we’ve planned a few pitstops along the way to visit popular tourist spots. We have three weeks until we start our new jobs, so we don’t need to rush to get there.

In Fern Grove, I will always be That Girl. That Girl who cheated on Nick Schneider. That Girl who had her sex tape leaked. That Girl who was held at gunpoint. That Girl who was there the night Brennon Cooper was shot.

Harley has almost as dark of a history with the place as I do, with his teenage shenanigans, his family, his involvement in the scandalous sex tape that shook the town, and his close friendship to the boy who died.

Now we get to write a fresh, new story and honestly, the freedom of it couldn’t taste any sweeter.

The warm breeze filters through the windows as we drive past theWelcome to Fern Grovesign. It’s so layered in dust, you can barely read what it says.

“Goodbye, Fern Grove,” I whisper. “You may not be missed, but you won’t be forgotten.”

“Cheers to that,” Harley says, tipping his water bottle in the direction of mine before smiling at me. That gorgeous, genuine smile reserved only for me.

It can’t get better than this.